May 06, 2007

The 5 Most Important Things to Remember When Buying a Used Wake Boat

5. When it comes to I.O., the answer is usually N.O.
People have managed to make stern-drives work for wakeboarding, and hats off to those individuals who have managed to make that variety of lemonade. Many manufacturers even sell wakeboarding branded stern-drive versions of their 17-22ft runabouts. If you are in a position to influence a buying decision, or are making it yourself, understand that there are reasons why stern-drives are not the boat of choice for professional riders, schools and camps. The same principle applies to serious riders and even riders who just aspire to have fun, not get hurt and maybe in the process impress their wife and friends. They choose inboards because they cooperate better with speed control, wake consistency and simply produce a better wake. And that's what it's all about.

Sidebar: About that draft/depth issue; if you compare an inboard and a similarly sized stern-drive with a hydraulic lifting outdrive, the difference isn't that tremendous. We're really not talking about a huge difference here in draft. For example, max draft on the Bayliner 225 is 33 inches with the drive down, and 18 with the outdrive raised, while the 2007 Super Air Nautique 210 draws 28 inches period. For a difference of 10 inches, it doesn't seem like that should be able to influence these decisions as much as they tend to. And if you're really concerned about depths to that degree, perhaps you shouldn't be riding in that body of water to begin with.

I have observed many people kick off a decision to buy a wake boat, and announce that the boat will be used for this sport almost exclusively. Later in the process that same person goes and ultimately decides to buy an IO because they perceived a better value, since $20,000 bought them a brand new IO - and that kind of money can not do the same toward an inboard. In fact, without thinking outside of the box, that same $20,000 would not put them NEAR what is currently marketed as, and sold as, and branded as, and outfitted as, a brand new "wakeboard boat" - and it is a shame. There is also sometimes an issue with explaining this concept to Mom & Dad who are the ones writing the check and prefer to buy new whenever possible. And occasionally a late addition to the list of requirements someone searching will add to the equation, is that it has to be great in 2-4ft seas within the flats of Lake Erie or something like that. It gets to be such a tricky situation. I don't like seeing people assume that they are spending their money more intelligently on a newer IO in lieu of seriously considering the used, even "500 hour" used, inboard boats on the market at any given time.

4. Be ready to travel. Far.
If you don't own a Ford F350 Super Crew Power Stroke Diesel, and aren't a retiree with lots of time for thousand mile road trips, don't fret. But at the same time you are conducting your search, it would be helpful to have certain logistic issues worked out ahead of time. Among the things you consider, safely pulling your new toy home should be orbiting around in your brain along with insuring, financing and storing said vessel.

While there are many shipping companies that will provide door to door support for you, my personal feelings are slanted toward handling this transportation step yourself. I would recommend getting creative and seeing how far you can cast your search - and if you find something at the edge of that line and you don't own a flatbed and can't borrow a big vehicle, look into the rental rules at your local Home Depot or Uhaul. Some of those rental pickups have tow packages and flexible rules around their use. This option can be useful in these situations but I would not recommend walking in and announcing your plans to use one of their moving trucks to tow 3500lbs across the country with a megaphone. Be stealthy. Like a Ninja. But make sure what you do is legal. Carefully though. Ninja-like. Quietly.

And if you haven't towed for a long distance before, bring a friend. Long distance towing is not what I would call "relaxing". You'll want someone with you to calm you down when you think you feel or hear a wobble. Speaking from experience here... I get jumpy on long distance tows - wait - **WHAT WAS THAT!?!**. Sorry. Flashback.

3. Never fall in love.
Fall in love with people, but not personal belongings (wedding rings and family heirlooms being the exception) and definitely not boats that you don't own. This is analogous to the smart shopper's willingness to walk away. With a boat it can be tremendously difficult to do exactly that but you must sometimes. This really applies to item number 1 in this list - read on please. You'll have plenty of time to love whatever boat you purchase, but try your best to replace your heart with a fuel pump while you're searching so as to not upset yourself unduly if you are dealing with a seller or situation that is less than terrific. Anecdotally I came pretty close to "love" on a 2003 Super Air Nautique in my dream color combo - white with a carolina blue primary stripe and darker blue secondary stripe - Team Edition, loaded, distressed property (which usually translates as perfection for the buyer)... but it just did not work out. The boat I eventually purchased does all the same things that the "one that got away" did, was $6000 less, had 100 less hours, and we never looked back.

2. Buy the hull, not the boat.
Our Budget Wake Boat Breakdown Chart goes into deep detail about this concept, but the point is simple. Learn about the hulls that create the finest experience for your sport, and buy that hull. Please do not get mesmerized by thousands of dollars of add-on components, color combos, or other items. The hull is what you should be your primary driver for purchasing a wakeboarding boat. Not the tower speakers. Heck - not even the tower itself should have much influence (boats already equipped with original 2000-2003, 2005 and 2006 Correct Craft Flight Control Towers and forward-swept Malibu Illusions being the only notable exceptions). But these issues were the reason I put the chart together - to get people to understand the concept of buying the hull and not the "wake boat", as the identity of a wake boat is year after year becoming less about the hull and more about unnecessary components, gadgets, lights, stereo equipment, billet chrome metalflake and on and on, into b.s. oblivion.

1. NADA Values are your ally, your secret weapon, and for all intents and purposes, the truth.
If you see a 1986 Ski Nautique 2001 advertised at $14,000, please consult the numbers before plunking down that much money on a boat advertised at a price that indicates the seller is not prepared to sell it. Resale values in certain segments of the wakeboarding community on some used boats are acceptably higher. Some examples that come to mind are the MasterCraft Prostar 205, the Correct Craft Sport Nautique and Super Sport variants, and the legendary 1982-1989 Ski Nautique 2001. Again some natural inflation on the resale on these boats are acceptable. But consider this scenario: you go and take your perfect credit score and somehow secure a sort of "no questions asked" loan for an amount of money that far exceeds the money you'd recoup if the boat sank or was totaled (or you pay with cash, Dr. Moneybag T. Welloff!) and then you take that boat and sink and/or total it. Your insurance company, just like they do with cars, will pay you for what they think the boat is worth. And a 1986 Ski Nautique is not worth $14000 to them, to me, nor to anyone else but you and perhaps the seller from which you purchased it; so you'll be in approximately $7,000 worth of pain if something happens. But we all know nothing ever happens like that, so don't worry. Remember that with few exceptions, these companies pumped many boats per year, and as such you should widen your search radius; and review item 4 if you need to.

I wanted to put this together to assist you busy boat shoppers this lovely Spring. I hope you found it useful and please contact me if you have any thoughts or suggestions. Feedback in the comments area is appreciated.

Posted by erik