[MRM]

This is the best time in decades to be buying a boat. Gas prices hit the boat market so hard it is still wondering what was in that punch. Demand and prices are at unbelevable lows. Look up some old business pages articles on the boating industry and you'll see how bad things are. One of the largest boat retailers in the country is big locally, and they just laid off 60% or so of their sales staff and closed half their locations. The largest boat retailer in the country just did the same thing. Boat repos are up about 250% in the last couple of years. My wife works for a company that sells component parts to the boating industry. The manufacturers tell her that they're going into hibernation mode, hoping to sleep through the depression. Nothing under about 35 feet is selling. People wanting the bigger boats aren't affected by gas prices.

So the short suggestion is to shop aggressively and don't be shy about offering half of what they're asking, and don't buy anything that's not a perfect, pristine example of a good brand.

To decide what to buy, decide what you want to do with the boat. Do you want to ski and tube with it? Just cruise? Sleep on it or just day trips? Will you need a big boat to deal with the wakes and currents, or will you be just as comfortable in a runabout?

I grew up on the Mississippi just north of the Illinois/Wisconsin/Iowa border. Boating on the Mississippi is the best. It's like nothing else in the world. I highly recommend it. Just remember that the bigger the boat, the more complicated everything is and expenses increase expodentially. Go ahead and rent at a local marina a couple of times this summer (It will be cheaper on a per-use basis) and use this time to decide what you want.