I thought it was mentioned here in the cost of used boats thread months ago there would be a glut of boats selling before Christmas, as result of newbies buying boats to social distance during the first shutdown/lockdown. I've scanned several classifieds and not really seeing that. Did boat sales during that time not go up and that was a myth?

Give it another year. Monthly payments will start to wear some owners down, especially if the economy doesn’t pick up or gets worse. Or maybe not. Who knows?! Anybody claiming to be able to predict anything these days is probably delusional at best.

I think there’s a lot of bitter people that think just because a lot of people bought boats that normally wouldn’t have It means they must not be able to afford them.

This is probably more likely. I purchased a new boat back in June after taking a 5 year hiatus...did the virus play a part? Sure. However we had been saving up for a vacation to Europe and since our plans got cancelled last summer and it looks like it will be a while before we can travel unrestricted again...we decided to put a good down payment on a boat.

I'm really not sure why guys think people can't handle boat payments right now. There are plenty of people doing just as good, if not better, in some lines of work during this whole virus ordeal. I know several people who have recently purchased extra vehicles, property, etc. Which leads me to believe the above statement is a more likely scenario...

I had no idea what COVID boats were lol. I knew there was one that ended up in New York when it all first started, I think it was white with a huge Red Cross on it...

From what I understand, people are waiting months for their new pontoons to arrive when they purchase from a manufacturer so I guess that shows there has been an uptick in sales? I agree with Cuervo though, maybe it still too soon for the boats to be back on the market? Who knows.

Last I saw sales for new and used were way up

It's coming. Already two for sale by me and both owners owe more then what they retailed for new. Good luck with that.

Not sure it’s a matter of people not being able to afford them. I figure it’s more a case of people not really wanting them after awhile. Looking out the window and seeing $100k of boat, motor, trailer, electronics, and gear that gets used only a couple times a year and is depreciating by the minute can get old. I sold a skiff a few years back not because I couldn’t afford it, but because I didn’t use it enough to warrant keeping it and doing maintenance, etc. Different strokes and all that.

How is that possible? Did they not make a down payment or any payment ever and let the interest build? Curious how you can buy a boat new and owe more money then the sales price?

I'll have a covid free boat for sale soon.

I bought my last boat with zero down, salesman said not possible and quickly changed his tune when I got several approvals. But in this case take a boat with MAP pricing say like a Skeeter, not saying this ones a Skeeter but it is. Tack on freight, rigging, and TTL. Thats close to 10% on some boats so amount financed is pretty close to msrp, add in the fact that Skeeter came out with a rebate after person purchased. Now if its a 12 year loan almost all of your first few dozen payments are all interest and no principal.

Why would people sell their boats when fishing and boating are some of the few things that were allowed?
And now, folks are out using them more than ever.

It just sounds like a lot of people are trying to tell others what to do with their money, huh? Kinda like the same sort of people we voted against so what's the deal guys?

Very few actual 100k bass boats out there. Majority 40-70k

I'm seeing tons of boats for sale on FB Marketplace and on the sales forums like TFF and BBC.

They might not be the boats you are looking for and as mentioned they might be priced higher than what you can get a new one for but they are there.