Hey guys (and gals?), thought I'd make a whopper of a first post. I've been cramming my brain for a solid 3 months researching boats. It's been quite an interesting journey.
I've narrowed down what our perfect boat needs to be for next season. Right now we're in a 10ft Seamax inflatable with a 9.9 Merc 4 stroke. It's been surprisingly awesome the last 4 or 5 years but the kid wants to tube and ski and the wife wants to lounge in the bow.
We fish and camp at Cold lake (going on 3 yrs). We've had some sketchy rides back to camp in the Seamax. It doesn't exactly cut through the waves. Ventured across the lake ONCE and that was it.
However, now that we store our trailer 10 minutes away from the MD campground we can pull a real boat up from Edmonton.
So, I started the search with Lund of course. Always wanted a Lund. Kinda like Nike eh? Had the Crossover 1875 picked out and then saw the new asking price
......then we started looking at Impacts....then Adventure Sports... then....not Lunds.
Looked at Alumacraft and Crestliner. Basically same price point as Lund.
Mirrocraft, PolarKraft, now we're talking... nice thick aluminium even on the 17-18'. Definitely worth considering.
Finally, started looking at Princecraft. .110" aluminum. Double plated to .190" final thickness on the bow to midship. Similar fit and finish to the big boys, etc. Nice sizing in the Sport line. Not made in Mexico. Storage isn't as refined as the Lunds but not gonna be a deal breaker. I think the Sport 182 would fit the bill perfectly.
So that's where I'm at so far. Things do change from week to week though. I saw a 2018 Tyee 189GL go for $62,500 in Calgary about a month ago so you know...might push the budget for that.
Anyways, my question to the experts and experienced here is when do you buy a used boat? I'm looking in the 3-5 year old range and don't see any Sport 182's or 172's.
Used stock seems low across the board which makes sense in mid summer. Does the uptick start in August? I'll be looking for dealer inventory for financing. Does dealer vs. private have different spikes? I imagine when the masses are buying at the boat show and in the spring they'll be trading in a ton. I'd guess dealers would be asking top dollar at that time eh?
Share your experiences! Thanks in advance.
Greg