It’s Cheap Week, A Week Of Cheap Ways To Go Classic Boating
It’s that time of year where you see all sorts of boat deals popping up, and with gas prices high, and new boats at insane prices, we here at Woody Boater thought it may be fun/informative/helpful to feature some great starter or alternative ways to GET OUT THERE…IN STYLE. I have always lived with the mind set that good design and style shouldn’t have to cost more. A used great design is a far better thing to own and use than a new poorly designed item.
Such is the case with out boat culture. And with $200,000 Pontoon boats it’s never been more important. So, what is out there? How can one get into this passion of style without breaking the bank. Yes you can send your kids to collage AND own a boat.
First on the list is any smaller outboard boat. Whirlwinds, Yellow Jackets, Feather Crafts, Chris Craft Cavaliers, Boston Whalers, Lymans, Sea Skiffs, to name a few. I am talking under $5K maybe $10K but very doable, and fun. And here is the best part.. When you decide to sell, chances are you will make all your money back if not a bit more if you buy right and watch yourself. And in the end, thats not just cheap boating, it’s smart boating.
A wise man once said……….
I just saw a $550k pontoon, so $200k is no big deal. Oh, and that $550k pontoon had black upholstery. Dumb on top of dumb.
Is that Staib in a Lyman? Looks photo shopped. Good looking Lyman though. I’ve always wanted to do a “shoot out” between a 23′ Lyman model and the 22′ CC Sea Skiff model head to head. But I don’t want to read about it, I want to do it to get the visceral feeling from each boat to see the difference. Sea Skiffs are cheap boats for some reason, don’t know why they get the “short stick” on value, but I’m happy they do as that’s the only way I could afford my “first gen” CC Sea Skiff 26′ model (1955). I rode in my friends years ago when he first launched it and we “set the helm” and walked back to fine tune the ML as the Skiff rode across the lake and we made carburetor adjustments to get best performance. Ride was smooth as silk.
Keep your eyes open , good deals are out there. They are better in the fall. But you loose a whole season of boating. I think thais year will bring more picnicing, and cove hanging out, as well as boats rafted together enjoying the day, due to high gas prices. This is all good fun. May the 4th be with you.
I paid $9k for the pictured Whaler, a 1980 17′ Montauk, in December 2025. It was turn key with trailer serviced, tired but serviceable Bimini top, several desirable features like cooler seat, rear bench and a lounging pad over the front anchor locker. It is not a show boat, it was bought for use on small rivers and such in Fl, as a little runaround on Dora, for friends to use or days when I just want to hop in and go and not use one of my larger boats. It was used by friends and guests during the Sunnyland show and scooted all over the chain of lakes without incident.
Turns out that is not a bad price for a vintage Whaler Montauk in decent shape – these seem to attract strong money for some reason. The virtues of Whalers are well known to many but there are cheaper ways to get out on the water, no doubt about that. My opinion is that of the many choices available, a lapstrake such as a Sea Skiff or Lyman provide the best value in an entry level vintage wooden boat. There may be cheaper options in fiberglass, aluminum or plywood, but there seem to be fewer compromises and more choices with the large variety of lapstrakes readily available at $10k or less.
Seen at the last Seattle Boat Show in February, they now have a 250th anniversary model.
Matt, something is weird, sending you pix makes them stretch…
That said, not under 10K but brand new, boat, motor, trailer. cheap!
$5500 with trailer, ready to go