My wife and I were on a friend's Hydra Sports 22-foot Ocean Skiff, and we both liked the hull. It seemed like it would really suit our needs nicely, at an affordable price.

So I've been looking for several months. I found a hull with all the options I wanted, and with even more power than I was looking for, with only 175 hours of running time, and the price was right - $12,000. The boat has never been bottom painted, in fact, it has never even been in salt water. Unfortunately, the boat is in Texas.

Would you guys ever consider buying a used boat long distance? The problem is, if I have to go down there and do a sea trial, and pay someone to tow the boat back up here, it really adds quite a bit (percentage-wise) to the price. Towing it myself is really not an option - for that distace, I'd rather spend the $1400 and hire a pro (I've already looked into how much that will cost).

I'm going to have a survey done, and if it comes back clean, I'm not exactly sure what to do next. Would you ever consider buying the boat without actually seeing it? The dealer has sent me a thousand digital photos, and the survey should confirm that the photos are accurate. I know how this model rides (because my friend has one), but is that enough? Is there a lot of variation between how my friend's rig will handle and how this one will handle?

The main issue is, with a boat this cheap, I won't necessarily re-coup my travel expenses by knocking down the sale price - obviously, it's easier to do that on a $100,000 yacht than a $12,000 fishing boat.

There are some good Hydra-Sport dealers up here, but it's not like there are a ton of these hulls switching hands every day. If I pass up on this deal, I'm afraid it will be a LONG time before another clean, used rig in my price range comes along.

Hey Jamie...

Tough call. I'm looking at similar instances on going to South Florida for an old SeaCraft as the pricing and selection is a lot better there than here.

If the prices is substantially better than what you'll find here and if it passes the survey, fly down and check it out. Fly Southwest and save some real money :D .. The lack of saltwater is nice too. What year is the boat?

A lot of people from the NE pull boats from other parts of the country because of price and availability and you just might too. $1400 is a good price to have it shipped - I've seen quotes of $1700 for a 20 footer from Fl to RI. And if they are that rare around these parts it may be your only option. How tweaked will you be if you pass on this and don't see another one??

John -

Thanks for your thoughts. The boat is a 1996, which is a little older than I would've liked, but you can't complain about 176 hours on the meter. Particularly if it's all freshwater use. The boat belonged to an older couple who only used it to take their grandkids fishing on the local lake.

If I only had a crystal ball, and could predict how long I'd have to wait for a similar rig up here...Actually, I did JUST miss a 1998 rig at Ocean House Marina in Charlestown. So maybe they're not too rare, but there sure aren't a lot of them.

Jamie,
is having 176 hours on a 6 year old motor such a good thing? I'm still near the bottom on the outboard learning curve, but I keep hearing the way to keep an outboard running is to run the outboard.
Good luck!!

I'd be wary of a low hours boat. 176 is very low for a '96. I think I have more than that on mine in six months. The surveyor should tell you that it is actually better to have normal to high hours on a used motor instead of low hours. Also you are buying from a dealer who knows the value of the boat. You are probably getting what you are paying for, or less, plus the additional costs of buying so far away.

Jamie,
You might want to give the local Hydra-Sport dealers a call first, they might have something on the lot, or maybe a current customer who is looking to move up. I wouldn't commit to a purchase without first checking it out thoroughly. If the boat is bad you have no recoarse......It's getting to be winter time, there are going to be alot of good deals out there.....Just my 2-cents...