Where do most people go to sell a used aluminum boat these days?

If gas motors can't be used everywhere I can understand the low price and not selling there. That kind of regulation would kill most small engine sales. Not saying it is good or bad, just not good for small gas engine sales if you can't use them for the most part.

Gas motors are restricted here but the rivers and about five larger lakes allow gas motors with a couple lakes having a 10hp limit. Only one of them is anywhere near me.
The contamination warnings are a bigger deterrent to fresh water fishing than anything else here.

Common practice is to buy a 9.9hp and convert it to a 15hp, it then allows you to have a boat that will be able to move well enough to use in the limited lakes and one that can actually get away with some backwater and river use on a smaller boat. The river has no HP limit but the rivers are as contaminated as the lakes, if not more so.
Most rivers have fecal bacteria or chemical issues. Many small ponds are affected by serious algae growth problems stemming from fertilizer runoff, septic system leakage, or road runoff.

The lack of boaters on the rivers and lakes is a new thing, and this year has been worse than any years prior but its been slowly declining over the past 3 years with the last peak being around 2000 or so. After 9/11 things slowed down, then there was a huge decrease in boat registrations and boat traffic around 2008, it started to return to normal, or at least increase by 2019, then when everything was shut down in 2020, it never really recovered and although it got a little better at first, its been dying out ever since.

I read somewhere that the number of boat registrations overall is way down in the state, but its not just NJ.
The first big drop was when they required everyone to take a coast guard course for $110 to keep your boat license, about 1/4 of boaters just quit bothering. Another big hit to the totals was when the saltwater registry started and the threat of a saltwater license began, and now with the high cost of everything its eliminated even more.
Personally I quit fishing freshwater because of the cost of the license, and the fact that the fish aren't really anything I'd want to eat. I'm not paying $30/yr to fish for something I can't eat. The saltwater registry is free but saltwater is a 40 minute ride from where I'm at and the best fishing is in the ocean, not the rivers and I refuse to pay to park or launch my boat to access the back bays or inland boat ramps. I do most of my fishing these days from bridges and piers and my boat gets used mostly for crabbing.

The lack of interest in small outboards is not a lack of interest here, its a lack of money. There's plenty of folks who want them, but none who want them have money to buy them. Those who can afford them, buy new and don't care about the money issues. The few boats I do see out are generally all brand new or close to it. Older boats and motors have disappeared from the water lately.

oilsmoke said:

Gas motors are restricted here but the rivers and about five larger lakes allow gas motors with a couple lakes having a 10hp limit. Only one of them is anywhere near me.
The contamination warnings are a bigger deterrent to fresh water fishing than anything else here.

Common practice is to buy a 9.9hp and convert it to a 15hp, it then allows you to have a boat that will be able to move well enough to use in the limited lakes and one that can actually get away with some backwater and river use on a smaller boat. The river has no HP limit but the rivers are as contaminated as the lakes, if not more so.
Most rivers have fecal bacteria or chemical issues. Many small ponds are affected by serious algae growth problems stemming from fertilizer runoff, septic system leakage, or road runoff.

The lack of boaters on the rivers and lakes is a new thing, and this year has been worse than any years prior but its been slowly declining over the past 3 years with the last peak being around 2000 or so. After 9/11 things slowed down, then there was a huge decrease in boat registrations and boat traffic around 2008, it started to return to normal, or at least increase by 2019, then when everything was shut down in 2020, it never really recovered and although it got a little better at first, its been dying out ever since.

I read somewhere that the number of boat registrations overall is way down in the state, but its not just NJ.
The first big drop was when they required everyone to take a coast guard course for $110 to keep your boat license, about 1/4 of boaters just quit bothering. Another big hit to the totals was when the saltwater registry started and the threat of a saltwater license began, and now with the high cost of everything its eliminated even more.
Personally I quit fishing freshwater because of the cost of the license, and the fact that the fish aren't really anything I'd want to eat. I'm not paying $30/yr to fish for something I can't eat. The saltwater registry is free but saltwater is a 40 minute ride from where I'm at and the best fishing is in the ocean, not the rivers and I refuse to pay to park or launch my boat to access the back bays or inland boat ramps. I do most of my fishing these days from bridges and piers and my boat gets used mostly for crabbing.

The lack of interest in small outboards is not a lack of interest here, its a lack of money. There's plenty of folks who want them, but none who want them have money to buy them. Those who can afford them, buy new and don't care about the money issues. The few boats I do see out are generally all brand new or close to it. Older boats and motors have disappeared from the water lately.

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Boating exploded here during Covid. I've never seen traffic like spring and summer of 2020. Prior to that you would only ever see the ramp parking lots overflow on the occasional holiday weekend. During peak Covid they were full every weekend. It has calmed down some now, but still not like before.

In stark contrast, I posted before about the bad floods we had in 2019, when that lake was 20ft high, there was nobody out there. It was awesome! Launching from the parking lot was a little tricky, but man, the fishing was great.

MrGiggles said:

Boating exploded here during Covid. I've never seen traffic like spring and summer of 2020. Prior to that you would only ever see the ramp parking lots overflow on the occasional holiday weekend. During peak Covid they were full every weekend. It has calmed down some now, but still not like before.

In stark contrast, I posted before about the bad floods we had in 2019, when that lake was 20ft high, there was nobody out there. It was awesome! Launching from the parking lot was a little tricky, but man, the fishing was great.

Click to expand...

We had the exact opposite in my area and it ended in marina closures. They are still closed and there are only a couple of ramps to access the water now but unfortunately, whenever I'm down there I don't see anyone loading or unloading.

We had the same thing here, they closed all the parks, game preserves, boat ramps, and parks. That happened around the end of March in 2020, just about the time most people had just paid to renew the registration on their boats and bought fishing licenses.

The only people from then on who had access to the water were those who lived on the water. If you didn't know someone with a boat you couldn't get on the water unless you had a boat small enough to toss over the guard rail somewhere and most weren't sure if that was even legal. The DMV closed at the same time, so it was impossible to renew registrations.

They waved the renewals on cars and trucks but not boats. Now if you skipped 2020, and likely 2021, you can't register online because access to the online system relies on the PIN number you receive with your annual renewal notice. Without the renewal and pin you now have to go to a regional DMV to renew your boat or trailer, and at that point they want you pay all the 'missed' years of registration fees. Now in 2024, if you didn't renew since 2020, regardless of whether or not your boat has been used, you know owe $117.50 to renew it, plus the cost of the day off work and the drive to a regional DMV.

Since 2020, they made the DMV by appointment only, and the many offices now specialize. Not all offices do renewals, and once you renew online, you have to continue to renew online and can no longer use the local DMV office to do so.

Lots of people also took advantage of the fact that they announced that they wouldn't be ticketing folks for not having up to date registration or paperwork due to the pandemic, and that ended after 2021, but many still failed to renew because they refuse to pay the missed years or travel to a regional office. For me the regional office is over an hour away.

Boating and fishing hasn't recovered since the closures, it was sort of recovered for a bit before they stopped waving enforcement but its dwindled to near nothing now. In the past the weekends were standing room only at the ramp with long lines, we've not seen that here in over 5 years. Even before that it was dying, and had been since around 2008 or so. It was starting to improve a bit after 2016 or so but 2020 seems to have killed it.

Before 2020, even weekdays were fairly busy with a good many retirees and fisherman on the water all week long but now I don't even see that here anymore. Guys I know who boated and fished all their lives haven't touched their boats in years. There's 12 boats on my street, not a one has moved since 2019.

I complete understand why most are likely just saying screw it now, I for one won't pay registration fees for years I didn't or couldn't use my boat or trailer, or will I drive half way across the state to renew it either. It was cheaper to register it out of state.

seahorse said:

We had the same thing here, they closed all the parks, game preserves, boat ramps, and parks. That happened around the end of March in 2020, just about the time most people had just paid to renew the registration on their boats and bought fishing licenses.

The only people from then on who had access to the water were those who lived on the water. If you didn't know someone with a boat you couldn't get on the water unless you had a boat small enough to toss over the guard rail somewhere and most weren't sure if that was even legal. The DMV closed at the same time, so it was impossible to renew registrations.

They waved the renewals on cars and trucks but not boats. Now if you skipped 2020, and likely 2021, you can't register online because access to the online system relies on the PIN number you receive with your annual renewal notice. Without the renewal and pin you now have to go to a regional DMV to renew your boat or trailer, and at that point they want you pay all the 'missed' years of registration fees. Now in 2024, if you didn't renew since 2020, regardless of whether or not your boat has been used, you know owe $117.50 to renew it, plus the cost of the day off work and the drive to a regional DMV.

Since 2020, they made the DMV by appointment only, and the many offices now specialize. Not all offices do renewals, and once you renew online, you have to continue to renew online and can no longer use the local DMV office to do so.

Lots of people also took advantage of the fact that they announced that they wouldn't be ticketing folks for not having up to date registration or paperwork due to the pandemic, and that ended after 2021, but many still failed to renew because they refuse to pay the missed years or travel to a regional office. For me the regional office is over an hour away.

Boating and fishing hasn't recovered since the closures, it was sort of recovered for a bit before they stopped waving enforcement but its dwindled to near nothing now. In the past the weekends were standing room only at the ramp with long lines, we've not seen that here in over 5 years. Even before that it was dying, and had been since around 2008 or so. It was starting to improve a bit after 2016 or so but 2020 seems to have killed it.

Before 2020, even weekdays were fairly busy with a good many retirees and fisherman on the water all week long but now I don't even see that here anymore. Guys I know who boated and fished all their lives haven't touched their boats in years. There's 12 boats on my street, not a one has moved since 2019.

I complete understand why most are likely just saying screw it now, I for one won't pay registration fees for years I didn't or couldn't use my boat or trailer, or will I drive half way across the state to renew it either. It was cheaper to register it out of state.

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I've read similar posts about all the hoops they expect you to jump through to register a boat in NJ. Your state has some crazy boat registration policies. Suspending registration during the pandemic then making it a difficult as possible to register afterwards is insane. But then again, it is a gov't agency.

What I can't figure out is what they have to gain by making things so difficult all of a sudden.
They built a brand new DMV office here about 8 years ago or so then they turned around and made
it a license only center. You can register a new car or one you just bought but you can't renew a vehicle that's missed a year, or one that should have been able to renew online.
If you miss the renewal deadline for online renewal, which nearly everyone did in 2020, they expect you to go during business hours to a regional office far away. They have to be loosing money simply in all the folks who just said screw it and gave up on the idea.
I have zero desire to drive an hour just to renew a boat or trailer. It would be one thing if I could walk into the local office as we did for the last 50 years but there's no way I'm driving that far just o pay them the $28.50 and to have to argue about not paying for the last five years its not been registered.
I've talked to a few others who feel the same way, and most say they'll register their boats when they open the local DMV back up for registrations and renewals as before.
Worse yet, they appear to have made online renewals mandatory, I know of a half dozen guys who have never owned a computer or cell phone, when they saw that they just threw the renewal away and either sold their boats or just kept running without renewing it.

I'm not sure what they screwed up there but even my truck renewal came in two months late. I renewed it in June and didn't get the new card till last week. I would think that for $226.50 for registration they'd make sure it got out on time.

When I posted this I didn't think it would still be going over a hundred posts later!

Back in mid August I had a friend who lives on a main highway take the boat and put it out for sale, I told him I wanted to see $1,500 out of it, and if he got any more, it was his. He came and got it, picked it up on his trailer and has since had it out for sale daily, I think he's asking $1,850 for it. He's also got about five other larger boats and one 12ft aluminum for sale as well, plus a slightly beat up 16ft aluminum boat there as well with a giant $500 sign on it. He's sold nothing all summer, he said he only had two calls, and not a one turned into a sale besides one glass 19ft runabout that was gutted down to the stringers with no paperwork that he sold for $300.

He also had or may still have it on CL and had it on FB until it expired and got zero replies.
The one boat he's got there is a fairly new fiberglass skiff, I believe its either a Southern Skimmer or a Carolina Skiff, in 16ft with a Honda 50hp on it, its a later model, after 2000 or so with a $2,500 sign on it and that too just sits. (We used that boat a few times this summer and it ran like new.

Now that cooler weather is setting in he packing them away in the barn outback, and I suppose he'll be dropping my 14ft off here. I don't expect him to store it for me but said I can borrow the trailer for the winter if I want.
(He heads to FL for the winter, usually taking a trailer load of motors down with him to sell as well.
He said he sold four motors all year, and both were smaller, one 50's model 3hp Johnson, and three 70's model 6hp motors. He's got a dozen 10hp four strokes that he said never got so much as an email on line and he said not a single 9.9/15hp 'Johnnyrude' as he calls them, sold this year. He's retired but works from home doing wood work and furniture repairs and goes to FL from Nov. to Mar. to fish.

It seems everyone I talk to said they sold no boats, no motors, no fishing tackle, no water related anything.
Another buddy has a model train shop in his garage and another buys and sells vintage bicycles and both have said they sold basically nothing all year, both rely on CL and FB for sales.
I never thought I'd see the day when a good aluminum boat didn't bring any interest whatsoever.
10 years ago any boat under $3k was gone in hours.
I guess people don't boat or fish here these days. Being in a neighborhood where everyone has a boat, I've not seen any of them get uncovered or taken to the lake or river all year, or the last 5 years either for that matter.

barnfinds said:

When I posted this I didn't think it would still be going over a hundred posts later!

Back in mid August I had a friend who lives on a main highway take the boat and put it out for sale, I told him I wanted to see $1,500 out of it, and if he got any more, it was his. He came and got it, picked it up on his trailer and has since had it out for sale daily, I think he's asking $1,850 for it. He's also got about five other larger boats and one 12ft aluminum for sale as well, plus a slightly beat up 16ft aluminum boat there as well with a giant $500 sign on it. He's sold nothing all summer, he said he only had two calls, and not a one turned into a sale besides one glass 19ft runabout that was gutted down to the stringers with no paperwork that he sold for $300.

He also had or may still have it on CL and had it on FB until it expired and got zero replies.
The one boat he's got there is a fairly new fiberglass skiff, I believe its either a Southern Skimmer or a Carolina Skiff, in 16ft with a Honda 50hp on it, its a later model, after 2000 or so with a $2,500 sign on it and that too just sits. (We used that boat a few times this summer and it ran like new.

Now that cooler weather is setting in he packing them away in the barn outback, and I suppose he'll be dropping my 14ft off here. I don't expect him to store it for me but said I can borrow the trailer for the winter if I want.
(He heads to FL for the winter, usually taking a trailer load of motors down with him to sell as well.
He said he sold four motors all year, and both were smaller, one 50's model 3hp Johnson, and three 70's model 6hp motors. He's got a dozen 10hp four strokes that he said never got so much as an email on line and he said not a single 9.9/15hp 'Johnnyrude' as he calls them, sold this year. He's retired but works from home doing wood work and furniture repairs and goes to FL from Nov. to Mar. to fish.

It seems everyone I talk to said they sold no boats, no motors, no fishing tackle, no water related anything.
Another buddy has a model train shop in his garage and another buys and sells vintage bicycles and both have said they sold basically nothing all year, both rely on CL and FB for sales.
I never thought I'd see the day when a good aluminum boat didn't bring any interest whatsoever.
10 years ago any boat under $3k was gone in hours.
I guess people don't boat or fish here these days. Being in a neighborhood where everyone has a boat, I've not seen any of them get uncovered or taken to the lake or river all year, or the last 5 years either for that matter.

Click to expand...

Money is tight for everyone except the wealthy. In this day and age, you're lucky to get a good paying job only to find it hard to make the bills at the end of the month. Boating isn't appreciated by most people and most don't partake in spending on our hobby.
The wrong people run our countries and that is the real problem with not only boats but many other hobbies and interests. The cost of most consumer goods has risen to all new heights leaving little left for fun money.
We may never see boating and fishing interests like we once knew. Enjoy it while you can.

It's definitely regionally dependent. Here, in DC/MD/VA area, it's still where any decent boat for less than $3k is gone immediately. I was trying to get a 16' Alumacraft that was in pieces with a Johnson 25. The husband had died and it was his project, but the wife was asking $2,800! I offered her $1,800, but she said it was worth more. She dropped the price down $100 at a time, and she sold it when it hit $2,400. Good for her!

I see really nice boats in NJ for half of that! The economy can be a fickle thing

The only way to sell a motor here is piece by piece on eBay. Boats go cheap.
I'll buy just about any small motor for under $50, I break them down to every last bolt and list them. Even a junk motor will part out over a grand most of the time. The same guy who won't pay $300 for a running used motor will pay $350 for a used lower unit or powerhead when his motor needs fixing.

A good example of the thought process here lately is a guy I was talking to at the fleamarket last week. He says he's looking for a good used aluminum boat with a late model motor. He doesn't want anything too old, and its got to be a four stroke. He said he's got $300 to spend for the right boat.
The bad part is he'll sooner or later find one for what he wants to spend.

Some real horror stories here for boaters...I can say that over my lifetime I have moved to get away from restrictive rules and regulations. If I can't enjoy my hobbies at fair and reasonable costs, then it is time to relocate !

mirrocraft16 said:

The only way to sell a motor here is piece by piece on eBay. Boats go cheap.
I'll buy just about any small motor for under $50, I break them down to every last bolt and list them. Even a junk motor will part out over a grand most of the time. The same guy who won't pay $300 for a running used motor will pay $350 for a used lower unit or powerhead when his motor needs fixing.

A good example of the thought process here lately is a guy I was talking to at the fleamarket last week. He says he's looking for a good used aluminum boat with a late model motor. He doesn't want anything too old, and its got to be a four stroke. He said he's got $300 to spend for the right boat.
The bad part is he'll sooner or later find one for what he wants to spend.

Click to expand...

We all know there is no such thing as a "good" boat for 300 dollars. I have met numerous people in my coating life that thought they have found great boats for little money....ask that question again in a couple years. To many folks think once they fix up a boat, it won't ever need any more care !!

We're not talking about cabin cruisers here, we're talking about open 14ft aluminum boats, its either or good or bad, it either floats or not. a couple or three bench seats and a motor.

This type of boat has always been the number one seller both here and when i lived in Jersey, Along with a 10hp motor they are what kept most shops in business. I can count a dozen or more places that sold nothing but 12 to 16ft aluminum boats and they sold as many as they could get hold of each year. I can remember as a teen saving for five years to be able to afford my first boat, a 14ft aluminum boat from Sears, it was $980 with tax back in 1977. It took another five years to be able to afford a 10hp outboard.
When I upgraded that boat in the early 80's I got nearly what I paid for it and with a simple $3 newspaper ad I had 30 calls the next day wanting it.

Now I see boats like that for pocket change or free that just stay listed for months. I've been watching a few that are just like mine that have been listed for free for months. If they weren't 300 miles away in NJ, they'd be in my yard pissing off my neighbors like the two I already own.

With the cost of a new aluminum boat being over $3k now, (closer to $4k), I would think that a $300 boat with a few dings and scratches would sell fast, but there's no takers not even for free.

For $300, I wouldn't expect it to be perfect, but if it simply floats, what more would you want for $300.
Not to mention that for $300, many of those boats listed have motors and trailers as well.

I've been watching one 16ft boat that's been listed with a trailer, (no motor), for over five months. I emailed the guy last Friday and he said he's had no takers since last November for a free boat. If it weren't 300 miles away I think I'd have to add one to my back yard fleet. Its even got a PA registration with it.
Boats older than 1997 were generally more in demand here because PA doesn't require a title on boats made prior to '97. (Boats under 14ft don't need a title regardless of year, but any boat can be titled, but once it has a title it must always have a title). Most people avoid that as its just an added expense that makes selling it even harder. Its another $30, plus a $26 or $39 registration fee, on top of what you paid for the boat.
Once a boat is titled it means that all future owners will have to title that boat as well, if a boat changes hands annually, then the state makes an additional $30 a year on that boat printing new titles, plus sales tax.
Double that in NJ.

I think its gotten to the point where groceries, which have more than quadrupled in price in the last four years, fuel, insurance, and other expenses have taken up all of folks cash and there's no money for a boat or outboard. or even gas for the one they already own.

People around here think boats are made of gold. A beat up, badly painted, short-transom 14-footer with a 9.9 outboard may list for $1500-$2000. List, not sell.

I looked for over two years for the 16' Lowe I have now. I wanted a 16'-18', 20" transom, transom well, open boat, that looked like it hadn't been through a war. Overpaid and had to rebuild 1/2 the trailer, but I have what I wanted.

A running 9.9 of any kind is an easy $600 (sold mine in one day). Newer 2-stroke 9.9 outboards, $800 and up. 4-strokes, more.

Lots of them around used as "kickers" on Lake Erie.

I had a conversation with a guy the other day at a local marina, they said they had almost no work all summer, and the biggest rush was at the very end but nothing like it was before 2020.
He said they area also turning away all work on older motors since they can't recover their labor in doing major repairs. At $225/hr, even a minor repair exceeds what its worth.
He also said that he wouldn't touch a motor over two years old, including those they sold there because after two years of hard use just about any motor is worn out and basically trash.
I argued that more often than not the guy who buys a new motor will use it regularly the first year, then after that the novelty wears off and they get less use. I told him I've got a neighbor who buys a new motor every year and only goes fishing twice a year. When the season is up, he hangs the motor up and buys a new one, most never see more than a few hours of run time.

Its also easy to spot a worn out old turd, not just the power head wears, the steer pin bushings wear, the skeg wears, and the handle itself wears. The same guy at the marina tried to tell me that no one owns a motor and lets it sit, but he's judging only the motors he actually sees in for service. A guy who buys a motor and uses it once or twice a year never goes back to the dealer, by the time its in need of major work, dealers like that won't touch it because its too old.

I'm a firm believer that if you can't do your own work, or if you don't have a buddy who works for beer that can work on outboards, a 40 year old motor is not for you. Break out the CC and fork over $5k or so for a new one every couple years.

If owning a boat meant that I had to spend $5k on a motor, that boat would become a flower planter first.
I haven't spent $5k on all of boats, motors, fishing tackle, and repairs in the 40+ years I've been boating, combined. My limit is a couple hundred bucks for a boat and motor these days but I likely have the boats I'll keep for the rest of my days.

It still boggles my mind though to see so many small motors and small boats listed for good prices that just sit.
I've never seen a time when motors and boats priced so cheap that don't sell.
Over the years, there's always been the few that dump their boats for a song. Its how I got every boat, truck, and car I've ever owned. But for the most part, there's never been a glut of them for sale like there is now either, nor a complete lack of buyers.

If it weren't for 6hp short shaft two strokes, I don't think I'd have sold a single motor all year. At least the hunting crowd is still alive and well here.
To date, out of about 40 motors I listed, only five 6hp, one 4hp, and three 3hp motors have sold for what they're worth. anything larger goes untouched.
Most go to back bay fishermen or hunters. The bass guys want the most hp they can get away with.


I had my 14ft Starcraft out the other day, on the trolling motor alone. I had just rebuilt my 1987 Minn Kota 3hp trolling motor and wanted to put some time on it so I hauled it down a local lake. There was one other boat out all day, a younger guy with a 12ft jon boat and a high dollar bow mount trolling motor he was controlling withi his cell phone somehow.

When I got home, I had the boat still hooked to the car and I gave it a good bath to get rid of the cedar water stains around the water line. I left it uncovered while I went inside to eat and 10 minutes later I had a guy knocking on the door asking if the boat is for sale. He goes on to tell me he's got $300 cash if I'm interested. He was very serious. He was upset when I told him no way. The $300 offer was coming from a guy driving a brand new F350 diesel, Platinum series 4x4 crew cab that likely sold for $100K or more.

hoarder said:

I had a conversation with a guy the other day at a local marina, they said they had almost no work all summer, and the biggest rush was at the very end but nothing like it was before 2020.
He said they area also turning away all work on older motors since they can't recover their labor in doing major repairs. At $225/hr, even a minor repair exceeds what its worth.
He also said that he wouldn't touch a motor over two years old, including those they sold there because after two years of hard use just about any motor is worn out and basically trash.
I argued that more often than not the guy who buys a new motor will use it regularly the first year, then after that the novelty wears off and they get less use. I told him I've got a neighbor who buys a new motor every year and only goes fishing twice a year. When the season is up, he hangs the motor up and buys a new one, most never see more than a few hours of run time.

Its also easy to spot a worn out old turd, not just the power head wears, the steer pin bushings wear, the skeg wears, and the handle itself wears. The same guy at the marina tried to tell me that no one owns a motor and lets it sit, but he's judging only the motors he actually sees in for service. A guy who buys a motor and uses it once or twice a year never goes back to the dealer, by the time its in need of major work, dealers like that won't touch it because its too old.

I'm a firm believer that if you can't do your own work, or if you don't have a buddy who works for beer that can work on outboards, a 40 year old motor is not for you. Break out the CC and fork over $5k or so for a new one every couple years.

If owning a boat meant that I had to spend $5k on a motor, that boat would become a flower planter first.
I haven't spent $5k on all of boats, motors, fishing tackle, and repairs in the 40+ years I've been boating, combined. My limit is a couple hundred bucks for a boat and motor these days but I likely have the boats I'll keep for the rest of my days.

It still boggles my mind though to see so many small motors and small boats listed for good prices that just sit.
I've never seen a time when motors and boats priced so cheap that don't sell.
Over the years, there's always been the few that dump their boats for a song. Its how I got every boat, truck, and car I've ever owned. But for the most part, there's never been a glut of them for sale like there is now either, nor a complete lack of buyers.

If it weren't for 6hp short shaft two strokes, I don't think I'd have sold a single motor all year. At least the hunting crowd is still alive and well here.
To date, out of about 40 motors I listed, only five 6hp, one 4hp, and three 3hp motors have sold for what they're worth. anything larger goes untouched.
Most go to back bay fishermen or hunters. The bass guys want the most hp they can get away with.


I had my 14ft Starcraft out the other day, on the trolling motor alone. I had just rebuilt my 1987 Minn Kota 3hp trolling motor and wanted to put some time on it so I hauled it down a local lake. There was one other boat out all day, a younger guy with a 12ft jon boat and a high dollar bow mount trolling motor he was controlling withi his cell phone somehow.

When I got home, I had the boat still hooked to the car and I gave it a good bath to get rid of the cedar water stains around the water line. I left it uncovered while I went inside to eat and 10 minutes later I had a guy knocking on the door asking if the boat is for sale. He goes on to tell me he's got $300 cash if I'm interested. He was very serious. He was upset when I told him no way. The $300 offer was coming from a guy driving a brand new F350 diesel, Platinum series 4x4 crew cab that likely sold for $100K or more.

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Where are you located? I thought $125/hr was robbery. $225 an hour? Wow! Glad I can do all my own work.

Too bad I'm old and OK financially. Looks like there's a market for good marine mechanics.

I was a USCG Licensed Marine Engineer in a past life. A had a classmate that did a bit of work at a marina in Chicago. People would stop him as he was leaving one boat to come look at another. Just oil changes, injector work (diesel), valve adjustments, etc. Pretty basic work, but standing on your head or otherwise contorting to work on an engine in the bowels of someone's toy is not a lot of fun, Especially if the bilge is filthy.

The part about the guy driving a $100k diesel F350 is about right. Same guy would want my 2001 Stratocaster for $400.

Around here the local gas station gets $125/hr to work on cars, boats always cost more.
The boat guys are getting between $175 and $240, depending on what time of year it is and where they're located. If its a resort area and they stay busy with a good traveling clientele they tend to charge a lot more.
I worked for a GM dealer for a few years about 25 years ago and they were at $95 an hour then. They owned a motorcycle, jetski, and boat dealership down the road and were charging $160/hr in 1998, but the mechanics there were making a fraction of what we were making then but they had far smaller tool boxes and fewer tools to buy compared to those of us who were working on a dozen brands and models every day.
As a dealership tech we topped out at $24/hr then, but what's bad is that the dealer guys now don't make that now and have to pay for their benefits too. I got out when that crap started. You would gross $1,100 in a five and half day work week, then take home $435 tops after taxes, uniforms, union dues, health insurance fees, and out of that you had to still pay for your tools, which at that level were about $100/wk or more. Some shops were also getting greedy and would charge guys for the space the worked in as an effort to make them true private contractors to avoid liability issues if something went wrong and so they could charge back the tech if a problem wasn't fixed for some reason.

Boat guys didn't deal with as much bs but I'm sure the condition of what they worked on was far worse.
I worked for a short time right after that for a small marina that sold OMC, it paid less but there was little to no stress and the perks of working and testing boats out all day sure beat dealing with people screaming they needed their car to get to work or being blamed for everything that broke for any reason after you so much as touched their car.

A friend of mine was quoted $550 for a water pump job on his Mercury Black Max. I told him to buy the pump, and a case of beer and some ice and bring it over. For $75 or less it was good to go for another year or two.

High costs at the dealers are part of what's ruining boating these days. The average guy simply can't afford to pay that kind of money to work on a boat he likely paid $500 for out some barn.

I used to know at least 50 or so guys who all had boats, but in the last few years all but a half dozen or so have dumped their boats, and half of them haven't bothered to take their boats out in at least 10 years now. It started to go downhill in 2008 or so, and this latest round of crazy prices and inflation has pretty much put the nail in coffin for boating for most of them.