If you’re on vacation or if you’re just looking for a temporary pastime, you can rent a boat instead of buying one. It’s an easy, straightforward, and cost-efficient way to get the vessel you need to enjoy the open water. But if you’re interested in fishing, wakeboarding, sunbathing, and just cruising on the water on a more frequent basis, you might consider buying a boat. So, at what point should you consider committing to a purchase of either a yacht or a Bonito boat?

Perks of Renting a Boat and Why Owning One Can Be A Hassle

First, you should understand what it takes to buy a boat. Purchasing a boat outright isn’t always as simple as it first appears.

The Dreaded Loans

 How are you going to pay for the boat? Unless you have a lot of cash sitting around, you’ll likely need to take out a loan. That said, getting a loan isn’t always simple. You’ll need to have a good credit score if you want speedy approval from a variety of lenders. You’ll also need to pay close attention to the terms, interest rate, and other conditions of the loan.

Don’t Forget The Overhead Expenses

You’ll also need to consider the potential secondary costs of owning a boat, including things like insurance, fuel, and even optional upgrades you’ll make in the future. After running some loan calculations, you may find an option with an affordable monthly payment – but these peripheral expenses could put you over budget. Don’t let yourself get caught off guard.

You Also Need To Deal With the Legal, Boring Stuff

In some areas, you’ll need a captain’s license before you can operate a boat on the water. In other areas, you may need a license for certain activities like fishing. And no matter what, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with operating laws in your given area. It’s wise to do this before committing to a boat purchase.

You Have To Gain Extensive Experience In Boating And Maintenance

Once you become the owner of a boat, you’ll be responsible for its maintenance, storage, and other considerations such as spending a lot of money on boat engines, boat trailers, and marine equipment such as anchors, marine radio, depth sounders, and boat fenders, just to name a few. That means you’ll have more extensive duties – and if you don’t have much experience, it can be overwhelming. It pays to do your research before you make a full commitment. If you operate the boat or maintain it irresponsibly, it could ruin the boat – and cause you to lose your entire investment.

If you don’t have much boating experience and you don’t feel confident handling your own boat care and maintenance, you may be reluctant to commit to boat ownership. Renting may be a better short-term option until you feel more confident.

Low Rental Costs

Occasionally, you can find boat rental deals that are ridiculously inexpensive. In some circumstances, they’re more appealing than buying and owning a boat yourself.

Perks of Owning A Boat and Why Renting Can Be A Hassle

There are many advantages to owning a boat, rather than renting, especially if you’re owning it in the long term.

You Can Take Advantage of Equity and Resale Value

When making boat payments, you’ll be paying down the loan on the boat. As the owner, this means you can take advantage of a growing stake of equity. If you decide to sell the boat in the future, you can pay off the remainder of your loan and pocket the rest. While boats typically depreciate in value over time, thanks to ongoing wear and tear, you can often make back much of what you paid for the boat. Compare that to renting a boat, where your payments are totally lost.

You Have Total Control Over the Customization

When renting a boat, you’ll usually have to abide by the rules and regulations of the company renting it to you. That means you won’t have any options for customizing the boat how you like. If you own a boat for yourself, you can upgrade, modify, paint, and tweak it however you want.

The Opportunity of Unlimited Range and Use

Similarly, some rental places limit how and where you can use their boats. If you have a boat of your own, you can go anywhere you want and use the boat however you want (within the limits of the law).

The advantages of buying and owning your own boat are great, but there are some conditions that make renting worth it. For the most part, buying a boat is better than renting one. But if you’re not on the water much or if you’re just not ready for the full experience of boat ownership, renting is a perfect substitute.