CONTINUOUSWAVE

I have been a long time fan of Boston Whaler boats and always enjoyed visiting the continuouswave forum to gain insight and knowledge of the various boat models. Sixteen years ago [in 2004] I was considering purchasing a MONTAUK 17. After visiting the local Boston Whaler dealer, I walked away with a lack of confidence in the dealer's ability to service the boat. I purchased another brand of boat that had better dealer support and the factory is within driving distance.

I am thinking about trading or selling my boat and purchasing a new 170 Montauk. I still do not have any confidence in the local Boston Whaler dealership. I realize a 170 Montauk probably is not going to generate a profit for the dealership that a larger boat will. Purchasing a larger boat from the Boston Whaler dealer in my area may be a completely different experience.

For those that have recently purchased a 170 Montauk:

Q1. Was a trade-in part of the transaction?

Q2. How did you handle the sea trial?

Q3. Did you purchase the boat at a local dealer or drive a distance?

Q4. What was your overall buying experience and service satisfaction?

I currently own a Starcraft boat which has strong dealer support in my area. The Starcraft factory is only three hours away. I have concerns about purchasing a boat without strong dealer support. Any thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your consideration.

Scott:

Q5: What kind of service would the boat need that causes you concern?

Q6: Or did you mean service for the engine?

Q7: If you were concerned about the engine, could you purchase Whaler hull, then take it to a dealer that you like for a new engine installation?

You asked about sea trial and trade-in. On these things, I’ve known folks that bypassed dealers and sold their current boat by owner, then sea tested a really clean used Montauk to see if they liked it. That might be something to think about.

Take your time, ask questions, and have a good idea what is most important to you before moving ahead. That said, I’ve owned several 17-foot Boston Whaler boats, and they are really good--safety, utility, re-sale.

Keep us posted.

ScottC wrote:Any thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated.

A few thoughts:

If you want to buy a Boston Whaler and be within driving distance of the factory, you will have to move to northern Florida.

Because Boston Whaler is a premiere boat brand, the dealers that represent them are usually the premiere dealers in a particular market. Since 2004 there has been some consolidation of Boston Whaler dealers, and in many markets Boston Whaler boats are sold at Marine-Max dealers. The days of mom-and-pop boat dealers are mostly in the past.

Dealers usually don't have to sell customers on a 170 MONTAUK. Customers usually have already figured out the 170 MONTAUK is a great boat and they want one. Dealers generally order 170 MONTAUK boats on speculation, and they usually have one or two in stock. And they usually sell everyone they have.

If the local dealer is not treating you as you would like, there will be another dealer a few hours away to work with. I am certain you won't be the first Boston Whaler customer to buy from a non-local dealer.

Boat shows usually have dealers from a few different places. A boat show may be a better way to shop dealers.

A small Boston Whaler boat will probably never require service from a dealer once any pre-delivery problems have been resolved. If warranty problems with the hull develop any Boston Whaler dealer can and should handle them if your local dealer can't.

Sea trials should be done before the sale is consummated. It's simple. The dealer or his rep trailers the boat to the body of water. You can ride along or meet there. You and the dealer launch the boat, board it and go for a ride. You take over the helm and put the boat through its paces. Verify all systems work to your satisfaction. Try the tilt and trim, steering, shifting, any electronics, static trim, bilge pump switch at dash and the float switch, lights, etc. Run the engine at wide open throttle at least for long enough to verify it runs well at speed.

Trade-ins are a crap shoot. A dealer will probably accept a trade in if it is a brand he sells, is in excellent condition, is clean and ready to sell and he has room for it. The bottom line is if he thinks he can sell the boat and trailer quickly for a profit he will accept it. If it is ready to sell I recommend you sell it yourself. I have done exceptionally well with the two Boston Whalers I have sold. I have never traded-in a boat.

The last new Boston Whaler I bought was a 190 Montauk. We traveled from Mobile, AL to St Louis, MO to buy it and trailered it back. It has never needed dealer service although I have used a dealer to do periodic maintenance of the engine. I have also used other certified dealers for servicing the engine.

I was entirely satisfied with the sales process.

Thank you for your thoughts.

Maverick – I have access to a good Mercury mechanic and a trailer repair shop. The service I was thinking about involved accidently hitting debris in the water and damaging the hull or the battery igniting and burning the fiberglass. I have actually seen [both] happen.

Jimh- I agree the 170 MONTAUK is a popular boat and will sell itself. The dealerships are probably not going to put a lot of effort into selling them. I have emailed other dealerships in the region and have not received any responses.

Biggiefl- Unfortunately, this particular dealer is the only Boston Whaler Dealer at the boat show. I will need to attend boat shows out of the area to gain access to other dealers.

Jefecinco- The dealership has made it clear that in order to sea trial the boat you must purchase it. It sounds like the dealer was willing to work with you and the sales transaction went smoothly.

Thanks again for all of your thoughts. The buying process does not seem to be an easy one. I will need more time to think about this and look into selling my boat.

Consider the present retail price of a new 170 MONTAUK, I can easily understand wanting to experience a ride in one on the water before plunking down a big check to buy one. Maybe there are some local owners who could work with the dealer to take you on a test ride.

With the death of floor financing, almost all dealers have a floor display for a few select models, not all. All sales are factory orders. I would speculate the time till shipping is 8 weeks if not more.

While there are several design changes and beneficial features in the latest generation of the Montauk 170, introduced in 2018, the price of the Montauk 170 II is very substantial.

2020 New Montauk 170II is $35,192 with no options, plus delivery, tax and "dealer prep" .
cf:http://www.BostonWhaler.com

I would recommend one review the used boat market, there are many lightly used Montauk 170 I candidates that are only a few years old, are significantly less expensive and can be sea trialed.

If I were sure I was going to buy a 170 Montauk that was in stock, I would offer the dealer a $350 non-refundable deposit to cover his cost if you changed your mind after a sea trial. If he did not take that offer I would look for another dealer.

Con

They do have sea trials. I used to attend quite a few factory sponsored Whaler rendezvous in FL. They literally had 5 or 6 different boats to trial. I asked if they had a 130 as I was curious how it would perform with all that weight. Next thing I knew there was one tied to the dock and they handed me the keys. This was in Stuart, FL and probably one of the best Marine-Max dealer in the country, not to mention the Tender filled with beer and the lobster dinner. I think Jimh was there one year.

When I bought my 160 Dauntless in 2003, I asked the dealer for a sea trial and they looked at me like I had 3 heads. But they did eventually put one in the water for me. By contrast, last year I dropped in at the MarineMax in Clearwater FL to kick the tires on a 240 Dauntless, and the sales guy was falling all over himself offering a ride. Because I knew I wasn't serious about buying, I declined. It would have been fun but I didn't feel right about wasting his time. On the other hand, maybe he was just bored and wanted to get out on the water?

My conclusion is that there's no conclusion about what dealers will be willing to do, but I certainly wouldn't be willing to put down that kind of money without a ride. Con's idea about a deposit is not a bad one, it at least proves you're serious.

-Bob

In 2017 I bought a new 170 MONTAUK, and the experience was excellent. I knew what I wanted and went to chat with a dealer in the Fall. The dealer told me I would get the best price at a boat show, but still took me out for a test drive. I waited until the Winter boat shows, called the dealer, and got a great deal because Boston Whaler kicks in deals also.

I picked up the 170 MONTAUK boat in the Spring, and it’s been excellent. You won’t need any service for the boat, and any Mercury dealer can service the engine.

The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) 2017 Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) dealership survey produced 62 Boston Whaler dealers recognized for excellent in customer satisfaction in the categories of Sales and Service.

The following Boston Whaler dealers received a 2017 CSI Award:
Sales Award Winners:

• Breath’s Boats & Motors
• Chalk’s Marina
• Chesapeake Boat Basin
• Chesapeake Whalertowne
• Clemons Boats
• Dry Dock Boat Sales
• Ed Huck Marine Ltd.
• Gage Marine
• Gordon Bay Marine
• Great Lakes Marine
• Hampton Watercraft and Marine
• Hance & Smythe Inc.
• Lauderdale Marina
• Lynnhaven Marine
• M & P Mercury Sales – Burnaby
• M & P Mercury Sales – Vancouver
• MarineMax Clearwater
• MarineMax Dallas
• MarineMax Fort Myers
• MarineMax Grand Lake
• MarineMax Hall Marine – Columbia
• MarineMax Houston – Seabrook
• MarineMax Inc. – Bayport
• MarineMax Inc. – Cocoa
• MarineMax Inc. – Key Largo
• MarineMax Inc. – Lake Hopatcong
• MarineMax Inc. – Naples
• MarineMax Inc. – Panama City Beach
• MarineMax Inc. – Wrightsville Beach
• MarineMax Long Island – Lindenhurst
• MarineMax Palm Beach at PGA
• MarineMax Pompano
• MarineMax Rogers
• MarineMax Russo – Hingham
• MarineMax Russo – Wakefield
• MarineMax Sarasota
• MarineMax St. Petersburg
• MarineMax Venice
• MarineMax Warwick
• Mau Marine Inc.
• McCarthy’s Marine Sales
• Morgan Marine
• Nauset Marine Inc.
• Outboard Motor Shop
• Port Harbor Marine
• Sail & Ski Center – Austin
• Shep Brown’s Boat Basin
• Sun Country Marine Inc.
• Taylor Marine Center
• Trudeau’s Sea Ray – Spokane
• Trudeau’s Sea Ray – Portland
• Twin Cities Marine
• Watercraft Sales Inc.
• York Harbor Marine Service

Service Award Winners:

• B&E Marine
• Brookfield Bay Marina
• Chesapeake Whalertowne
• Clemons Boats
• Colony Marine
• Gordon Bay Marine
• Great Lakes Marine
• Gull Lake Marine
• Hall Marine
• Hampton Watercraft & Marine
• Island Marine Center
• M & P Mercury Sales – Burnaby
• M & P Mercury Sales – Vancouver
• MarineMax Houston
• MarineMax Inc. – Lake Hopatcong
• MarineMax Lake Ozark
• MarineMax Pompano
• MarineMax Rogers
• MarineMax Sarasota
• MarineMax St. Petersburg
• McCarthy’s Marine Sales
• Morgan Marine
• Nauset Marine Inc.
• Port Harbor Marine
• Sail & Ski Center – San Antonio
• Shep Brown’s Boat Basin
• Taylor Marine Center
• York Harbor Marine Service

Source: Boston Whaler

I was not surprised to see neither of our two local MarineMax dealers received an award for sales nor service. They are in Gulf Shores, AL and Pensacola, FL. I believe the Gulf Shores store is a branch of the Pensacola store. As of two days ago the Gulf Shores store was down to two Boston Whalers and one Grady White in the sales lot.

I bought a new [unspecified model year family and length boat only described as "one"] last year, and the experience was great. I bought the boat from Clemons Boats who is local to me. They are fifth and fourth on the previous list. A good dealer always makes a difference. They do all my service on my [unidentified] Boston Whaler and my Formula. There was a trade-in and they were fair. I did not do a sea trial and the boat was ordered. They treated me as if I was buying a 350 Realm. If your Local dealer is that bad, I would travel to a better one.

[Moderator's note: after being dormant for FIVE years, this topic has been revived.]

BUYING EXPERIENCE
[The author apparently bought a] 2017 Montauk 170 [that was] loaded [with options] from Marine Max in Danvers, Massachusetts and their associates in Hingham, Massachusetts (now in Quincy) [later clarified to have been EIGHT YEARS ago in 2017]. [The purchase involved] a [unidentified] trade-in boat, and the deal was agreed on at a boat show in the late Fall. I was treated better than expected. The selling dealer took my boat, but I did not pick up the new 170 MONTAUK until April of the following year, when along with the boat I got all the paperwork, the manuals, and the keys. The dealer handled everything--and I mean everything--from the boat, a trailer, and registration documents. I was treated like I had just purchased a 30-footer, and I was showered with all sorts of Boston-Whaler-branded gifts.

SEA TRIAL
I did not conduct a sea trial after delivery, and in retrospect, I should have. After taking delivery, had to be towed back to the dock an hour after leaving it. This was not the fault of Boston Whaler or the dealer. [The boat was disabled by] faulty fuel tanks. The new 170 MONTAUK was equipped with two 6-gallon on-deck portable fuel tanks, located under the pilot seat. Inside both the tanks the plastic fuel pick-up tube just fell off and dropped to the bottom of the tanks. For peace of mind, I replaced both faulty fuel tanks with nine-gallon tanks, which will also give me extended range of operation with higher fuel capacity. This was the best thing I could have done.

AMOUNT OF FUEL CAPACITY NEEDED ON A 170 MONTAUK
There is no need on a 170 MONTAUK for more than the 17-gallons usable capacity [of the dual 9-gallon tanks]. Regarding the below-deck fuel tank on the newer 2018 170 MONTAUK II model, my opinion is that the [unspecified capacity of that fuel tank] is excessive and wasteful--if range were the concern.

HOW TO OPERATE A 170 MONTAUK IN BIG WATER
I have read comments about shortcomings of the 170 Montauk. Knowing how to run a 170 MONTAUK in big water goes a long way toward staying dry and preventing injury to internal organs. Work the tides and wind to your advantage rather than trying to conquer them.

RETAINED VALUE
My 170 MONTAUK boat is worth more today [in October 2025] than it was in the fall of 2017 [eight years ago when newly delivered]--and by a lot--and [that evaluation] is based on less than the advertised prices [of used 170 MONTAUK boats] that I see every day.

USE OF THE BOAT
The 2017 170 MONTAUK is kept in the water at a slip, but for no longer than four days at a time, after which it is then cleaned and stored inside until the next trip. Also, at age 73-years-old, using the 170 MONTAUK everyday for three or four consecutive days is enough boating [at one stretch] for me.

[Moderator's note: thread is now closed. If a reader wants to contribute the experience of buying a new Boston Whaler boat in 2025 or more recently, please start a new thread.]