Buying Your First Boat: A Checklist from a Coast Guard-Licensed Captain

Before you shop

I've watched a lot of people buy their first boat, and the happiest ones made two decisions before they ever walked a dealer's lot: how they'd use it, and where they'd keep it. Everything on this list follows from those two answers.

• Write down your three most common uses: cruising, fishing, watersports, swimming, overnights.
• Count your usual passengers, and plan for fewer than the capacity plate allows.
• Choose the water you'll be on most and the marina or launch you'll use.
• Look up that marina's docking baseline and ask which slip you'd get.
• Set a total budget that includes the first year's running costs, not just the price.

Checking the boat

• Hull: look for cracks, soft spots in the deck and floor, and repairs that don't match.
• Engine: ask for the hours and the service records. Look for corrosion and oil where it shouldn't be.
• Steering and controls: they should move smoothly with no binding or slack.
• Electrics: test every light, pump, gauge and the horn.
• Safety gear: life jackets for every passenger, fire extinguisher, throwable device, sound signal.
• Paperwork: title or registration in the seller's name, and the hull identification number matching the boat.
• For a used boat, a professional marine survey is money well spent.

The sea trial

Never buy a boat you haven't driven. And if you can, sea trial it on a breezy day, not a flat calm one. Anyone can dock in no wind. You want to know how this boat behaves when the wind is pushing it.

• Run it at cruising speed and full throttle, and watch the temperature and gauges.
• Stop it and see how quickly it drifts with the wind.
• Practice turning in a tight space at low speed, in both directions.
• Back it up in a straight line.
• Dock it yourself at least once, with the seller or a captain beside you.

The marina and the slip

You'll dock this boat every trip, so the slip matters. DockWise grades each marina's docking baseline from its layout, fairway room and historical prevailing wind, and grades each slip from where it sits along its fairway. A long, high-sided boat in a tight shore-end slip with a crosswind will be hard to dock every time you come home. Check before you sign either contract.

Your own skills

Many states require a boating safety course, and even where yours doesn't, take one. Then be honest about your docking. DockWise's free Readiness report takes about 10 minutes and shows which parts of docking you're ready for and where to practice. Your personal docking grade then combines that with your boat and your slip.

If your grade comes out harder than you'd like, that's normal for a first boat. A few hours with a local captain in your own boat, in your own marina, is the best money a new owner can spend.

Costs after the price

• Slip or mooring for the season, plus winter storage where you need it.
• Insurance.
• Fuel.
• Routine maintenance, winterizing and spring commissioning.
• Registration and any required safety course.
• Lessons for you and anyone else who will drive the boat.

Your next steps

1. Take the free Readiness report (about 10 minutes). It shows where your docking skills are strong and where to practice.
2. Find your marina's docking baseline on DockWise, then tap your own slip to see its free grade.
3. Book a lesson with a local captain through Ravo before your first season, ideally in the boat you buy.