[Mr. Sandman]

Foreclosure is a powerful motivator.

The beautiful thing about Florida boats is the shear number of them. It is mind boggling how many boats are down there tied to people in serious financial distress. As one broker told me..."Be careful if you make an offer, it could be accepted."

The state is in a real bad way. The unemployment numbers are inaccurate. Many people who lost jobs have left the state and abandoned their boats and property. Once they leave the state, they don't count in the states unemployment numbers. The real unemployment in Florida is probably close to 20% IMO. The construction sector has crashed hard there. Buildings have been stopped in all phases of construction.
Boat Builders will not even start building a boat unless the check has cleared. Nothing is built on spec anymore.



As for the use factor...while that can be true, you would be surprised, you can find a lot of boats with low hours. I did (my 03 had 220 hours on it). IMO the toughest thing about florida is the abuse from the sun and insects..yes insects!
You can find "Free"or nearly free boats there, they may not be cherry, but theyare on the cheap . But you have to go down there and spend a little time nosing around and talking to the people in the boat business. Frankly if you are serious and know what you want, hook up with a bank or broker and have him track a few down for you. Banks are discounting unpaid boat loans like nobodys business. I have seen late model boats go for 40K that were worth 4X that easy and cost 300K new. That is the kind of deals that are down there.