Four people can easily fish from the deep and spacious cockpit of the Sea Fox. Space is one thing, but don’t expect to find the niceties—gasketed fishboxes and cockpit toerails, for instance—common on higher-priced boats.

A friend of ours was thinking about buying a boat. He knew nothing about them, but had moved his young family to a seaside town on Long Island, NY. Gotta have a boat, right? Our friend, K.C. Anna, is a New York City stockbroker with plenty of money, so we suggested a 22-foot Grady-White, either a dual console or a walkaround.

“How much?” he asked.

“About $60,000 with a four-stroke outboard,” we answered.

His response: “Fagetaboutit.”

Boats are darn expensive, even for stockbrokers. That’s why there will always be a place in the market for the “price boat,” the vessel that gives you a lot of boat for a little money.…