We were in the "same boat" last summer as we started in Spring with trailering a 19' bow rider then within a month, quickly realized we would rather have a more permanent situation with a "home base" marina and a much roomier tritoon.
Fortunately, this puts you in a great situation, as we learned from here, that if you are looking to buy a new boat, you have the advantage of getting a package from any of the dealers around the lake (and there are quite a few) that includes everything you need to fit your own situation.
Shop the marinas in your designated (Alton) area and bargain for everything you want ( new tritoon, valet or slip, winter storage and the following season's launch).
We shopped marinas in our designated area (opposite end of the lake from the area you are looking at) and in the process, found our ideal, situation with a specific marina. Once we started working with and getting to know our salesman, we were able to sit down at purchase time and work out a package deal which included a beautiful, new tritoon, which we love, valet for the remainder of that season (2016) winter storage (2016-present) and a set price for valet the following (2017) season.
This worked out so well for us as we got to know the folks at "our" marina and built a great relationship with them in our first boating season that we feel confident, going into our first "full season" (2017) that this summer will be even better than last. We spent a lot of time learning the lake and enjoying all it has to offer.
Being retired, my wife and I have found the best of the "boating Winni" world for us as we can use our boat all season, with unlimited, valet, weekdays, holidays and basically anytime we want (within our marina's hours of operation) all with one hour call-ahead time. No trailer needed!
Good luck in your search for your new tritoon and marina!
As for pricing, you will quickly find out that most marinas are "in the same ballpark" but your advantage is being able to broker a deal for yourselves that may give you huge discounts on a package deal for everything.
Forgot to mention that at our purchase time, we were even able to get the marina to throw in a GPS/SONAR unit in the bargain. THIS was a very much appreciated option for being able to learn Winnipesaukee and it's myriad of islands, bays and passsge routes to get us safely, where ever we wanted to travel on the lake!
|