Hobby

Finding used boat parts is not much different than finding new parts. In some ways, it could be easier because there will be more options on where to look to buy these less expensive used pieces. But depending on the age of your sailboat it may also be a challenge. The older the boat, the less likely that used parts are just sitting around in the stores.

You might find this search for used sailboat parts a bit of a challenge. To begin with, unlike automobiles where you can go to the nearest junkyards and wander through looking for matching parts, you can expect to spend more time on the phone trying to track parts down. There will be many stores that carry used boat parts, some of these might be ones that also have new parts. But many will have only used parts. Some of these stores will carry anything they can a find that they think could possibly be needed by a boat while others will only carry certain brands of sailboat parts. Dealers will only carry parts for their own models and though they may have a few used ones, its more likely they will only have new ones in stock.

Sometimes sailboat dealerships may have a bulletin board where they allow patrons to put notices up. If so, check these in case anyone is selling the used parts that you are looking for.

You should use all the resources that are open to you to hunt down the used parts you need. That means your local yellow pages are a good place to start, as are the classified ads in your local paper. If there is nothing there then you need to broaden your search. The next step should be the boat trader publications you can buy at any magazine store. These will sell boats of every kind and parts for a large variety of these boats. There are not usually traders just for sailboats, but they definitely will have a section for sailboat parts. This will be divided into new and used parts so find the section that has what you need and begin phoning. Try to get the issue the day it comes out. You may not be the only one looking for a certain part and if its one that is hard to locate you’ll want to be the first person to answer that ad.

If you haven’t found the parts you’re looking for yet, then its time to try the internet. There are always lots of websites selling used boat parts. The only drawback to this is the additional costs of shipping the parts you want. But if you can’t find them elsewhere the shipping costs won’t mean much as long as you get the parts you need. Ebay is another possibility as long as you are careful when you bid. Don’t get carried away as you may be able to find the part you want at a price that saves you money.