For many boaters, shopping for boat "stuff" during the off-season is nearly as much fun as a great Saturday afternoon on the water. Just ask my wife, who knows that a quick "visit" to the chandlery never takes me less than an hour.

So we've made a pact she doesn't come with me to West Marine and I don't go with her to the craft store. But the one thing we both like is a bargain, and that's why we both love marine flea markets.

Marine flea markets offer boaters the chance to buy hard-to-find parts and equipment, sometimes at great discounts. What sets them apart is their inventory: scratch-n-dents, one-of-a-kinds, closeouts, over-runs, old used parts, occasional new parts and sometimes new or used boats.

The major flea markets are usually held on an annual basis, and they come in all sizes. Some are small, local events held by an individual marina, while others tie in with a boat show or stand alone as bargain bonanzas that draw thousands.

DANIA MARINE FLEA MARKETNeed scuba gear? You can find it plus a whole lot more at one of these markets.The mother of them all is the Dania Marine Flea Market in Florida, although it isn't held in Dania anymore. This market, held the first weekend in April, started about three decades ago when boatyard operator Al Behrendt was in the process of closing his facility. A lot of stuff went into the dumpster. Funny thing was, it didn't stay there that long: Bargain hunters pulled stuff out nearly as fast as it went in.

Behrendt soon figured that there were others looking to liquidate parts and supplies, so he gathered 50 vendors for his first marine flea market. Within a few years, that number reached 900 vendors. This greatly taxed the Dania Jai Alai parking lot location, and so in 2006 Behrendt moved the market and its 1,400 vendors to Dolphins Stadium.

Dania Flea Market event coordinator Jennifer Dudas says today's event offers a mix of about 50 percent new merchandise and 50 percent used stuff. Sellers and buyers include marine distributors, individuals, mom and pop marinas, boatbuilders, jewelry and clothing dealers and just about anyone in the industry looking to unload or find parts or supplies.

The first day of the four-day show draws many "professional bargain hunters," says Dudas. "People come with a list of serial numbers looking for a missing part. On the last day, buyers know that sellers don't want to have repack again and take merchandise home, so there's definitely some heavy dickering and dealing going on."

MYPOMPANOBEACH.ORGPompano Beach's nautical flea market is easy to navigate.The show has also evolved to include new and used trailerable boats, from dinghies to even a 36-footer displayed at the 2006 show.

But not all flea markets are pure capitalism. Nearly 1,600 miles up the coast, the Maine Maritime Academy Alumni Association holds a Tag Sale at the Maine Boatbuilders Show in Portland every March that funds nearly a dozen scholarships.

Close to 100 boatyards and local builders donate stuff and receive a tax write-off in the process. Alumnus Bill Full says, "We like to run a little interference between boatyards and the dumpster. A lot of the stuff we get is of low value, but not without any value. Ninety percent is old stuff, which may have been lying around a while because there was no easy way to sell it."

Items for sale have included an old engine that was swapped out on a repower job, bowrails, heads, anchors, dented cans of varnish, winches and even some new "shiny stuff," says Full. While the tag sale may only fill just one room at the boat show, "it's like seagulls at the garbage dump on opening day. A lot of wheeling and dealing goes on; haggling is part of the fun," he adds. Anything left over is sold on eBay.

DANIA MARINE FLEA MARKETThe variety of vendors at marine flea markets usually means plenty to check out and buy.SWAPPING IN SEATTLE

On the West Coast, haggling starts very early in the morning at the 48º North Boaters Swap Meet at Fisheries Supply in Seattle. This twice-a-year event, held in April and September, is located in the parking lot of this wholesale and retail boating-supply company. People come from as far as Mexico to take advantage of the bargains.

Like a Grateful Dead concert, vendors are given a free parking spot to sell their wares, and some come with small RVs, setting up the night before for early-morning action. "Buyers with flashlights begin to arrive at 3 a.m.," says Fisheries Supply's Debbie Fish. "So, sellers sleeping in their RVs put signs on their doors to wake them up if anything is of interest."

Wares for sale include used boats, motors, hardware, electronics and more. By 6:30 a.m. the site is so crowded you can't see a speck of pavement on the parking lot, which measures a city block long, and yet by noon, the shopping frenzy is over.

"It's a great opportunity for us to connect to the community and recycle things. It's become a tradition," says Fish.