Winter isn't only a good time to tie flies it's also a great time to buy a boat. Boat owners are either buying up or selling out. Also, like in fly fishing, it's show season, and the New York and Atlantic City shows are in January and February respectively.
When I saw Jersey guy Joe Nicosia had listed his boat I told him I'd put it up on the blog just in case someone here was in the market for a new ride. I'm not a boat expert, but I can tell you Joe is mentally-meticulous and clean, just look at his fly tying table when you see him at Edison this upcoming weekend.
What he's selling is his 2021 Layton Bay Backwater 16'. It's the perfect boat for someone wanting to fish the rivers and bays with a shot out front on good weather days. I'm sure Joe has pushed the limit and has taken it out a bit further off the beach.
Here's the particulars;
I've seen the boat out on the water and, most importantly, tucked away inside Joe's garage. This is a garage kept boat since it was delivered, and that's big. Theresa and I stopped by
to drop off a push pole for the boat on our way down to Cape May in May of 2024. So if you're looking for a boat, but not a big boat, that can fish you inside and out front, without the big boat feeling and problems then start to do the numbers and figure out how you're going to ask your better half if and when you can buy it. Joe has it listed on The Hull Truth for another look,
HERE.
The current asking price is $29,900. I saw a reply on THT where a guy said he's building the same boat now with Layton and it's running just over $40,000.
And what does $30,000 get these days? Not much. In my planning on the move south I've been thinking, "Do I really need a pick-up anymore?". There's plenty of anglers that tow boats with vehicles other then pick-ups and my HOA fees will take care of the yard work, but then there's always those Yard Sales, oh wait I'm done with those, forever.
During my solo tour of Bluffton I stopped by the local Chevy dealer. It's been a while since I looked at a new vehicle and the $55 - $78,000 price tags threw me for a loop. One thing I can say you can't find just a new pick-up anymore, long gone are the days of a bench front seat, plastic floor coverings, and rims that come in less then 20 inches.
When I came home I looked up Chevy Tahoe's. I'm figuring I could tow with that since I don't need the bed in the back. Want a used 2018, an eight year old vehicle, with 58,000 miles on it? Well that'll run near $29,000?. "It's just been broken in....", yeah, no thanks. That would come out to $480 per month for 72 months, that's six years, at a rate of 12.58%, with $8,995 down. With a 700 + credit score. Six years from now would be 2032...... and the odometer would surely be over 125,000 miles, in which it would then be "broken in", if not broken.
You can find Joe on Facebook or message him off THT, or drop me an email and I'll get him in touch with you. It's a great boat, and it's time for you to be back on the water, before you die.
