What you Should Know Before Hiring or Buying a Boat

Tips for choosing the type of boat for your lifestyle and how to buy a boat that meets your budget

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If you’re thinking of getting into boating, there’s one thing between you and your adventures, and that’s getting a boat. This can be a challenge, and it’s not something that you want to get wrong. A good way of testing out the difference between models of boats is to rent and test the out before you buy.

The best way to start is to think about what you want to do on your boat. Is it fishing that you’re looking forward to? The boat that you need will probably depend on where you live, and which coast, river, or lake you live near, whether it’s a good fishing spot.

If it’s purely recreational, you may as well go for a leisure boat, or pleasure craft as they are sometimes called. These can have as many or as few bells and whistles as you like, so there’s a lot to choose from.

Setting a Budget for Your Boat

A leisure boat from Tailored Marine BoatsIt’s great having a choice from all of these different types of boats, but one of the main things that will determine the purchase that you make will be your budget. Set one and stick to it.

Buying a boat often signals a slowing down and easing up of lifestyle, so hopefully by the time you get around to doing it you don’t have to worry about financing your boat, you can just buy it and enjoy it. If you do have to finance your boat (for some people this is actually the most efficient way of doing things), then just choose a good finance plan that fits your budget.

Discuss your budget with every boat dealer or manufacturer that you visit, and make it clear that you aren’t going to break that glass ceiling. Try and see if you can negotiate a price on the model that you want, local and independent dealers and manufacturers will be better in this regard. Browsing and shopping via online boat auctions can also give you more options to stretch your budget.

If it’s a second hand boat that you’re looking at buying, leave a little bit of room in your budget for repairs and replacements. A classic mistake that some boaters make is buying a second hand ‘fixer-upper’, and getting bogged down in expensive repairs, which means that your boat won’t be usable for a while and might end up costing you more. Only count on doing small and simple repairs, don’t try and save by buying a broken down boat.

Guest Post Contributor:
Ivy Delfin is a blogger and a boating enthusiast, who has spent the last two months in search of the perfect leisure boat. For more info, visit TailoredMarine.com.au.

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