How to buy a boat without sinking yourself

So you want to buy a boat?

It’s a move our Minnesota dreams are made of — people in our state own more boats per capita than anywhere else. But in our dreams the boat doesn’t sink, crash, need constant repair, or experience some other combination of woe that puts personal relationships to the test.

And don’t forget the paperwork.

That was the hitch that unhitched Grayson McNew’s dream of cruising the St. Croix River. The first-time boat owner cruised out of Windmill Marina last summer as the proud owner of a 54-foot motor yacht named Sweet Destiny, a yacht without a title. The document couldn’t be found when he bought the watercraft from the marina. He thought he could work with state offices to get a replacement.

Having no title meant he couldn’t get insurance. And without insurance, no marina would allow him to enter. He spent a few weeks tied up at the new city dock in Hudson before finding a perch on Beer Can Island. And then a leak – he thinks it was the right rudder shaft – took over and Sweet Destiny was on its way to becoming the most well-known shipwreck on the river.

The boat still holds fast to the island.

With that cautionary tale in mind, here are some pointers.

There’s help out there. The state Department of Natural Resources has an excellent and comprehensive guide to boat ownership that covers everything from paperwork to general operations of boats, laws, navigation and a special section on boating on Lake Superior. It also includes a list of required equipment, starting with life jackets.

Not every boat requires a license, but most do. The DNR boating guide says all motorized watercraft regardless of length and nonmotorized watercraft over 10 feet require a license. It includes inflatables, rowing shells, canoes, sailboards and more. (There are a few exceptions, including boats used for waterfowl hunting during the waterfowl season or rice boats used during the harvest.)

The three-year license expires on Dec. 31 of the last year the license is valid.

To transfer ownership, you’ll need to write up a bill of sale. And — if we’ve learned anything from the St. Croix River example this year — get the title if the boat is titled.

Lt. Eric Sullivan, of the DNR’s Marine Unit, said if you’re buying a used boat the safest thing to do is travel to a DMV location and make the ownership transfer immediately as part of the sale. The DMV office will know which boat requires a title and what you’ll need to complete the sale.

“That’s the best way to make sure everything is going to happen properly,” Sullivan said.

Sometimes owners will see that a boat has a few years remaining on its registration and think it would be easier to allow that to expire, but don’t fall for it, Sullivan said. The DNR won’t charge you for the extra registration – just the transfer fees – and there’s a 15-day requirement for transfer of ownership.

Also, keep copies of your paperwork onboard in a drybox, with the originals tucked away safely at home.

How much boat should you buy?

Remember, the cost is not just the sticker price. A boat is a like an ATM in reverse: you don’t take out the money, you put it in. Whether that’s for maintenance, gear, fuel, a slip or mooring, insurance, storage, or — for larger boats — having it launched by a marina or retrieved from the water at the end of the season.

Those costs generally climb with the length and weight of the boat, so it’s more economical to buy just what you need — even if you find a giant boat selling for less than you’d expect.

To get a feel for the boat market, take a look at websites like boattrader.com, hoopersyachts.com, or Barker’s Island Marina on Lake Superior. New fishing boats can start in the mid four-digit range and climb to $150,000. A new pontoon could be $20,000 to more than 10 times that amount. The sailboat market in Minnesota is primarily for used boats, and prices there run from free to six digits.

If it’s a fishing boat, the sales staff at Nelson Marine, a boat dealer in Gem Lake, Minn., said to think about the number of people you plan to take with you. A boat with a trolling motor, battery charger and a fish finder is sufficient to get you going. The boat comes licensed, and the dealer provides a title for the boat and the trailer. Then it’s up to the owner to insure the boat, the motor and the trailer.

It’s possible to see all of the boat’s features at the Nelson Marine showroom, but remember that boats aren’t like cars. Test drives generally aren’t available.

This could be a busy start to the year, said Glenn Kloskin of the Boaters Outlet in Maplewood. The cold weather this early spring kept people from making moves on their boating plans, he said, and now that it’s warming up, “it’s all going to hit at once.” That might mean a bit longer wait to get the boat you’ve ordered, he said.

The Viaggio brand pontoons he sells can be smaller, like an 18-footer that’s easier to trailer to the lake, or larger and powered by a 300-horsepower engine.

Kloskin has sold boats for decades from his Rice Street location, and sometimes he serves as a broker when someone needs help selling their pontoon. A point of interest: If the boat is sold from a private party to another private party, there’s no sales tax. “Unless there’s a trailer involved, then you have to pay sales tax on the trailer only,” Kloskin said.

That’s the kind of insight you get from years of practice. Kloskin, who turns 90 this summer, said he might retire someday soon.

“Even if you’re a dummy you have to learn something in 60 years,” he said.

No one hopes to have a boating emergency, but everyone should plan for one.

It’s a requirement to have life jackets for every person on the boat. The boat also needs signal flares, a fire extinguisher and, if it’s an enclosed type of boat with a cabin, a CO2 detector, according to the staff at My Boating Store in Stillwater, a boating accessories supplier on the north end of downtown. A first-aid kit doesn’t hurt, and if the boater intends to travel they should carry a fixed or handheld VHF radio in order to hail the bridge operators of bridges or lock and dams.

“It’s good to have a radio,” said Bob Corrus, the My Boating Store manager.

At least you’ll have some way to call for help if you end up beached on Beer Can Island.