At some stage you will be sitting there fishing with your mates or family, everybody on top of each other and the conversation will work its way around to needing a bigger boat (the topic is usually brought up by a mate that comes out frequently, has no problem spending your money and has more than likely already nailed down a couple of possible choices).

This is where the justification of the new boat starts happening, “we could go out and get a few Marlin if we go this big” or “if we went to this size we could overnight in it as well” or “we could bring the whole family out no worries at this size” etc etc.

From this point one of two things happens:

1: You go find a boat that fulfils all these requirements and find that it is probably gunna cost $80000 to $180000. So you go to your financial advisor (the missus) she laughs and walks away, or says sure when we win lotto and that’s the end of it for the next 2 – 5 years.

2: You are lucky enough that your partner is on board from the start, you find a boat together agree it’s what you want, buy it and start using it.

Then you find it’s too much of a hassle to get it in and out of the yard or to get it ready, that it’s not that comfortable to overnight in and you would rather just come home, that you can only get it in and out of the local ramp 2 hours each side of high tide, it’s too hard to handle at the ramp etc etc.

It soon becomes an expensive driveway ornament and the frequent fun times you had in your little boat become sorely missed.

The Right Way to Go Bigger

You sit down and seriously think about how often you will use it when it’s full of people vs just the two of you, how often you will go chasing Marlin, how hard it will be to get in and out of the yard or water when it’s just you and your partner, try overnighting in something similar if you can to see if it is really something you will do often.

IF YOU DO ALL THESE THINGS YOU WILL HAVE BROUGHT WHAT YOU NEED NOT WHAT YOU WANT and you will have a boat that will give you a lot of happy, fun times with no regrets a long way into the future. (Or you will still be stuck at the financial advisor stage)

Try Before You Buy

Something common I come across with people upgrading is that because they have been happy with the boat they have they don’t even look at other brands when going larger.

I’m not saying don’t stick to the same brand, I’m saying try a couple of others before you buy.

Any time you go bigger in the same brand the boat will be 95% of the time better at rest and be softer in rougher conditions, it’s really just physics BUT that doesn’t mean that model is better than the same size in another brand.

Even if you tested other brands before you brought your current boat and didn’t like them doesn’t mean the larger models will have the same shortfalls and remember you get more choice and more features as the models gets larger.

Lastly,

Some things that are relevant to everyone buying a boat like:

When Towing

People frequently ask all up tow weight but often forget there will also be a rating on your tow bar for downwards weight on the tongue, while tow weight can’t be helped, downwards weight can be by correct positioning of the axle(s).

Too much weight and your vehicle may have trouble steering and braking, too little weight and the trailer will push the back of your vehicle around (fishtailing).

As well as this remember:

· Trail weight over 1500kg must have hydraulic brakes.

· Trail weight over 2500kg must have electric over ride brakes.

· Combined weight (vehicle and trailer) over 4500kg must have class 2 licence.

And Budget

People I talk to that have a boat and are looking to go bigger want to get the biggest, fastest, newest boat they can for their money but often get caught up in what APPEARS to be the best value for money but often don’t look much further than that.

Some other things to think about budget wise are:

The Initial Purchase Price

There is no magic wand that can be waved over a boat to make it magically appear, if it is cheaper than the competition it is at the expense of something else, if the boat has similar features then it might be the trailer that is inferior or something behind the scenes that no one asks about, electrical wiring loom, steering components, navigation lights, bilge pump even the aluminium itself can be imported to save money and while it’s grade can still qualify as “Marine Grade” it’s quality can be a big step down (I have seen some inferior marine alloy go rusty!!).

There are of course ways to cut cost without cutting quality, simpler designs can cut labour down, a dealer trying to move a boat that he’s had for a while may cut their margin or you may get a better deal direct from the factory if this is an option and of course you do pay for the brand on the side of the boat, some more than others.

Resale Value

If you are upgrading then maybe resale isn’t as important but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth considering, I’ve lost count of the number of people that I speak to that had brought their last ever boat but were back looking again, usually because they got it wrong the last time.

In that circumstance you would hope they had given the resale a thought.

A look through the magazines or online to see how much and how many of the models, or even just the brands you are looking at are selling second hand for can help make your decision, if there are a heap of them for sale second hand why? or, if you can find hardly any or they move quickly chances are you will get closer to your asking price.

Warranties

I frequently get asked “how long is the warranty” answer “3 years” they tick the box and that’s it.

Be sure you know what is covered under warranty and for how long. ASK a 1-2-3-5+ year warranty WILL NOT COVER EVERYTHING. (This goes for hull, trailer and motor and the warranty may be conditional)

It may seem strange to put this under the price heading but there has to be some allowance made for this across the products sold and maybe sometimes cheaper can mean less warranty.

You will always have some cover under the consumers guaranties act and while you might think you are clever screwing the price down on the retailer at the time of purchase he will remember it and can still make it difficult to claim while still staying inside the terms of trade.

Well that’s all the unbiased advice I can give to someone upgrading their boat,

Now for some slightly more biased advice.

Here at Marco Boats

Here at Marco Boats we do our best to give you the boat you want we have a range of 20 models from 4.4m to 7.6m (LOA 4.4 to 8.3) so can find something to fit your requirements.

We mostly build only to order so don’t have stock to try to force on you.

We don’t even have dedicated sales men to bug you, everyone you talk to welds or grinds or fits out (except Laurette at reception), this means we all know exactly what goes into our boats and a fair bit about them as well.

We do of course have some dealers around as well and their circumstances may be a little different to ours but, the ones we do have we still have, because they give our customers the attention and after sales service we require and you expect.

As well as that you have our commitment to making sure our customers are as happy as possible.

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Marco Boats is a commercial business dedicated to the design, manufacture, sale and repair of customised aluminium fishing boats. The contents of the site are made available to help customers make the best choice when buying their next boat. To ensure you make the best selection please use the enquiry form to discuss your needs with a Marco Boats representative.