Subscribe to our newsletter. For general boat buying tips see Boat Buying Guide - Part I . There you'll find tips on deciding on the purpose of your boat and the body of water you'll be using, costs, maintenance and warranty issues, dealer reputation, word of mouth, boat shows, NMMA certification, propeller type, time of year to buy a boat, and more. Use the following checklist when purchasing a used boat. Same holds true with a boat, even more so than a car.
Boats are finicky animals.
They tend to require more attention and maintenance than cars. A vibrating boat makes a noisy boat. Rapidly, but carefully, test the steering from one direction to another to see how long it takes the boat to respond. You never know how important this is until you have to dock. Make sure it is doing it's job.