travel to buy

dvx216

dvx216

Well-Known Member
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Feb 1, 2012
2,696
Catawaba Island/Orrville,Oh.
Boat Info
340 Sundancer 2001
Engines
8.1s 370 v drv.
I'm on course to buy my next boat in the spring.It seems as though my choice of a 1994-97 290 Da. in northern Ohio are far and in between.Bigger or smaller seems to be the norm. Will be putting it on a trailer for the off season. So how many miles from home have you traveled to buy a boat and when is it worth just paying someone to haul it for you considering the size.
 
Eight hour drive the last time but I opted to fly. I had the dealer include delivery in the price.
 
Bought our 98 290 6 hours away and had her shipped up. No real issues came from being far away, gave us the opportunity to visit Annapolis and make a couple little trips out of it.
 
There are lots of variables other then "how far" in your question.

I am a strong believer that buying the wrong boat because you don't have time to go look at it, time to haul it, don't have the tow capability, etc. I have seen (right here on CSR) plenty of times where a member bought the wrong boat just because it was convenient. I'd suggest you boil down the issues of distance and solve the problems as they come up.

You might not have the desire or a tow vehicle big enough to handle the new boat, so that means you have to hire the transport. It doesn't take an 18 wheeler and drop deck boat transporter either. There are plenty of guys that just had to have that diesel dually who will jump at a chance to make a little cash hauling a boat. a Dodge, Ford or GM diesel dually can tow up to about 34 ft, with the correct permits. That same arrangement works well for winter haul outs as well.

You will live with a new boat for a long time, so don't let the distance issue prevent you from buying a boat you will be happy with.
 
I travelled 1100 miles one way to buy my current boat. Bought it and towed it back. 56' long with truck and trailer, and the boat and trailer weighed 8000 pounds. I thought it was a fun trip. My wife, not so much.
 
We traveled 500 miles by boat. Drove a Sea Ray 250 miles on vacation and saw the Tiara in the showroom of a dealer. Drove it home and had it broken in by the time we returned our home slip. Got the punch list developed in two weeks and the factory had everything fixed shortly thereafter. We always buy the same style of boat so there was never ever any stewing about layout, size, etc.
 
Live in PA and found the boat in Tampa, FL. Drove down with family, took a 2 week vacation, bought the boat, used it while on vacation and then had it shipped to my marina just in time to enjoy it here over the Labor Day weekend.
 
Just started shopping for a 400 DB, i will limit my search to the lower 48. Though I'd prefer to stay in the middle to eastern half of the country. I live in Cincinnati area
 
We live in Calgary and looked at boats in Florida and Mississippi. I bought this one in Seattle. Got to see a couple of different areas of the US.
 
I just completed a trip from the Seattle area to Houston and back about a month ago. I flew down prior to check out the boat, loved it and made the deal. I did the pick up trip about a month later. It was a LONG trip, but after a while, everything starts to kinda look the same!

I had decided specifically what I wanted, so it limited my choices locally. All in all it was a good experience and adventure! I got to see parts of the country that I had never seen before, I got to go boating in Texas, AND I got to go to the Johnson Space Center! Good times!
 
I've gone 1200 miles each way a couple of times. The right boat is better than the close boat. You drive for a day there, and a day back. That part is quickly forgotten.
 
I drove 12 hours to look at a boat that didn't meet my needs from just a few weeks before finding "the one" 4 hours away. I ended up making that trip twice before closing the deal. Overall a highly enjoyable couple of road trips...
 
I would have went anywhere in the US for the right boat.
I ended up driving apx 2400 miles round trip to Arkansas and back for my 290.
Well worth the trip.

Jeff
 
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Drove just over 1000 miles round trip in a day to look at a boat that I ended up not getting.
Would do it again.
 
Seattle to Baltimore this time last year; did the haul out, survey and sea trial on a boat that I had an accepted conditional offer on. The wife and I flew there to look everything over and were happy with it so continued the purchase. We arranged for transport to have a big rig bring it across country. That cost me $14k, but I got a really good deal on the boat so it was worth it to me.
 
I've been going through the process now, and have driven as many as 8 hours one way to check out a boat. It looks like I have a good one about 3 hours away,
I wouldn't hesitate traveling even further for the right boat as long as you get lots of information and pictures before you make the trip.
 
Me in Atlanta.
Chez-nous in Miami.

Great father-son getaway to go look at her.

Also family trips to Tampa and Charleston but didn't buy anything there.
 
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