Fat Nick
Footballguy
I did a little searching and didn't find an official Boatguys thread. My parents just bought a house with a nice big dock off one of the tributaries of the Chesapeake bay this past weekend, fulfilling a life-long dream of moving to the water. The even better news is it's only 2.5 hours from where we are in Central NJ, so we basically got a nice long-weekend vacation house when we visit. A boat is in our near future...but where the heck do you start? I've rented boats (usually pontoons) before. I just don't know the first thing about ownership...Any boat owners who can give me some advice?
What I've gathered seems to be the type of boat that make sense is:
-20-25' dual console boat
-Needs to have a live-well for bait and such as we will do a lot of fishing.
-Needs to have a toilet for brown trout - ideally something more than just a bucket in the corner.
-Needs to have lots of comfortable seating as well since when we're not fishing, we'll be cruising with the family (Late 60's parents, my wife, two little kids - hence why the dual-console makes sense vs. the center console)
-Prefer outboard motor for simplicity unless someone can convince me otherwise.
-Like to stay below $100,000 but could go a little higher...new preferred, but could go slightly used.
-Focus on ease of use/ease of maintenance. There's tons of marinas near by, and they will likely put a lift in on the dock (it had one at one point that was sold).
Beyond that - anybody have any tips? things to avoid? Things you wish you did differently?
What I've gathered seems to be the type of boat that make sense is:
-20-25' dual console boat
-Needs to have a live-well for bait and such as we will do a lot of fishing.
-Needs to have a toilet for brown trout - ideally something more than just a bucket in the corner.
-Needs to have lots of comfortable seating as well since when we're not fishing, we'll be cruising with the family (Late 60's parents, my wife, two little kids - hence why the dual-console makes sense vs. the center console)
-Prefer outboard motor for simplicity unless someone can convince me otherwise.
-Like to stay below $100,000 but could go a little higher...new preferred, but could go slightly used.
-Focus on ease of use/ease of maintenance. There's tons of marinas near by, and they will likely put a lift in on the dock (it had one at one point that was sold).
Beyond that - anybody have any tips? things to avoid? Things you wish you did differently?