Searching for Boats?
Boats. Lots and lots of Boats.
What inspired me to start this Site? Simple - my passion for boats, the boating lifestyle and in particular, Sea Rays!
No matter how long we’ve been enjoying the boats we’ve owned, there always seems to be time to look for ‘the next one’. Even if not currently in the market for another new-to-us boat, it’s always been fun to compare different models, years and styles to learn about the features that are most appealing. Hey, ya never know when the time will be right to make a move, so best to be prepared 😉
Back in the day - a long before the InterWebs took over the market - the only search option was to head the a local variety store, pick up a print version for one of the various classified publications that were available at the time and flip through the pages. Yup, old fashioned, printed paper, usually in a compact magazine style. They were cheap to produce and provided a handy way to thumb through in the search for that piece of inspiration. Of course, those publications generally released new versions every week, so the only way to be sure of staying on top of the used boat market was to buy the latest magazine every week. Great business model for those publishers, I’d say.
In that time, remembering a particular listing came down to folding back a page, or circling a particular - or a number of - ad(s) for further scrutiny. Due to the physical size constraints of those publications, each listing was only able to only provide minimal information, along with nothing more than a single, pixelated black and white pic for each boat to go along with a brief description.
A photo of an ever-present copy of the old ‘Boat, Bike & RV Trader’ magazine, from way back in 2005.
Fast forward to today and one can search endlessly through marina and broker sites, with seemingly endless choices to look at. Sure, having multiple examples of that particular boat model you’re looking for can be a good thing, but getting accurate or relevant information on those boats can be challenging, if not downright confusing. Add in a video component and I’ve found more than one seller depicting photos or video clips that don’t even refer the boat that is being presented. Very frustrating!
My solution is to provide relevant information for the boat models depicted and that includes factory specifications where available. Too many times online ads confuse readers with erroneous or downright incorrect information regarding dimensions, power-plants or other items that would be important to anyone looking.
Here, you can narrow your searches to the particular model you’re interested in, knowing that that the specs are accurate. In the past, I’ve suggested to anyone looking to buy a used boat that a good approach is to focus on one or two specific models. That way, when the time comes to move forward on the ‘right one’, the knowledge built ahead of time will be a great confidence booster. And an excellent way to look for anything that might appear out of place, or just plain wrong. . .
As always, feel free to leave a comment and lest us know where you search for the boats that you’re interested in learning about. Looking forward to hearing from you!
