NauticStar Boats for Sale

A dealer who started building

Phil Faulkner was a boat dealer selling other brands before he decided to build his own. He founded NauticStar in 2002 in Amory, a town in northeast Mississippi. The company started with two models and had grown to 21 by the mid-2010s, according to its sales director, building about 1,200 boats a year in a plant of more than 200,000 square feet on 17 acres.

In October 2017 MasterCraft bought NauticStar for about $79.8 million. At the time it sold through around 70 US dealers and had about $63.7 million in sales in 2016. MasterCraft wanted the brand for its presence in saltwater fishing and outboard boats. Five years later it changed course: in September 2022 MasterCraft sold NauticStar to Iconic Marine Group, which also owns Fountain, Donzi and Pro-Line.

The three types

• Bay boats: shallow-draft fishing boats for flats, marshes and bays. NauticStar's bay boats are the ones you'll see most often on the Gulf.
• Deck boats: open-bow family boats for the lake or the sandbar, with lots of seating.
• Offshore center consoles: deeper-V hulls for running offshore.

What to check on a used NauticStar

Saltwater wear. Most NauticStars live in salt. Look at the trailer, the outboard mounting bolts, the steering and the electrical connections for corrosion. Ask whether the engine was flushed after each trip.

Outboard. Every NauticStar is outboard powered. Get the hours, look at the service records, and ask a mechanic to check compression and the lower unit.

Hull and deck. Look for stress cracks around the console, T-top and deck hardware. Bay boats get pushed up on oyster bars and sand, so check the keel and the bottom.

T-top and leaning post. Check the welds and mounting points for cracks and corrosion.

Livewells and pumps. Run every livewell, bilge and washdown pump.

Electronics. Look at how the electronics were added and how many holes were drilled for them.

Parts and warranty. NauticStar has had three owners since 2017. Ask whether any warranty is transferable and check that parts are still available for the model.

Water test. Run it in some chop if you can. Bay boats ride differently from offshore hulls, so make sure it suits the water you'll use it on.