Lifestyle

8 Tips for Purchasing Your First Boat

Published

5 years ago

April 3, 2021

Purchasing a boat can be an incredible investment. If you love the idea of fishing, sailing, wakeboarding, or participating in another aquatic activity, a boat will give you the freedom and autonomy you need to do it anytime you like. You can use a boat to entertain others, challenge yourself, or just relax on the open water.

But if you’re new to the world of boat ownership, buying a boat for the first time can be intimidating. How can you be sure you’re getting a good deal? Or that you’re making the right choice?

The Goals

Ultimately, we have a few primary goals:

Getting the right boat. You need to get the right boat. There are many types of vessels available, some of which specialize in supporting specific activities. You may want a sailing vessel, a power boat, or a yacht built for entertaining guests. It’s also important that your boat is fully functional and dependable – so you don’t have to pay for repairs or deal with an emergency at sea.
Getting a good price. It’s also important to get a good price. Boats can be expensive if you buy something too big or too overloaded with extra features. It pays to look for deals and try to find the best price.
Ensuring a smooth process. If you’re dealing with a manipulative seller, complex financing, or other hiccups, buying a boat can be both complicated and stressful. We want to avoid that if possible.

Tips for Buying a Boat

If you follow these tips, you’ll be in a much better position to accomplish these directives:

Calculate all the costs of boat ownership. Before you start researching any vessels, take the time to calculate all the costs of boat ownership – and see if there’s room in your budget for a boat. You’ll need to consider the monthly cost of repaying the loan (assuming you get financing), as well as the costs of boat insurance, docking, fuel, storage, and maintenance. Too many new boat owners underestimate the full costs of owning a boat and end up in a financially precarious situation.
Consider why you want a boat. Obviously, you want a boat. But why? What activities are most interesting to you? How much power does the boat need to have? How big does it need to be? Are there any special features that you consider to be a practical requirement? The more you understand about your own motivation, the better decision you’ll ultimately make.
Do preliminary research online. Once you have a solid idea of the type of vessel you want, you can start doing some preliminary research online. Is there a specific type of boat that stands out to you? Are there manufacturers or brands you want to favor or avoid? What do other experts have to say about these vessels?
Be open to used options. It’s tempting to gravitate to new boat purchases, since new boats have the latest tech and the latest features and are possibly more reliable. However, it’s also a good idea to be open to used options. Used boats can be just as reliable as new ones – and they can save you a lot of money. Just be sure to buy from a seller you trust.
Review boats in person (if possible). If you have the chance, head to a local boat show or rent a boat before you buy. Getting a sense for how they look and feel in person can guide you to make a better decision for your personal needs. Just don’t buy at first sight.
Talk to someone with experience. Find an expert in boating and talk to them about your coming decision. You can likely find a mentor or an experienced peer near the docks or at a local boat show. They may be able to give you advice or direction on where to buy.
Research your financing options. Unless you’re buying the boat in cash, you’ll need to review your financing options. Review multiple lenders to find the best interest rates and terms; sometimes, switching from one lender to another can help you save hundreds or even thousands of dollars over the course of the loan.
Inspect the vessel. Finally, when you’re ready to make a purchase, inspect the boat thoroughly – especially if you’re buying used. It’s your last chance to find flaws or signs of neglect that could compromise the value of your purchase.

Buying a boat is a difficult decision, but it doesn’t have to be stressful or financially ruinous. If you spend time researching the process, reviewing your options, and thinking critically, you’ll end up with a beautiful vessel that perfectly suits your needs – and your budget.

Lifestyle

Wanda Knight on Blending Culture, Style, and Leadership Through Travel

Published

2 days ago

December 24, 2025

Michelle Langton

The best lessons in leadership do not always come from a classroom or a boardroom. Sometimes they come from a crowded market in a foreign city, a train ride through unfamiliar landscapes, or a quiet conversation with someone whose life looks very different from your own.

Wanda Knight has built her career in enterprise sales and leadership for more than three decades, working with some of the world’s largest companies and guiding teams through constant change. But ask her what shaped her most, and she will point not just to her professional milestones but to the way travel has expanded her perspective. With 38 countries visited and more on the horizon, her worldview has been formed as much by her passport as by her resume.

Travel entered her life early. Her parents valued exploration, and before she began college, she had already lived in Italy. That experience, stepping into a different culture at such a young age, left a lasting impression. It showed her that the world was much bigger than the environment she grew up in and that adaptability was not just useful, it was necessary. Those early lessons of curiosity and openness would later shape the way she led in business.

Sales, at its core, is about connection. Numbers matter, but relationships determine long-term success. Wanda’s time abroad taught her how to connect across differences. Navigating unfamiliar places and adjusting to environments that operated on different expectations gave her the patience and awareness to understand people first, and business second. That approach carried over into leadership, where she built a reputation for giving her teams the space to take ownership while standing firmly behind them when it mattered most.

The link between travel and leadership becomes even clearer in moments of challenge. Unfamiliar settings require flexibility, quick decision-making, and the ability to stay calm under pressure. The same skills are critical in enterprise sales, where strategies shift quickly and no deal is ever guaranteed. Knight learned that success comes from being willing to step into the unknown, whether that means exploring a new country or taking on a leadership role she had not originally planned to pursue.

Her travels have also influenced her eye for style and her creative pursuits. Fashion, for Wanda, is more than clothing; it is a reflection of culture, history, and identity. Experiencing how different communities express themselves, from the craftsmanship of Italian textiles to the energy of street style in cities around the world, has deepened her appreciation for aesthetics as a form of storytelling. Rather than keeping her professional and personal worlds separate, she has learned to blend them, carrying the discipline and strategy of her sales career into her creative interests and vice versa.

None of this has been about starting over. It has been about adding layers, expanding her perspective without erasing the experiences that came before. Wanda’s story is not one of leaving a career behind but of integrating all the parts of who she is: a leader shaped by high-stakes business, a traveler shaped by global culture, and a creative voice learning to merge both worlds.

What stands out most is how she continues to approach both leadership and life with the same curiosity that first took her beyond her comfort zone. Each new country is an opportunity to learn, just as each new role has been a chance to grow. For those looking at her path, the lesson is clear: leadership is not about staying in one lane; it is about collecting experiences that teach you how to see, how to adapt, and how to connect.

As she looks to the future, Wanda Knight’s compass still points outward. She will keep adding stamps to her passport, finding inspiration in new cultures, and carrying those insights back into the rooms where strategy is shaped and decisions are made. Her legacy will not be measured only by deals closed or positions held but by the perspective she brought, and the way she showed that leading with a global view can change the story for everyone around you.