re: Boat Dealers must be hurting...seeing $100K discounts off New MSRP.

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20+ year financing offered.

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fricking insane.

I dropped mine off at the dealer today and was chatting with one of the sales guys about just how insane these boat prices have become. Not sure about other boats but the wake/surf boat prices have gone insane. A new MasterCraft X-Star is over $500,000 for a 25' boat.

needing to finance a boat, or buying a six figure boat without being a millionaire to where it is a small percentage of your net worth, is peak stupidity

2025 loaded Skeeter FXR 21

Calculate your payment

Purchase Price
$114,350.00

Down Payment Amount
$22,870.00

Interest Rate % (APR)
6.74

Loan Term in Years
20 Years
Or
Loan Term in Months
240

Estimated Monthly Payment
$695.04*
/month

Who the heck is going to pay $695.00 a month + Insurance for 20 freaking years


Bordering on a mortgage

I remember 15 years ago you’d go to the lake and 90% of the boats you saw were regular Bayliners, Tahoes, Tracker pontoons, etc. Boats families could afford at under 30-40k and take their kids out on the water. It was rare to see 6 figure boats like Mastercraft, Cobalt, Ski Nautique, etc unless you were on a large recreational lake surrounded by expensive vacation lake homes.

Now it seems any lake or river you go to is full of these 6 figure boats and I see less and less of the value boats and wonder how the hell people afford that stuff

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Good because there is zero reason for boats to be grossly overpriced like they are now. They jumped on the COVID train and even raised prices from there. They deserve to suffer for a while.

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The market had been in a huge decline for the previous decade. It was shocking to me how fast and steep that market climbed.

A friend just paid 180k for his new party barge. Thing is pretty fine though. I must admit. Got a 400 Merc and a completely ridiculous sound system. And he has his correct change, if you know what I mean. So it's all relative.

I'll stick to my 20ft Ranger bass boat

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And he has his correct change, if you know what I mean.

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We don’t. Talk to us like we’re nerds.

I recently bought a Pair Custom offshore with twin 200 digitals, (2) Garmin 1243xsv, Garmin Kraken TM, Radar, Custom 3 piece boat. I had it built, took about a year, for a lot less than a Blackjack 256, and these glorified ski boats.
No I didn’t finance it but it was something I worked toward for 4-5 years. Had a smaller bay boat before.

The problem with buying a boat off of a lot is that they instantly depreciate because there is a lot full of them that need to be liquidated eventually.
A custom boat that has a wait, (there is still a long wait time) doesn’t depreciate at near the rate of a readily available boat. The price for my package has increased about $20K since I bought mine. I could sell it now for right near what I paid.

Where I live a big investment in a boat isn’t thought of as a bad investment. Boating and fishing is an integral part of people’s lives. Much like private schools in Louisiana. It’s a terrible investment financially, but you do it for the betterment of your kids. I have had some of the best family time on a boat. My dad did it for me,and I will pass it along to my kids. My 11 yo gets to fish for Snapper, troll for wahoo and mahi most every weekend that the weather cooperates , not once a year on vacay. We fish and or boat from March thru October.

We have friends with kids that live in upstate Alabama. Their parents are willing to vacation with them anywhere they choose. They choose to come down and get on the boat.