Auction Boats

If you’re thinking of buying a fishing boat you have a number of choices. Basically you can buy an aluminum fishing boat, a timber boat or a figerglass fishing boat. Personally I’m a huge fan of aluminum boats, and would never buy a fiberglass boat. Here’s why.You’re buying a boat because you want to be fishing, not working on boats. If you want to be working on boats buy a timber fishing boat and I can guarantee you’ll spend many hours working on it. If you love that then fine, but for me I want to be fishing, not working on boats.So timber is out. But what about fiberglass compared to aluminum. After all you see a lot of fiberglass boats out there.What do you want in a fishing boat? Well you want it to be tough. Water resistant. Impact resistant. Low maintenance. Long lasting. Light. Easy to use.Aluminum is all of these and more. It’s extremely tough. It is welded not riveted, so is totally waterproof. It is highly impact resistant. That doesn’t mean that it can’t be holed, but it’s pretty hard to do. Rather than get a hole aluminum tends to dent. This is great. If you hit something, as I recently did, you end up with a dent and head home feeling silly. If you hit something in a timber or a figerglass boat chances are high that you end up with a hole, and someone needs to come and get you because your boat is sinking. Aluminum has a very high strength to weight ratio. So it’s light and easy to handle, both in the water and onto and off a trailer or even a roof of a car. It’s incredibly strong and will take a stack of punishment. It needs very little maintenance and will last forever.A fiberglass boat on the other hand, has some drawbacks. It is heavier. It is less resistant to impact, and more easily holed. It takes a little more maintenance, although much less than a timber boat. And if treated badly it can absorb water. Be careful not to damage the gellcoat, or if you do repair it before you go out again.And whereas an aluminum boat retains a very good resale value because they are so tough and durable, fiberglass boats can be more easily damaged and for this reason may not retail their value as well.So for me it’s an aluminum fishing boat every time. I’ve had all 3, timber, fiberglass and aluminum,  and will be sticking to aluminum.And the best thing about aluminum boats is that they are so tough and durable that it is far better to buy a used aluminum boat rather than a new one. A new boat is expensive, and like all things new will lose a lot of it’s value as soon as you buy it. So a used aluminum boat is much cheaper, and will retain it’s value to when you sell it you’ll probably get most or all of your money back. I bought a used boat 2 years ago and it’s worth as much or even more than when I bought it.So if you’re pondering your choices between the different types of fishing boat, make it a used aluminum fishing boat. You won’t regret it.

I have explained elsewhere why I think aluminum is the only way to go when buying a fishing boat. There are a stack of reasons why aluminum fishing boats make the best boats.
However I’m sure you’ve found, if you’ve been doing some homework, that new aluminum boats aren’t cheap. For all the reasons I’ve explained about why aluminum boats make the best boats, aluminum fishing boats are extremely popular, and supply and demand being what it is, this make aluminum boats very expensive when buying brand new.
However there are some very good reasons for buying a used aluminum fishing boat, and if you do it right you can even get your fishing boat for free once you’ve sold it. Allow me to explain.
Buying a used fishing boat is way cheaper than buying a new boat. Like everything, when you buy new you pay a premium for that. When you buy a new car you lose a stack of money the day you drive it out of the showroom, and you’d probably be unable to sell it for what you paid for it, even if it’s got no miles on it.
It’s exactly the same with fishing boats. When you buy a new boat you’ll immediately lose quite a bit of money. So you can guarantee that when you come to sell it some years along, probably because you want a bigger one, you’re sure to lose some money.
HoWever if you buy a used aluminum fishing boat the chances are pretty good that it will cost you little or nothing once you’ve sold it. I use my own experience as an example. I bought a second hand 12 foot used aluminum fishing boat 2 years ago. I’ve used it for quite a few fishing trips over that time, and have 2 kids, so as they grow I am beginning to think about buying a bigger boat.
I recently started looking at prices for used aluminum boats and am quite convinced that my boat is worth as much, if not a fraction more than what I paid for it 2 years ago. So when I sell it, assuming I get what I paid for it, I have paid nothing for 2 years use of my fishing boat. That wouldn’t have ever happened if I bought my boat brand new. So in effect I’ve had my fishing boat for 2 years, for free.
This is because aluminum boats are pretty bomb proof, and last forever. So they retain their second hand value extremely well. A good aluminum boat will last long enough so that, if you keep it, you could probably will it to your kids. So they don’t deteriorate too much over time. This means that even an older boat is probably in good condition, and so will have good value.
Of course you need to take care of your boat, it you’ve banged it around and filled it with dents or scratched the paintwork a lot it won’t retain it’s value as well.
And of course you need to buy well, if you pay too much for your boat then you won’t get that back when you sell. But assuming that you buy a great used aluminum fishing boat at a fair price the chances are pretty good that it won’t cost you much, or anything, over the time you’ve got your boat, if you treat it well.
That’s how you buy a used aluminum fishing boat, for free.