Finding the right boat can be daunting. We started the search for our 263 in July last year. At that time, we could only find seven for sale nationwide (on Craigslist and the boat sale websites). We live outside of the San Francisco Bay Area and our options were Seattle, Michigan and the East Coast. Interestingly, Seattle prices were $15k more than Michigan and the East Coast. Between July and December, no additional (acceptable) 263s came up so we committed to buying ours, a consignment at a boat shop in Michigan, for $45k. Honestly, I wanted one of the 263s located in Seattle--it was VERY clean, had everything mine has plus stainless steel windshield frame, cockpit heater, transom shower, and the 496 HO with Captain's Call--but, at the time, I could not justify the additional $15K (+9.5% State & Local sales tax). So, instead of driving 1700 miles RT to Seattle, I drove 5100 miles RT to Grand Rapids, MI...through record winter storms that forced me to drive all the way down south to avoid a Wyoming ice storm. In retrospect, that $60k 263 in Seattle looks like a pretty good deal!
Just saying, we do some crazy stuff to have what we want. Best of luck in your search for the perfect boat!
