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The Boat Fanatic Thread


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13 minutes ago, Landomatic said:

No truer words.

You were right.  Shoulda been more confident in it.

Also, no truer words.

Gotta trust your gut and do what works for you on some of this shit.  Not saying you should spend half a mil on a Riva, but you seem like the kinda guy who might appreciate at least a Chris-Craft.

If I was buying a day boat, the list would begin and end with a Chris-Craft Corsair.

I’m not buying a Riva or a vintage Ferrari right now.  Wish I was, but I’m not.  Interesting.  Those do look very nice, and I don’t know much about boats but I certainly know that name.  There are a few older ones that would appear to be in the realm of the budget, but not many available at all.  Will do further investigation, although I think at the end of the day I am going to want something a little more fishing centric with some nice bells and whistles.  I fished a lot inland as a kid, haven’t done it much in the last 20 years, and a couple of salt water charter trips the last few years have kind of lit that fire in me again.   Something about salt water makes me happy in a way that lakes don’t.  Pulling a redfish out of a tidal marsh is just better than pulling a crappie out of my grandfather’s boat slip that was loaded down with Xmas trees.  The fishing is the pull for me, the bells and whistles are for my permission slip.

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On 2/15/2021 at 12:10 AM, Landomatic said:

No truer words.

You were right.  Shoulda been more confident in it.

Also, no truer words.

Gotta trust your gut and do what works for you on some of this shit.  Not saying you should spend half a mil on a Riva, but you seem like the kinda guy who might appreciate at least a Chris-Craft.

If I was buying a day boat, the list would begin and end with a Chris-Craft Corsair.

My cousin is a Chris-Craft dealer in ATX.  Lemme know if you need a number.

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On 2/14/2021 at 11:34 AM, Landomatic said:

Explained...glad you got it.

Also explained, but maybe you missed it.  Get a good broker to help you.  Dealers are most likely not your friend.

From my understanding, Chaparrels are crap.

I think, much like your thoughts on buying new, you could not be more wrong here.

I think you need to do A LOT more homework.  Not trying to be an asshole, just trying to help you out.

Appreciate the comments. I’ve been looking for awhile. What brand and model of boat would you recommend, and years/hours? We want something around 20-21 ft that can do basic skiing, fishing, tubing, etc. 

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8 hours ago, justhookit said:

And holy Jesus this is the first time since I moved my boat to Costa Rica that I wished it was here. Fire up the generator and with 875 gallons I’d be good to go for the duration off this bullshit.

Yeah, I feel for yall. Hope everyone is making out alright.

 

One of the boats in the race have 3 crew from Texas that can't get out to get here.

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10 hours ago, Dbeasy said:

Appreciate the comments. I’ve been looking for awhile. What brand and model of boat would you recommend, and years/hours? We want something around 20-21 ft that can do basic skiing, fishing, tubing, etc. 

Do you ever go to the coast? Rather than buy a Tahoe/Ranger/etc fish and ski, you could look at a dual console boat that would hold it’s value better but it also will be higher on the front end. They will have a higher freeboard than a traditional lake fish/ski, but are more versatile. You should be able to find them at all price points so I would look at brands that are popular locally.

They will all be outboards and at that size you will have minimal systems to work on.

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10 minutes ago, Brew said:

Do you ever go to the coast? Rather than buy a Tahoe/Ranger/etc fish and ski, you could look at a dual console boat that would hold it’s value better but it also will be higher on the front end. They will have a higher freeboard than a traditional lake fish/ski, but are more versatile. You should be able to find them at all price points so I would look at brands that are popular locally.

They will all be outboards and at that size you will have minimal systems to work on.

It had been years since we went to the coast, but just recently started going again. However, for all our fishing, bay or offshore, we just want to hire out a boat. We did that in November with a surly recommended captain out of south padre and it was great. 

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I would still take a look at a DC just to compare. To be honest, most people have switched over to 20-22 foot bay boats for the use you are looking for. Everything I see now is bay boat, tow boat, or pontoon at the lake. I’m not sure how many traditional fish and ski boats are still made outside of Tahoe’s and the more “walleye” style boats that several moved over to. If you have a Robalo or Key West dealer local, you could look at a 20-22 foot DC and bay boat side by side and see if either model interests you. I’m not recommending either brand, it would just be an easy way to look.

Past that, if you’re going with a traditional 20-21 foot fish and ski, just find what you like. Pricing will not be outrageous and someone down the road will buy it. A pontoon will also serve all those requests just for the record. They aren’t popular on here, but they work well as a multi use boat.

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10 hours ago, Dbeasy said:

Appreciate the comments. I’ve been looking for awhile. What brand and model of boat would you recommend, and years/hours? We want something around 20-21 ft that can do basic skiing, fishing, tubing, etc. 

I honestly could not even begin to give you advice on what to get just based on size and use.  There are a ton of other factors.  In reading your post(s) though, you just reminded me of myself when I was first starting in this whole hobby and I'm floored by how much I didn't know.  And I've also learned enough to know that I still don't know jack shit and have a ton to learn.  Lots of people on this thread who know a fuck ton more than me.  But with regard to years and hours, it wouldn't scare me a bit to get something up to 15 or so years old and several hundred hours.

That said, to be more specific, here are some of the things I think I know based on what you've posted...

Quote

I’m looking at Chaparral because it’s a quality brand and they have a cool fish and ski model I like. Msrp is $47/52k, but only one dealer in Austin because Chaparrals don’t sell a lot here. They sell a ton in DFW where I used to live. The Austin dealer is ski dock and seems pretty much like a half ass dealer. The Lewisville dealer is a major dealer for chaparral.

Couple things here.  There is only one dealer in Austin because most markets only have one dealer per brand.  There is only one Chapparal dealer in DFW too.  That said, I'm on the biggest lake in DFW and I don't see that many Chapparals.  They may be selling a lot of them to other lakes, but I don't see them a lot where I'm at and we have their dealership at the entrance of our marina.

Also, I spent a few hours with the owner of the dealership, which is Plano Marine (my understanding is that they are a very good dealer - after all of my local research, they were the only dealership I was willing to work with after getting screwed by the first one).  I specifically asked him about Chapparal and he referred to it as one of their "budget brands".  He also knew we were looking more at a cruiser and Chapparal doesn't really do that.  So, that probably had more to do with it.  The brand he was trying to get me into was a Cruisers Yachts.

I'm sure Chapparal does a lot of volume and their marketing and all that looks nice.  They're probably a lot more popular with trailering boaters than the slip boaters, but the dock talk where my slip's at is that they're on the lower tier.  Others may weigh in and correct me if I'm wrong, but my limited research on that type of boat has been that I would much rather have something older that's a better brand.  They remind me of the Regal that I bought new that I almost got really screwed on.  Kind of a good from far, but far from good, lipstick on a pig type of brand.

Also, if, in fact, there aren't a lot of Chapparals around Austin like you said, that might be something you should consider because it will have an impact when it comes time for resale.  That was one of my broker's concerns on a few different brands; that we don't live in ________ (fill in the blank) country.  That's not to say if you find exactly what you want, you need to pass just for that (I ended up buying a Carver and this is certainly not Carver country), but it is a factor more than you might think.

Quote

Ya appreciate the input. I remember that conversation and I think everyone’s right, but I think for my particular situation it might work out ok. We are all a bunch of half assers in everything: fishing, skiing, tubing, etc. We are all just happy to get out on a boat. I don’t think a combo boat would work for most people, but I’m thinking it might for us. 

You might be right here, but I've learned in most things in life, when you think you are going to miraculously be the one rare exception to the rule...you're not.  I don't know a lot about the type of boat you're talking about (I don't really fish or ski or tube), but I wouldn't want to spend $50K and end up being half pregnant.  And if enough people with no agenda other than to try to help you out, tell you something, you should probably listen.

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Dbeasy sounds like a great candidate for a boat club this summer. Spend $400 a month for 6 months, see what y’all like to use and what you do, and go from there.

Buying new would be the last thing I would do. The good thing about the chaparrals and the tahoes and other budget do-it-all platforms is you can find one that is 3 years old with about 25 hours on it for half off. There are a lot of “you’s” out there. Someone said half-pregnant above and that’s accurate.

The bay boat rec is pretty solid. Tons of value in those boats.

Go rent some boats or do the boat club.

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2 minutes ago, Handcruser said:

Dbeasy sounds like a great candidate for a boat club this summer. Spend $400 a month for 6 months, see what y’all like to use and what you do, and go from there.

Buying new would be the last thing I would do. The good thing about the chaparrals and the tahoes and other budget do-it-all platforms is you can find one that is 3 years old with about 25 hours on it for half off. There are a lot of “you’s” out there. Someone said half-pregnant above and that’s accurate.

The bay boat rec is pretty solid. Tons of value in those boats.

Go rent some boats or do the boat club.

Aren’t there initiation fees that make the math a little more complicated than that?  The boat club websites I looked at were pretty vague about the money involved and I am not real motivated to give them my contact info and be harassed for months prior to moving.

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Aren’t there initiation fees that make the math a little more complicated than that?  The boat club websites I looked at were pretty vague about the money involved and I am not real motivated to give them my contact info and be harassed for months prior to moving.

Probably. Let’s say it’s $1000.

Sign up: $1000
Monthly: $500
Gas usage and misc monthly: $300

12 months: $10,600. If you stay 12 months.

New:
50k when you pull up
Worth 35k when you drive off
Worth 25k after a year or so.

Let’s compare:
Boat club costs you ~10k for the year.
New costs you 35k for the first year (depreciation. Insurance, gas, maintenance, all the toys, storage, etc).

25k delta potentially. And I think my numbers are a little high for the boat club.
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1 minute ago, Handcruser said:


Probably. Let’s say it’s $1000.

Sign up: $1000
Monthly: $500
Gas usage and misc monthly: $300

12 months: $10,600. If you stay 12 months.

New:
50k when you pull up
Worth 35k when you drive off
Worth 25k after a year or so.

Let’s compare:
Boat club costs you ~10k for the year.
New costs you 35k for the first year (depreciation. Insurance, gas, maintenance, all the toys, storage, etc).

25k delta potentially. And I think my numbers are a little high for the boat club.

That seems low on the initiation fee.  Maybe it varies by market?  Is it refundable/partially refundable?  If it’s only $1k it’s a no brainer, but the numbers I recall seeing were high enough that I crossed it off as a short-term option.  My memory says it was $4k and there was no info about whether or not you got any of it back when you leave.   If it was only $1k and was at least 50% refundable I would be all over that for a few months.  I may have to give in and provide my contact info to get the actual numbers.  Making all of my rookie mistakes on somebody else’s boat is an appealing option.  Kind of like when my dad rented a manual transmission car to teach me how to drive a stick.

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We have been members at Nautical Lakeway since 2015, started in Volente. Our monthly is only $365 but they have gone up. Our initiation was $2600 then.
 

They have tiered memberships now and all are over $4k to join. Some only give access on weekdays, some only allow pontoons and cheap bow riders, the top allows everything including the wakeboard boats. Also you have to commit to 12 months there is no 6 month obligation. 


We stick around because a slip rental is more than our monthly fee.

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3 minutes ago, LebongJames said:

We have been members at Nautical Lakeway since 2015, started in Volente. Our monthly is only $365 but they have gone up. Our initiation was $2600 then.
 

They have tiered memberships now and all are over $4k to join. Some only give access on weekdays, some only allow pontoons and cheap bow riders, the top allows everything including the wakeboard boats. Also you have to commit to 12 months there is no 6 month obligation. 


We stick around because a slip rental is more than our monthly fee.

Is the initiation fee refundable when you leave? 

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17 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

That seems low on the initiation fee.  Maybe it varies by market?  Is it refundable/partially refundable?  If it’s only $1k it’s a no brainer, but the numbers I recall seeing were high enough that I crossed it off as a short-term option.  My memory says it was $4k and there was no info about whether or not you got any of it back when you leave.   If it was only $1k and was at least 50% refundable I would be all over that for a few months.  I may have to give in and provide my contact info to get the actual numbers.  Making all of my rookie mistakes on somebody else’s boat is an appealing option.  Kind of like when my dad rented a manual transmission car to teach me how to drive a stick.

I called either Freedom or Nautical before I bought my boat and they weren't bad at all about taking me off their contact list once I told them I was going to pass.  Never heard from them again after I told them no one time.

That said, I did the real math after talking to them and it just wasn't for me.  May have penciled out to be slightly cheaper than the new boat I was thinking of for one year, but I remember it feeling much more "time-share ripoff" and not nearly enough "vacation home investment".  However, when I did my calculations, I probably didn't take into account several of the factors (i.e. depreciation) that others have mentioned.  So it may have penciled out better than I initially thought.

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4 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

Thanks.  That and the year requirement crosses it off the list for me.   I looked it up and the membership fee is $3k-$8k.  I’m guessing that my preferences in boats/weekends/etc. would probably have me closer to 8k than 3k. 

Yep, this is where I was.  Boat limits and specific day limits, as well as hour limits just didn't do it for me.  Still might be the right move for some people though.

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1 minute ago, Landomatic said:

Yep, this is where I was.  Boat limits and specific day limits, as well as hour limits just didn't do it for me.  Still might be the right move for some people though.

When I have a couple of friends decide to visit on short notice I really  don’t want to have to check the reservation system to determine if we can get out out on the water.  Thanks for confirming my initial impression of the whole thing.

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36 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

When I have a couple of friends decide to visit on short notice I really  don’t want to have to check the reservation system to determine if we can get out out on the water.  Thanks for confirming my initial impression of the whole thing.

This is my only issue with the club. But Nautical keeps only 2 year old boats that run around $100k for the wakeboard and $80k for other boats. I don’t want to tow a boat either. Our monthly total would be absolutely massive compared to the club. I also like getting back to the dock filling up with gas and bouncing to lunch or dinner. We never have to think about cleaning or insurance.

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1 hour ago, LebongJames said:

This is my only issue with the club. But Nautical keeps only 2 year old boats that run around $100k for the wakeboard and $80k for other boats. I don’t want to tow a boat either. Our monthly total would be absolutely massive compared to the club. I also like getting back to the dock filling up with gas and bouncing to lunch or dinner. We never have to think about cleaning or insurance.

we put $9000 down on our boat and our payment + insurance is $800 per month.  Slip fees are $170 per month.   I'd say it's just over 2x more to own in our case but that's totally worth it for me given how much we use and when we use (summers we don't go out until after 6pm and stay out until after sunset (9pm)).  boat clubs are not feasible for our use.

cleaning, maintenance, repairs that's something we have to deal with to have what we want.  repairs have been nil it's still under 5 years old. cleaning isn't a huge issue, we detail once a year and then with no food policy and a cover keep it relatively clean with a few spray downs throughout the summer season.

but if you want easy and you aren't near your own slip, then the boat club is great.  to me having to deal with a trailer or an all day event because you don't live close is just too much.  so finding the easy button for your situation is the advice I would always give, and the boat club is often that.  it was for me initially.

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30 minutes ago, troph said:

we put $9000 down on our boat and our payment + insurance is $800 per month.  Slip fees are $170 per month.   I'd say it's just over 2x more to own in our case but that's totally worth it for me given how much we use and when we use (summers we don't go out until after 6pm and stay out until after sunset (9pm)).  boat clubs are not feasible for our use.

cleaning, maintenance, repairs that's something we have to deal with to have what we want.  repairs have been nil it's still under 5 years old. cleaning isn't a huge issue, we detail once a year and then with no food policy and a cover keep it relatively clean with a few spray downs throughout the summer season.

but if you want easy and you aren't near your own slip, then the boat club is great.  to me having to deal with a trailer or an all day event because you don't live close is just too much.  so finding the easy button for your situation is the advice I would always give, and the boat club is often that.  it was for me initially.

This is intriguing. Where do you have a slip for $170? We live in the Lost Creek area so we wouldn’t want to be much farther out than Lakeway. The time limitations are the only thing I complain about. Would love some later evening rides. We could get out later and not have to worry about being back by 8.

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Just now, LebongJames said:

This is intriguing. Where do you have a slip for $170? We live in the Lost Creek area so we wouldn’t want to be much farther out than Lakeway. The time limitations are the only thing I complain about. Would love some later evening rides. We could get out later and not have to worry about being back by 8.

Private HOA marina. It’s way under market. We were 3x that before at lakeway marina for an admittedly larger slip.   The boat club is a great deal, it’s become less great with up front membership deposits, I think when I was in FBC it was minimal or waived.

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7 minutes ago, troph said:

Private HOA marina. It’s way under market. We were 3x that before at lakeway marina for an admittedly larger slip.

 

Just now, Anastasis said:

$170 is crazy cheap.  I was paying close to that for a sailboat @ Dodd St Docks like more than a decade ago.  

Damn mine is right at $1,000 month plus electrical.  Plus I had to pay like $3K extra up front because it was already built out with some dock space.  So they charged the initial people who had the dock built out a stupid amount for the build out, then they ding everyone who rents it after that another few grand.  What a fucking racket.

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9 minutes ago, Landomatic said:

How am I supposed to enjoy my charcuterie board and champagne?

Well, all we do is surf, you sir have a bonafide kitchen with a spot for fresh flowers. If there ain’t champagne and fresh flowers I definitely ain’t showing up.

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1 minute ago, LebongJames said:

Ok that’s what we’ve seen at Lakeway as well. They told us $6k for a slip a few months back.

When we switched to owning a boat we assumed the cost of the slip was the boat club fees and the cost of the boat was our personal boating freedom. Pun intended.  

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14 hours ago, Landomatic said:

I honestly could not even begin to give you advice on what to get just based on size and use.  There are a ton of other factors.  In reading your post(s) though, you just reminded me of myself when I was first starting in this whole hobby and I'm floored by how much I didn't know.  And I've also learned enough to know that I still don't know jack shit and have a ton to learn.  Lots of people on this thread who know a fuck ton more than me.  But with regard to years and hours, it wouldn't scare me a bit to get something up to 15 or so years old and several hundred hours.

That said, to be more specific, here are some of the things I think I know based on what you've posted...

Couple things here.  There is only one dealer in Austin because most markets only have one dealer per brand.  There is only one Chapparal dealer in DFW too.  That said, I'm on the biggest lake in DFW and I don't see that many Chapparals.  They may be selling a lot of them to other lakes, but I don't see them a lot where I'm at and we have their dealership at the entrance of our marina.

Also, I spent a few hours with the owner of the dealership, which is Plano Marine (my understanding is that they are a very good dealer - after all of my local research, they were the only dealership I was willing to work with after getting screwed by the first one).  I specifically asked him about Chapparal and he referred to it as one of their "budget brands".  He also knew we were looking more at a cruiser and Chapparal doesn't really do that.  So, that probably had more to do with it.  The brand he was trying to get me into was a Cruisers Yachts.

I'm sure Chapparal does a lot of volume and their marketing and all that looks nice.  They're probably a lot more popular with trailering boaters than the slip boaters, but the dock talk where my slip's at is that they're on the lower tier.  Others may weigh in and correct me if I'm wrong, but my limited research on that type of boat has been that I would much rather have something older that's a better brand.  They remind me of the Regal that I bought new that I almost got really screwed on.  Kind of a good from far, but far from good, lipstick on a pig type of brand.

Also, if, in fact, there aren't a lot of Chapparals around Austin like you said, that might be something you should consider because it will have an impact when it comes time for resale.  That was one of my broker's concerns on a few different brands; that we don't live in ________ (fill in the blank) country.  That's not to say if you find exactly what you want, you need to pass just for that (I ended up buying a Carver and this is certainly not Carver country), but it is a factor more than you might think.

You might be right here, but I've learned in most things in life, when you think you are going to miraculously be the one rare exception to the rule...you're not.  I don't know a lot about the type of boat you're talking about (I don't really fish or ski or tube), but I wouldn't want to spend $50K and end up being half pregnant.  And if enough people with no agenda other than to try to help you out, tell you something, you should probably listen.

I didn't really want to say it, because people should buy what suits them. But Chapparals are kinda the Kia of boats. They are a good value, but the depreciation is killer, because of customer service, reputation, and build quality. Rinker (Stinker), Bayliner, Hurricane, and all of the Bass Pro boats, Tracker, Bass Tracker, etc., have shit for resale value. Del Magic is one, in my area, that suffers the same fate. Chapparels have a really shitty hull design, they really aren't good at anything.

CHIEF

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On 2/14/2021 at 5:44 PM, Landomatic said:

Just watch below deck on bravo.  Should tell you everything you need to know.  Lol

full disclosure...that’s what hooked mrs lando enough to get our current boat

even fuller disclosure...I hate to admit it but I effin love that show.  but hey, what’s not to love?

Just a few hundy a week. 
 

https://www.yachtcharterfleet.com/luxury-charter-yacht-22532/my-seanna-yacht-charter-printable.pdf

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6 hours ago, justhookit said:

Fuzzy math there. Who the fuck would pay that?

Apparently a lot of people.  Chartered yachts is big business.  You get a discount if you let them film you for the show though.  Here's a pretty good article about it...

https://www.distractify.com/p/how-much-does-a-below-deck-charter-cost

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