Guide to buying a boat

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Buying your first boat

There are a couple of steps to follow in buying your first boat, aside from the final, fun step of taking it home.

Try before you buy

Unless you’re going to be boating solo, the first thing I’d recommend is to hire a boat.  In NSW you can hire small runabouts or hire a houseboat without a licence.  The purpose of this is to introduce your family to the feeling of being on a boat, and measure their level of interest.  It’s also a useful spousal “pre-sales” activity

Preparation

Once you make the decision to buy, here’s the steps I’d follow:

First - get your boat licence.  There are a few ways to get your licence, but the easiest (at least in NSW) is to go and do a one day course with practical component.

Second - get a towbar fitted.

Third - find a boat dealer and look around your area. Talk with your dealer, and look at as many boats as you can.  What do you plan to do with your boat? Fishing, Cruising, Watersports?  A bit of everything?   If you find a good dealer, they’ll show you plenty of boats (just don’t expect test drives unless you are serious).

When I bought my boat I planned to get a half cabin cruiser.  I ended up with a bowrider.  There’s a lot to be said for seeing the boat itself.

The half-cab cruiser I went to look at, and the bowrider I bought.