i hear this everyday, from alot of freinds, customers, family, just about everybody, but everybody still want's to fish, even though the high cost is there, i have asked alot of people the same question, but now, i 'am going public, there no question about it I build boats, under 20 foot, and in most cases under 20,000 and are again in most cases always a flats/saltwater rig, my ? is "What DO YOU THINK IS THE AFFORDABLE amount of money a person will spend on a New rig" sure it depends on your budget, just a 40 hour a week guy, 3,000 to $6,000 , $7,000 to $14,000 or $15,000 to $22,000 . I ask this, as things get more exspensive, and in a boat, if your not spending more than $30,000 big ones, your not getting what you want, so why is it, when you can get a new fiberglass boat for under $20,000 it's considered cheap and does not have much resale value, because of the amount spent at purchase, we try to build boats as affordable as we can, so more people can enjoy the water no matter what there wallet says broke or fat, what are you hearing, your input would be of great of great value, thanks Dane,

Ummm. What boats do you build?

What is a BOAT ????? I rather be a PIER RAT

$12,000 to $16,000 range.

FW,

The overall answer to you question is simple, we have been conditioned to believe that "you get what you pay for." And the sub answer is "Keeping up with the Jones'"

In an ideal world a REASONABLE price for a boat would be cost + 15-25% to the Consumer, so a go fast nice looking Bass boat that costs $7-10k in materials/labor should would ideally cost less than $13k.

The biggest problem I see in the boat market isn't the cost of the boat hulls and trailers, but rather the rediculously over inflated engines.

So what's reasonable for a boat, $20k for a reliable good boat shouldn't be out of the question. It's outside of my price range, but it's still inside what I would consider a reasonable price.

The resale value of boats is funny from my point of view. I've never understood why a $100k boat loses say 20% of it's value over 5 years while a $30k boat loses more than 50% of it's value over the same 5 years.

A perfect example though is Bayliner, they produce generally good boats overall, they sell them comparitively cheap. Their resell values simply suck in comparison to their new values, and to me there seems to be no logical reason why.

The best explanation I have seen about this on Bayliner is that they're initial sales are primarily to new and inexperienced boat owners that don't understand or do general maintenance. This seems to have some merrit in what I observe in neglected boats.

They get a bad reputation amongst the snobbish because they are cheap boats, and they get that reputation reinforced by being neglected by the ones that buy them.

When you get right down to it, most boat buyers and owners have absolutely no clue what does or does not add value to their boats. They would not understand the difference between using marine grade wiring and house wiring, the difference between stainless steel nuts and bolts over carbon steel.

They assume that if the boat costs more then it must be built better and going to last longer. They wouldn't even consider that the more expensive boat took all the shortcuts to improve bottom line while the cheaper boat reduced the bottom line and went with quality products.

In the end, set the suggested retail of your boat at $60k and then offer factory incentives to get the price down to $40k, you'll be shocked to see the resale value of you boats will be closer to 40k than if you just set retail @ 40k with no incentives....

Without naming names, I bought a boat 3 years ago that had an MSRP of $14,995. I got it for $10,995 because the manager of the dealership turned out to be an old friend.

At that price, he told me he still made money.

He's also told me from time to time exactly how much he pays for motors versus how much he sells them for. Very large profit margin.

The price of boats is very expensive. I am currently in the market for a new boat but the prices make it quite troubleing. The boats that I really want are all around $25-$30,000, and these are still not the most expensive. Untill a few years ago, and I actually started looking, I had no idea that fishing boats were as exspensive as automobiles. In some cases more expensive.

Lets get one thing strait, buying a new name brand boat is not something that the regular guy can just go out and do. I make roughly $60,000 a year. This is alot of money for a 25 yr old who has no kids and very little debt. However, I would still be pushing the limmits by buying a $30,000 boat. I recently purchased a new truck at $36,000 but I spend long hours in it every day. I would be lucky to use the boat once a week. After my house payment, truck payment, TV, power, insurance, and everything else; there is not a whole lot left over. If I bought a boat I would not have the money to eat or buy gas for it. Plus, it is a lot to be stuck with if anything bad ever happened.

There is no way that a guy with a couple of kids and a 40 hr a week job can buy a boat in the $30k range unless he saved for many yrs. My fiance recently landed a teaching job, and though we are going to buy one, we still feel a little nervous. In fact, I have began to lower my price range to under $20k. Now take in mind that we will have a combined salary of $100k and no dept other than our two cars. Without saving there is no way that the average person can afford a brand name boat unless they are crazy chargers living by the seat of their pants. They are just way too expensive.

Most of the guys you see with the awesome boats are rich, welloff and single, or make huge sacrifices in other places. I could have a $30k boat too if I lived in a 1 bedroom apartment and drove a singlecab pickup. However, I would rather have a nicer home and truck, and am not willing to sacrifice them. I will just have to wait a little longer for the nice boat.

There are however, many decent boats in the cheaper price range. For instance, blue wave makes some rather affordable boats, plus they are rather well known. I currently own one right now that I got used from my neighbor. It is in great condition and I practically stole it. If you like bass fishing, the Bass tracker is a good option at around $12K. Also, there is nothing wrong with alunimum boats(just trick it out), bass buggies, yaks, etc.

Whatever you can afford, or roll in, what matters is how you fish. Ive outfished guys in skeeters while in a johnboat, and Im sure that someone out there could have put it on me in a buggy. Just remember that! And be smart about what you buy!

The whole supply-and-demand comes into affect here. I just don't think the dealers have figured it out yet. They are pretty much an exception to the rule. They are in a business that has a pretty high markup and take a large profit off of a decent amount of boats. However, almost everyone at some point WANTS a boat, but it will remain a dream for most people. If the prices were dropped, they would sell a lot more boats, thus losing money per boat but making much more profit in the end. It would only take one company for the rest to have to follow (if it is a nice, well-made boat). It would be like gas prices, and the other companies would have to follow suit.
(My .02, from one of the dreamers mentioned earlier.)

You know what I find interesting is that on a strickly cost of materials basis I believe that Aluminium boats are actually more expensive to build, yet they are actually the cheaper boats on the market.

I'd love to see someone finish out an Aluminium boat with all the fancy decking.

I bought a boat this summer. When I started looking, I looked at mostly new models. As I started to narrow down what I thought I wanted, I started to look at used boats. I was surprised a the large disparity between new and used prices. It was more that I expected. I found out that a new $40.000. boat (Plus additional equipment) could be bought as used for $25.000.,after two or three years. And further more, that there are hundreds of boats for sale around the country. You can buy a boat in Maryland and ship it here for thousands less than a new local boat.
I also found that many used boats were already outfitted with the extra equipment you might purchase for a new one.
I'm already thinking about a bigger boat and I'll surely find one used at a price I can afford. Think used. Often there is still motor warranty left.
I love the idea of new. I usually buy new cars, although the same principals apply. I guess the difference is I drive my vehicle seven days a week, it gets me to work, etc.
There are numerous websites devoted to used boats. You can find exactly what you would like and save a ton!

Michial, there is a company that makes an aluminum/metal type boat that has the fancy decking. They are the BassTrackers that I spoke of. They are also very cheaply priced at around $12 total for the bass boat and about $15 0r $16 K for the coastal version (deck is not carpet). That is the price with everything include; tax, title, trailer, trolling motor, outboard. However, these are downsized boats (like the aluminum ones) and are like 17 ft or so, and have Johnson 50's/60's. Still, I guess they will do the trick but havent heard much about them untill visiting BassPro shop in Pearland, TX.

I know this is the south and bass boats reign supreme in the fresh water market but, for the price and the equipment why more folks don't consider center consoles is beyond me. I have a Kenner 19VX that I use in both environments. I also take my grandkids tubing and skiing with it. To me it just makes a whole lot more practical sense to spend less and get as much from a product like a cc as from some of the bass boats. It is obvious that Ranger and other predominately bass boat manufacturers build center consoles because someone is going to catch on to the hidden market for fresh water boats.

I am a big advocate of buying a bay,flats boat if you are a fisherman who enjoys both fresh and salt. Especially if you live around the coast.

People ask about putting bass boats in the salt all the time and you just shouldnt do it. You are better off just buying a versatile bay boat and then you dont have to worry about the problem of ruining your boat. Of course it would be nice to have one of each but not many people can. Even so, one person who does have both, often uses his redfish bay boat for many bass fishing trips. This guy is Roland Martin.

Bay boats can do many things in fresh water that bass boats cant. There is usually more deck room, they go shallower, many have polling platforms that are great for bed fishing, and the list goes on and on. The only drawback that I see is that sometimes that center console gets in the way when casting lures. I am going to have a bay boat custom made to be versatile in both the fresh and salt and I am going to get a downsized console.

Anyhoo, bay boats are a viable option for any bass fisherman who still likes to dabble in the salt.