Considering buying a boat...

[helms83]

I'm thinking of buying a used bass boat, any tips???

[Jig Man]

Get an on the water test ride before you buy.

Go over the boat, motor, and trailer with a fine toothed comb.

Have at least a compression check done on the motor.

Look at the lower unit lube (bottom screw).

Look the unit up in the nada guides to see if it is properly priced.

Just to name a few.

[helms83]

good tips, thanks!

also, how do you find a good beginner boat that won't cost an arm and a leg?

[Jig Man]

Decide what you are willing to spend and then start reading the newspaper.  Check out websites like boats.com and usedboats.com.  You can also select brands, go to the company web site and get dealer locations and web sites.  Many of the dealers have most of their inventory on the web because boat buyers will travel well over a thousand miles to get the right deal.

Take some time, look around then get serious once you have decided your type and price range.  There are a lot of good new and used boats on the market and there are also a lot of dogs.

[HPBB]

Everything stated above is a good starting point.

Here are a few other things to think about.

1. What is your price range?

2. What king of boat do you like?

 Glass?

 Metal?

 Big boat?

 Small boat?

 

3. What type of water will you do most of your fishing on?

  If you fish HP limited Lakes that a big Bass Boat with a 250HP will not work, but a small one with a 25HP or 9.9HP might be the best. If you fish a lot of big water (ex great lakes) then maybe a deep V will be better, If you fish shallow rivers than a Jet boat will be better.

4. what will you be towing it with?

make sure you don't buy a boat to Big for your rig

5. What brands do you want or want to stay away from?

6. What motor do you want?

  Brand?

 HP?

 2 or 4 stroke?

Carb/injected?

What is the popular brand motor in your area? What do most of the dealer/shop sell and service? You don't want to get a motor that you have to drive 100+ miles to get fixed, when there are shops 10 miles away that service other motor.

7. Extras the boat has?

Do you want a big TM or GPS? Or are you will to add them later?

8. Look at the trailer?

A lot of guys over look this, but if your looking at 2 different boats that are similar in price look at the trailer, witch one is nicer or better shape you use the trailer just as much as the boat.

[bassboy1]

Set a max and stick to it.  And remember, it is not just the cost of the boat.  Then, there are safety items, modifications and stuff.  Plus plenty of beer.  

If you are looking at a jon boat, the things you should look at don't go much beyond does the motor run (if one is included) and are there any fiberglass patches.  Some patches are okay, but not Fglass ones.

With a bigger boat, there is a lot to look for, so you should probably take a friend who knows what the heck he is looking at.