In the south, spring starts early, and summer ends late! What does this mean? More time on the water to enjoy our favorite activities!
Whether you’re heading out on the water for the inaugural run or for the hundredth time this season, it is essential to keep your boat summer-ready. There are many types of boats and engines, each with its own maintenance requirements. Is your boat or PWC ready to hit the water? If you are unsure, we created a Spring Readiness Guide. This is meant to assist in planning for your boat’s maintenance and ensure you stay on the water!
Boat Maintenance & Spring Readiness Guide
This checklist serves only as a guide. Refer to your boat’s owner’s manual and reach out to your local boat dealer with questions related your boat’s service and maintenance.
In addition to engine preparedness, State laws require safety items on board your boat:
Navigation Lights: When underway from sunset to sunrise, all vessels must be equipped with prescribed navigation lights in accordance with the Boating Safety Laws.
Personal Flotation Devices (PFD) – PWC’s, boats less than 16’ in length, and boats over 16′ in length each have certain PFD requirements. Visit your state’s boating site (listed below) for a detailed list of required PFD’s for your area.
Fire Extinguisher – all vessels must be equipped with a USCG-approved fire extinguisher (type and capacity requirements based on the type of vessel).
Sound Device (horn/distress signal) – Vessels must have a proper signal device (i.e. horn, bell, whistle).
To find the complete Boat Equipment Checklists for Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee, visit:
Boating season is right around the corner! Have you decided how you and your family will spend your days on the water? If you’re interested in watersports, we’d like to help you discover the best boats for watersports!
Several different water activities are popular among boaters these days. They include water sports like skiing and wakesurfing, hobby sports such as fishing, and simple activities such as anchoring in your favorite cove for the day.
In this article, we will focus on the watersports options and guide you in your next decision for your perfect boat for summer.
What are the best boats for waterskiing?
Whether you are a traditional, slalom, or barefoot skier, your ski boat should stand apart in these three categories: Flat wake, tracking ability, and helm comfort. But if you’re new to skiing, how do you know how a ski wake is supposed to look? How do you know what you’re supposed to feel when skiing behind a boat?
When shopping for your next ski boat, keep these points in mind, and always ask for a lake demonstration.
Minimal Wake
Skiers need as little wake as possible to enjoy their set on the lake. A boat that maintains minimal wake at all speeds is ideal for this sport.
Tracking
A boat that can track straight without veering far off course during a set makes both the skier’s and the driver’s experience more enjoyable. Take the boat for a spin at ski speeds during your lake demonstration. Test the boat’s handling while towing a skier. Pay special attention to how the boat handles the weight of your skier as they complete a pass or two.
Helm Comfort
When you’re on your boat demo, sit in the driver’s seat! Is the seat adjustable? Are you able to see clearly out the windshield? Is the dash technology intuitive and customizable? All of these factors make or break your boating experience as an avid skier!
There are several brand options for a quality ski boat. One that we recommend at Skier’s Marine is the MasterCraft Prostar. It boasts hull rails and tracking fins to make it the easiest driving ski boat on the market. In addition, MasterCraft redesigned the motor box to reduce noise and provide better airflow for optimum engine performance. Whether it’s just you and your buddy, or you take the whole family, the Prostar has room for seven people with bow seating and removable rear seats. Skier’s Marine offers the MasterCraft Prostar at all of our locations, so when searching for ski boats for sale in TN, AL, or GA, check out our dealership first!
What are the best boats for wakeboarding?
Wakeboardingis a watersport that involves a motorboat towing a rider on a wakeboard. Compared to the ski wake, a wakeboarder thrives with a wider wake with a nice lift to help the rider grab some air.
When buying a new watersports boat for wakeboarding, things to look for include a reliable wake, interior comfort, and premium technology.
There are several reputable brands available to wakeboard enthusiasts! Supra, Moomba, and MasterCraft are just a few of the options.
set themselves apart using premium materials and class-leading fuel-efficient Indmar engines. You will find four model options from Supra Boats ranging in sizes from about 21-24 feet long with ballast capacity ranging from 3300 lbs to 4100 lbs. Included in each of the models is the Supra Boats AutoWake technology. AutoWake offers rider profiles and AutoWake leveling, so the boat automatically adjusts each surf plate until the boat is level.
provides a reliable wake boat at a price point most boat owners will appreciate. The lineup of Moomba Boats includes six models starting at 20 feet, going up to just over 24 feet in length. Each of these models includes AutoWake technology to help create a consistent push-button wake each time you head out onto the water.
offers four wake boat families with multiple boat length options. One thing that sets MasterCraft apart is that each boat comes equipped with the same wake and surf system. So no matter which boat family, length, or style you choose, you will always have the same wake experience behind each of the MasterCraft wake boat options. MasterCraft utilizes its SurfStar system, which provides the most customizable wave for wakeboarding and wakesurfing.
What are the best boats for wakesurfing?
Wakesurfingis a newer watersport for boat owners that brings the love of surfing the ocean to the lake.
When wakesurfing, your rider is towed on a short surfboard behind a boat. The boat’s speed stays around 10-11mph. Slow speeds with full ballasts produce a nice wake for your rider to surf.
As mentioned above, MasterCraft Boats offers the most customizable wave for wakesurfing. The SurfStarcomponents on each MasterCraft include an intuitive dash display, maximum surf durability, and flawless wake precision. Save surfing profiles for all of your riders using the preferred settings, or create your perfect wave!
The options from Supra Boats and Moomba Boats are capable of creating solid surf waves. AutoWake combined with the Swell System from Supra or the Flow Surf System from Moomba will create an enjoyable experience for any rider.
Another brand that offers a more versatile overall boating experience is the Surf line from Chaparral Boats. Chaparral offers models made for a day on the water that comes equipped with a spacious interior layout and numerous storage options. The Surf line from Chaparral includes five boat lengths to choose from, each set up with the Malibu Surf Gates™. Like the brands mentioned above, the driver controls the Surf Gates on the Chaparral Surf via the touchscreen.
If cruising the lake with the option to tow the kids in inner tubes is something you enjoy, most pontoons and tritoonshave ski rope attachments. Each of the boats we mentioned above also make great tubing and day boating options!
During the boating life cycle, the time will come when you want to sell your boat or even upgrade to a new one. Everyone wants the best price and return on the original investment. You may be interested to know how to maximize your return. At Skier’s Marine, we desire to be your trusted boating education source.
How-to Video on How to Sell Your Boat:
There are many reasons people may sell their boat. You may want to upgrade to a newer model, or maybe you need something larger; Perhaps you want to try a different kind of boating. Another reason to sell a boat is due to financial constraints, or maybe you no longer have the time and/or energy for boating. As your trusted education source on all things boating, we’ve created this comprehensive guide on how to sell your boat to help the process be as smooth as possible.
Important Definitions
When selling your boat, you may find some terms you are unfamiliar with. Below we’ve defined these terms to help you prepare for the boat selling process:
Private Party – Refers to selling your boat on your own to another individual.
Trade – Refers to selling your boat to a dealership through the acquisition of another boat/RV/auto in which you get your boat’s value reduced from the price of the new vehicle.
Wholesale – Refers to selling your boat to an entity purchasing your boat and intends to resell it at a lower value than private party or trade pricing.
ACV – The “Actual Cash Value” of your boat at that time.
Title – The state’s way of tracking ownership of a vessel; allows taxes to be imposed on the vessel in an ongoing manner.
Bill of Sale – The legal document used to transfer ownership from one party to another.
Warranty Transfer – The transfer of a boat’s warranty from one party to another, usually for a fee. The new party gets the benefit of the boat’s original remaining warranty.
What Impacts the Value of Your Boat?
Many factors can impact the resale value of your boat. As owners, we don’t have control over all of these factors, so we’ll focus on the ones we can control in this section.
Brand Perception
When selling a boat, brand name matters. Boats with higher brand perception (think well-established brands such as MasterCraft, Sylvan, Chaparral, etc.) will usually sell faster and for more money. You can minimize the depreciation of your boat by purchasing popular brands and boat types for your market. For example, suppose you boat on Lake Martin in Alabama. In that case, you’ll find that MasterCraft, Moomba, Supra, and other wake boats are popular on this lake. If your boat is one of those brands or similar, you will see a nice return. Take note of your neighbor’s boats and what your local boat dealer offers. This will help you determine how easily your boat will sell!
Condition of Your Boat
Second, keeping your boat in great condition significantly impacts your resale value. We recommend keeping your boat indoors or undercover (boathouse, dry stack, garage, carport, etc.), as this will help protect your boat from potential damage. It is also a best practice to clean the boat with mild soap and water after each use. In addition, drying the boat before covering it will keep mold and mildew to a minimum.
Along with general cleanliness, you should always keep up the service maintenance on your boat. Follow the manufacturer’s recommended service schedule and keep those service records in a safe spot. Providing these documents will make the next owner feel more comfortable purchasing your boat and allow you to ask a little more for it.
Warranty
Finally, any remaining warranties and a used boat inspection at the time of the sale will help you receive more of your initial boat investment. Clients are more comfortable purchasing a boat with a favorable inspection report available, and remaining warranties help them ensure they aren’t getting a lemon.
How Much is Your Used Boat Worth?
It can feel like a guessing game when determining how much you should sell your used boat for. Skier’s Marine found an easy way to always come to a fair price for you and your Buyer.
First, we recommend visiting NADAGuides to find the value of your boat based on the bank’s valuation. When building your boat on NADAGuides, the best place to start is to select only the correct engine and trailer listed with no additional options. Remember, brands and boat types popular when you sell can bring in more than NADA, while less popular brands/types may bring in less than NADA.
To find the exact price your boat should sell for, we suggest comparing NADA to a local (if possible) and a nationwide comparable. To do this:
Search boats for sale that match your exact model.
Remove the highest and lowest priced boats before averaging the sale price of the rest of them. This average (less 5% for negotiations) should be the actual sales price of your boat.
Keep in mind that if you trade in your boat, the dealer will expect to make a fair profit on your boat. So, expect to deduct another 10-13% from that average to come to a reasonable trade number.
Ways to Sell Your Boat:
There are three solid options for reselling your boat: between private parties, trade it in at a dealership, or sell to a dealership buying group. Depending on your financial situation, your interests, and the condition of your boat, each option has different advantages.
Private Party
You will net the most profit for your boat when you sell to a private party. However, there are some disadvantages. Selling a boat to a private party is a lot of work. You are solely responsible for all paperwork, any demos a customer might want, transferring warranties, and more. You’ll also need to be aware of any legalities for your state; for example, person-to-person boat sales are non-taxable in some states.
In some cases, selling a boat to a private party can take almost as much investment as you did the day you bought the boat. When listing your boat for sale to a private party, keep in mind that buyers like to negotiate. Allow your posted price to include about 5-10% to negotiate the final sale price.
Trade-in Your Boat
The second way to resell your boat is to trade it in for a newer boat. This option will net you the second most value for your boat, behind private sales. The sale as a trade-in will be impacted by the tax rate. This means your resale value for trade-ins can be about 10% less than when selling to a private seller. However, this is an excellent option if you want a newer model boat for a much lower price.
Wholesale
Lastly, you can wholesale your boat to a local dealer or used boat buying group. This may bring you the least amount of return for your boat, but it is a good option when you need it. In these instances, the dealership group will handle everything, including transferring any warranties, drawing up the bill of sale, ensuring the boat is in selling condition, etc. While you may clear less profit for your boat, the trade-off is an easy and speedy deal.
How to Sell Your Boat Fast:
If you’re in a situation that requires a quick sale of your used boat, there are a few easy ways to accomplish this.
First, list your boat in as many places as possible, especially the free ones, to get the most exposure for your used boat. Some sites are organized by city, so you may need to post multiple listings in different cities where your boat is most popular to drive interest.
Second, you can list your boat slightly under all the other boats online to drive more interest. For example, if most boats similar to yours are listed for $49,995, listing yours for $47,995 will help bring in offers.
Lastly, you can sell your boat wholesale to your local dealer or buying group. Again, understand that they will need to make a profit on your boat, so expect a lower offer.
Where to Sell Your Boat Online:
The most popular place to sell your boat is going to be online. While pay-to-park locations exist, in today’s fast-paced, internet-driven world, your best bet for selling quickly is to sell online. Below is a list of some of the best sites to utilize when selling your boat online. While this list is not comprehensive, it is a great place to start:
Facebook Marketplace
Craigslist
BoatTrader.com
Only Inboards (only if your boat is an inboard)
Iboats.com
Boats.com
Yachtworld.com (only if your boat is actually a yacht)
Ebay.com (we recommend being careful with this one)
What Paperwork Do I Need to Sell My Boat?
Bill of Sale
The last thing to keep in mind when selling is having a Bill of Sale. A Bill of Sale lists out the terms of the transaction between a Seller and Buyer. In some states, a Bill of Sale may not be required to complete the sale, but we strongly recommend using one as it provides proof of the details of the transaction. Your Bill of Sale should include the boat’s hours of operation and the registration information. It must state “Bill of Sale” at the top of the document.
Copy of Drivers License
We also recommend trading and attaching a photocopy of both the Buyer’s and Seller’s driver’s licenses. Include the printed information listed on it from those driver’s licenses as well.
OFAC Report (Office of Foreign Assets Control)
To ensure your safety, you may also want to run an instant OFAC to protect yourself and avoid any possible legal repercussions. Below, we’ve provided a blank template to help you get started.
Title
Some states are title states and will require a transfer of the boat’s title. If your state does require a title, it might have an e-title process where you can request a paper copy to provide to the boat’s new owner.
MSO (Manufacturer Statement of Origin)
For non-title states, an MSO may be required before the new owner can register the boat in their name.
Be sure to check with your state’s DMV or Wildlife Department to verify your state’s requirements for selling a boat.
We hope these tips help you get started on your journey to resell or trade-in your boat. Skier’s Marine gladly accepts trades of all types and works hard to bring you top dollar for your trade. Our passion for boating, partnership with exceptional manufacturers, and commitment to customer service create a unique customer experience. Our team is here to be your trusted guide. To get more information about reselling or to apply for a trade-in, visit us online or visit your local Skier’s Marine dealership.
https://www.skiersmarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/how-to-sell-your-boat.png5401080Bailey Powellhttps://www.skiersmarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/skiersmarine-logo-01.pngBailey Powell2021-10-14 21:50:212022-02-03 15:41:09A-Z Boat Guide – How to Sell Your Boat
With inventory levels at all-time lows, it’s time for our Don’t Miss the Boat Sales Event. When you are ready for a new (or new to you boat), will one be available? Act now and the answer is yes.
Skier’s Marine recognizes the frustration of missing out on crucial memories with your family. Our team is a group of passionate boating enthusiasts who likewise spend their weekends raising their families on the water. Over the last month, our team has worked hard to secure additional production slots for our clients during this historically high demand time while not increasing pricing.
Traditionally, boat shows have been an excellent time to place an order for your custom new boat and have it delivered in time for boating season. This year that may not be possible with current manufacturing challenges and significantly increased demand. Skier’s Marine’s inventory is at an all-time low, and many models are already selling out for the 2021 model year (through August 2021).
How do you ensure you will have the boat you desire for the 2021 boating season:
Experience the boat you are considering on the water with one of our knowledgeable Product Specialists while the weather is still enjoyable.
Spend time with your Product Specialist to discuss stock inventory (new or used) and production slot availability.
When you find the boat that fits your wants and needs, lock it in, and know you will be ready when the season arrives.
Next year, imagine the memories and experiences you will have made in your new boat because you acted this fall while the boat you desired is still available. This will only be possible if you communicate with your Product Specialist today to work through your wants and needs. Our team invites you to visit your local Skier’s Marine or click the link below to have a Product Specialist reach out to you.
Boat inventory levels are at an all-time low; waiting until boat shows or next spring to acquire your new or preowned boat will leave you with limited choices to get the exact boat you desire. Come into our Don’t Miss the Boat Sales Event – contact Skier’s Marine today and work with one of our Product Specialists to start finding your new boat.
Video: Inventory levels are at all-time lows, contact Skier’s Marine to start finding your dream boat today to ensure it is here next Spring when the season arrives.
https://www.skiersmarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/blog_banner_dont_miss_the_boat_mastercraft-1.png3701280Chad Tylerhttps://www.skiersmarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/skiersmarine-logo-01.pngChad Tyler2020-11-04 18:58:042021-03-30 21:51:47Don’t Miss The Boat Sales Event | November 10-25, 2020
