On Mar 27, 4:24 pm, "Fishdreamer" wrote:
After retiring from the Navy I think I'll try the smaller ones for awhile.
I'm a fisherman and we're looking at a 20' walk around that used. I'm omly
limited to $12,000 but what I've seen there's plenty to choose from on the
northeast coast. Around Atlantic City. Right now I'm looking at Sunbird
Neptune that's a 89. He's the second owner and has lots of records. I'll get
a surveyor to go with me because I believe the $500 is worth it. One big
worry I have is my pull vehicle. I have a 96 ford explorer with a V-8. The
book says I can tow up to 7000 pounds. We did have a double axle u-haul that
was real heavy and it pulled fine but what about when I launch the boat? Any
help will be appreciated.

First off, that boat, being 18 years old, unless it's got a brand new
engine on it, isn't worth much, so check around first. Try
"www.yachtworld.com" for prices, and figure on paying 10% to 30% less
than the average price for a given boat listed. As far as a survey,
for a 20 foot boat, $500 is a lot of money. I think I paid about $600
for my boat, and it's 37 feet long with twin diesels, generator and
all kinds of other equipment. My point being, their's not that much to
check out on a 20 foot boat, I think you'r getting robbed on the
survey, their based on the length of the boat. Try "www.boatus.com",
they used to list surveyors all over the country, check a couple of
them out in your area first, to see if your paying too much.

John