MY BEST ADVICE

MY BEST ADVICE Shopping for a boat? You may be doing it wrong.

We asked some of the top speedboat builders in the country to give us their tips on how you can streamline the process. Here’s their best advice on smart things you can do, and to keep in mind, while looking for your dream ride.

JOHN COSKER President, Mystic Powerboats

People automatically assume that our M4200 center console is a $1.5 million boat. We had it for sale at the 2020 Miami Boat Show for $700,000, but people tend to mentally elevate these prices because they may see other, more expensive brands—or they may just have it in their head that they just can’t afford the boat. Mystic has always been a premium brand, but we don’t necessarily have an extreme premium price on our brand. We create value in our boats, and our boats also retain their value. And the nice thing about Mystic is, we don’t build 300 boats a year. Our goal is to build 30. Consider this: Right now, we literally have no used 42 Mystics on the market right now. We have very little new stock on the market right now. As an owner of one of these boats, it’s great, because you know that you’ll be able to sell your boat relatively quickly, because there’s just not a lot of mass boats on the market competing on price.

JAKE FRALEIGH President, Eliminator Boats

The number-one thing you have to do is to listen to the manufacturer. A lot of shoppers are keyboard warriors who are great at Googling and gathering information from outside sources. As the manufacturer, we know how to achieve the ultimate reliability and performance, and it’s our responsibility to recommend a specific setup. That becomes difficult when people come in and say, “Well, so-and-so said something different.” People need to learn to question the information that they are garnering on their own. Another thing to remember is that quality sometimes takes time. Covid has changed the whole landscape of achieving goals efficiently and problem solving; it’s become more of a challenge as certain things outside of our control—such as obtaining parts—become more difficult to do.

RANDY SCISM President, MTI

Before you make a decision, go see ’em, check ’em and ride in ’em. At the boat show, every salesman at the dock is going tell you theirs is the best. That’s just what they do. You need to go experience it for yourself. Go for a ride, and then you make your decision, because ultimately you’re the one who’s going to live with it. And I’d hate to see you make a mistake.

THANE TIEMER General Manager, Nordic and Hallett Boats

Just physically looking at a boat, you can never tell what might be wrong with it. That’s why I tell people who are shopping for a used boat not to buy one before spending $700 on a survey. Just look up “marine survey” online. A guy will come out and do a full inspection on the boat. He’ll check the transom to see if it’s soft. He’ll go through the entire boat and check everything out. If it’s got a rotted transom or bad stringers, that’s going to be a $15,000 bill right out of the gate. If you’re planning to spend $70,000 on a boat, $700 for a survey buys peace of mind.

JOE LoGUIDICE President, Hustler Powerboats

First, customers have to decide what they want to do with the product they’re going to buy. Are they going to be a boater, or are they going to be a racer? They have to decide what they are and who they are, as we all have to do in life. Look what’s around you. Do you have a girlfriend? Do you have a wife? Do you have a family? You can’t just decide to buy a cat and then six months later you’re in divorce court because you went in a different direction. You need to take everybody into account, and come up with a decision that works for everybody around you.

HERNANDO RODRIGUEZ General Manager, Cobra Boats

Many people buy a boat based on its price. But when you’re shopping for a boat, price should not be the determining factor. It should be about qualifying which boat best suits your needs. This will help you buy the ideal boat the first time out. Focus on what your boating style is, where you want to go boating, how many people you’re going to go boating with, etc. Deciding what best suits your needs will help you determine whether you’re going to be happy with that boat in two years’ time, so you don’t find yourself shopping for another boat too quickly.

SCOTT PORTER President, Formula Boats

People will look at a boat with two, three or four engines and think, “I can’t handle that.” But joystick technology has been just awesome for this industry, and I think it gives people a confidence level they just didn’t have before. There are people who used to buy boats that just sat at the dock—they were too scared to take it out. But then various technologies came along—Mercury’s Axius, and then Volvo’s Inboard Performance Systems (IPS). Now we’ve got boats with multiple outboard engines with joysticks. What I’d like boat buyers to understand is that if they would just go try one with a captain, they’d find out very quickly that the boats are not that hard to operate. What you can do with a joystick in terms of putting a boat where you want to go is just phenomenal. We’ve got many boats with four engines, but it’s really more like two pairs, because they’re tie-barred together. So when you’re using a joystick, they’re operating together, each side, and it is amazing what it can do.

TROND SCHOU President, Nor-Tech Powerboats

Look at all the different boats. That’s an important part of it. Don’t jump on the very first one you see. Also, you need to focus not on what the boat costs up front, but to what extent it retains its value. What is the boat going to be worth when you’re ready to sell it a few years down the line? The resale value of the product is a much more important factor than what it costs up front. You might be able to save $50,000 by buying a boat, but when you’re ready to sell it, nobody wants to take it back.