Advice

Many first time boat buyers don’t realise how many different brands of alloy boats there are, and all have similar concerns and questions.

Let’s take a look at some important information before you buy:

HANDLING THE BOAT

Handling the Boat When Towing

People often ask about tow weight, but often forget there is a rating on your tow bar for downwards weight on the tongue. While tow weight can’t be helped, downwards weight can be helped 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 6000kg must have a class 2 licence.

Handling the Boat at the Ramp

Another question relates to weight for holding the boat at the ramp while the car is being parked. The truth is, if you have a properly designed system for loading, unloading and holding your boat, any size should be easily manageable. Things like trailer guide poles, bow ropes, stern ropes, small holding anchors, etc, can all be made use of to take the work out of your time at the ramp. This may sound complicated but if you have the right length ropes worked out, etc, it will be very quick and easy. Make sure you know the ramp you are going to use and be confident using it. If you are nervous about it, have some practice runs when no one else is around. Being nervous at the ramp can mean you will be more likely to get flustered, make bad decisions and end up giving up on boating.

Handling the Boat on the Water

Despite what some say, there is no secret formula or weapon for this. For hull design, everything comes at a compromise - more stable at rest the harder it rides; better in a head sea worse in a following sea; etc. There are a few things that can be done to bend the rules but they still come at a compromise. Welded variable-width chine’s can help performance but cost more to fabricate. Flooding keels create stability at rest but add weight, so require more horsepower for similar performance to non-flooding hulls. They require deeper water to launch as they float lower and the nature of the cavity makes it impossible to clean all the salt out, which may cause corrosion at a later stage. Deep vee’s often require planning strake’s for lift, which adds wetted surface and which in turn makes a hull less efficient and can make an alloy hull a lot noisier inside.

The bottom line is, narrow down the models you like and test-drive them to see if the performance is what suits you.

THE PRICE

The Initial Purchase Price

If a boat is cheaper than the competition, it is at the expense of something else. For example 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, the bilge pump and even the aluminium itself can be imported to save money and while its grade can still qualify as “Marine Grade” its quality can be a big step down. There are of course ways to cut costs 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.

Resale Value

Often a first boat is a stepping stone whether it’s planned that way or not. Something to consider is what the boat will be worth to sell or trade in 2, 5 or 10 years’ time. A look through magazines or online to see how much, and how many, of the models or 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, consider why. Or, if you can find hardly any, or they move quickly, chances are you will get closer to your asking price.

BOAT SIZE

Or more specifically: “What does the number on the side refer to?”

It should really only be used as a guide. Some people think because the number on one boat is bigger than another it must be a bigger boat. Not true; there is no standard measurement for what the number has to refer to. It can be:

LOA (length overall) which is tip to tip.

HL (hull length) which excludes additions like boarding platforms and bow sprits.

LWL (length on water line) which is basically the length of contact the boat makes with the water when floating.

As well as variations in between, the best advice I can give people is to forget about the number on the side and instead stand in the boat and see if it “feels” big enough. If you need to, get a tape measure out to satisfy yourself.

BUT… WHAT WILL IT BE USED FOR?

Now all your questions are answered, time to buy a boat right? But have you thought about what you want the boat for and what is required? I like to do my best to give the customer exactly what will suit them best. I like to listen, offer alternatives or solutions and ask questions as in the long run it will result in happier customers. Some of the questions I ask which you should aim to know the answers to before buying are:

Primary Use

What will it be used for the majority (e.g. 50 - 80%) of the time? With alloy boats it’s usually fishing.

Secondary Uses

These are the things it may be used for occasionally such as diving, water skiing, overnighting, etc. But be realistic about how much the boat is dedicated to secondary uses. You may be able to add uses together to better determine your requirements, i.e. if you fish half the time but dive and ski a lot, you may want to forego a little cockpit space to give the boarding area more room to get on and off. Alternatively, if there is only a couple of people on the boat at a time it may not be a concern to give a lot of space to the cabin as there will still be plenty of space in the cockpit for the people on board.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Number of people on board

This needs to be considered not only from a comfort/practicality standpoint, but safety as well. It is not uncommon for people, especially those new to boats, to all go rushing to the side when a fish is brought up. If the boat is not capable of carrying such a load, you might find yourself in a nasty situation.

How Far Off Shore

How far from shore you go should also be considered. There are models in similar size ranges that are considered more “blue water” boats. This is due to the construction methods and materials used.

Towing Considerations

What will the boat be towed with? Will it be safe to tow? Is it legal for the boat to be towed with it?

Boat Storage

Where will it be stored? Will it fit length wise, height wise, width wise?

YOUR BUDGET

Don’t be afraid to let the dealer know what your budget is. There may be other options to bring the price down but still get what you want, and you will never know if you walk away without giving them the chance. If you have a budget then stick to it but remember the most expensive way to buy is on price, especially if you soon realise the boat is not exactly what you wanted. Sometimes the better option is to hold off a little longer until what you really want is in budget.

WARRANTIES

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 sometimes cheaper can mean reduced warranty. You will always have some cover under the Consumer Guarantees Act and while you might think you are clever screwing the price down on the retailer at the time of purchase, they will remember it and can still make it difficult to claim while still staying inside the terms of trade.

FINAL ADVICE

Now you should be ready to buy a boat. Make sure you drive the deal with the seller to get what you want, not what they want. That’s enough unbiased advice, now it’s time for my plug.

Here at Marco Boats

At Marco Boats we do our best to give you the boat you want. We have a range of models so you can find something to fit your requirements. We mostly build only to order so don’t have stock to try to force on you. Furthermore, we don’t have dedicated sales people to bug you. Everyone you talk to welds or grinds or fits out which 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, and their circumstances may be a little different to ours, but the ones we do have are there 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.

Contact us now for a free no obligation quote

If you are upsizing your boat then the list of things to consider is a little different from that of the first time boat buyer.

Need Versus Want

It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of buying bigger without really sitting down to think about what you NEED versus what you WANT.

The Wrong Way to Go Bigger

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.

This is where the justification of the new boat starts happening, e.g.

“We could go out and get a few Marlin if we go this big.”

“If we went to this size we could overnight in it as well.”

“We could bring the whole family out no worries at this size.”

But should you go ahead with getting a bigger boat, you may find it’s too much of a hassle to get it in and out of the yard, that it’s not that comfortable to overnight in, that you can only get it in and out of the local ramp two hours each side of high tide, that it’s too hard to handle at the ramp, 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

Sit down and seriously think about how often you will use it when it’s full of people vs just one or two, how often you will go chasing Marlin, how hard it will be to get in and out of the yard or water, and whether you really will be overnighting in it. If you consider 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 in the future.

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY

Some people don’t even look at other brands when upsizing because they have been happy with the boat they have. I think it’s a good idea to check out a couple of other brands before you upsize, as different builders bring different ideas to the table, without looking around you may miss out on features that could really work for you, and while your current boat brand and model may work for you in your last boat, hull characteristics can vary greatly across different models of the same brand.

When Towing

People often ask about tow weight but often forget there is a rating on your tow bar for downwards weight on the tongue. While tow weight can’t be helped, downwards weight can be helped 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 6000kg must have a class 2 license.

Other things to think about budget-wise are:

The Initial Purchase Price

If a boat is cheaper than the competition, it is at the expense of something else. For example 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, the bilge pump and even the aluminium itself can be imported to save money and while its grade can still qualify as “Marine Grade” its quality can be a big step down.

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.

Resale Value

If you are upsizing 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 resale a thought. A look through magazines or online, to see how much, and how many, of the models or 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, consider why. Or, if you can find hardly any, or they move quickly, chances are you will get closer to your asking price.

There are a couple of situations that I commonly see when people are downgrading their boat. They are either downsizing from a launch because they can’t justify the costs for the amount the boat gets used.

Costs such as:

Mooring fees

Marina fees

Fuel Costs

Insurance costs

Maintenance costs

Or, they are going from a large trailer boat down to something smaller because the boat is:

Too hard to handle

Doesn’t get used much

Is tying up too much money

Or they have worked out you don’t need to travel for miles to catch fish and have fun so the big boat is overkill.

So, you have decided to downgrade for whatever reason, looked around and found the type of boat you want and it’s time for a deal. This brings me to the only specific downgrading information I can think of …

BE A CASH BUYER

No dealer wants to give a boat and cash to a customer for a second hand boat; it’s not good for cash flow and they will only do it if there is A LOT in it for them somewhere, either in the price they are stinging for the boat or the amount they are offering for the trade. This probably isn’t that relevant to downsizing from a launch as not many places will trade them for trailer boats. There are of course times when it might work out, like if the trade is a high demand boat.

You will get a much better deal if you sell the boat yourself and then buy with cash. I know it’s easier to trade; you don’t have to deal with all the tyre kickers, advertising, etc.

As an example:

Let’s say your boat’s current market value is $100,000

The boat you want to trade on is $40,000 RRP

Fair trade for a dealer would be around 20% less than market value to account for the money it will tie up (and don’t forget that a dealer has a bit more comeback on them for after-sales problems than a private sale does).

So, $80,000 trade offer.

Then with the new boat the dealer will usually find a way to bump the price up a bit, say another $2000 for a deal that will tie up extra cash. Or in some situations, there may be an opportunity to get a discount on asking price, a 5% discount for a cash buyer on a stock boat depending on season is realistic.

Add that up and what do we have:

Cash buyer

$100,000 cash in hand for boat sale, pays $38,000 and has $62,000 left over.

Trade

$80,000 value of trade, pays $42,000 and has $38,000 left over.

Can you be bothered selling it now? And let’s face it, Trade Me is pretty easy to use.

BUDGET

People I talk to often get caught up in what APPEARS to be the best value for money but often don’t look much further than that. Things to think about budget-wise are:

The Initial Purchase Price

If a boat is cheaper than the competition, it is at the expense of something else. For example 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, the bilge pump and even the aluminium itself can be imported to save money and while its grade can still qualify as “Marine Grade” its quality can be a big step down. 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.

Resale Value

If you are downsizing 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 resale a thought. A look through magazines or online, to see how much, and how many, of the models or 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, consider why. Or, if you can find hardly any, or they move quickly, chances are you will get closer to your asking price.

Your One Stop Shop.

At Marco Boats, we don’t just build boats…

Taking care of your boat is a high priority for the team at Marco Boats. Even if we are flat out with new builds, we will do our best to keep your Marco Boat on the water. We carry out or can organise marine insurance repairs from the more common broken windscreens, right through to damaged hulls from on-water impacts and trailering mishaps. Where work load allows we will repair alloy boats with corrosion problems and are happy to work with you, if you wish to keep costs down by preparing the boat for welding yourself, or you can have us take care of the whole repair.

CLEANING AND PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE

The biggest problem is salt build up. A good hose down and wash is fine for normal everyday use but more is needed on occasion. On bare alloy a spray and wipe of Inox, or similar moisture repellent, once every three months or so will keep the alloy in good condition and help to reduce water marks.

Once a year it is a good idea to run fresh water through the bungs into the sealed chambers. Done with salt away is the best, potentially even some dishwashing liquid, but nothing too corrosive. Once say 20-30 L is in each tank put the bungs back in then tow the boat for a while to get the water in and around all the areas. Then empty and rinse out.

Anchor lockers in boats with auto winches need to have the rope and chain pulled out and rinsed of salt at least once a year, while it isn’t so much of a problem with boats where the anchor is used more commonly, when it isn’t used much the salt build up around the drain can cause corrosion issues quite quickly.

For painted boats a wax and polish once a year is needed to keep the paint in good condition, but it is a good idea to keep an eye out for bubbling in the paint. Bubbling is unavoidable with aluminium and will always happen at some stage. It is easiest to have the small bubbles touched up once a year to stop them getting too bad and the bigger they get the faster they spread.

FITTING AFTER-MARKET PARTS

Keep stainless fittings and fasteners to a minimum, don’t drill through sealed chambers and ensure electrics are ground back to battery. Any carpet or mattings need to be removed between uses so they can dry properly and any salt in the matting doesn’t stay in constant contact with one part of the alloy as this speeds up the corrosion process.

DO NOT ALLOW SINKERS TO REMAIN IN CONTACT WITH ALLOY FOR LONG PERIODS. Turn the battery isolation switch off.

Wooden floors in alloy boats should be lifted up at least once every second year with the flotation removed and cleaned of salt, the floor washed of any build-up of leaves, salt, etc; bottom of floors checked for rot and everything allowed to dry completely then put down again.

TRAILER MAINTENANCE

Grease coupling to avoid wear. Pump the handbrake on braked trailers a couple of times a month. This keeps everything moving and reduces the likelihood of brakes sticking, Also don’t leave hydraulic brakes locked on for long periods as the brake cylinders can corrode which will cut out the seals over time, chock the trailer and release the brakes when it is parked for long periods. Check the trailer plug. Opening the slits in the connector a little bit gives better contact and will frequently fix tail lights that aren’t working.