To Boat Or Not To Boat

[ESBkevin]

Boat - a hole in the water into which money is poured. ;-)

 

[Looking4new]

I absolutely love sitting at the public launch ramp on the weekends watching the drunks launch and retrieve their boats. The best and cheapest entertainment ever, as long as they stay away from my boat.

 

[Deerherd]

I absolutely love sitting at the public launch ramp on the weekends watching the drunks launch and retrieve their boats. The best and cheapest entertainment ever, as long as they stay away from my boat.

This is at the upper Niagara River boat launch. Truck had 5000 miles on it and was totaled. Trailer still attached!

 

[bf109v7]

Boat - a hole in the water into which money is poured. ;-)

O.K. But at least you don't have to dig it first.
Alex

 

[jix]

For me boats are dream fodder. They seduce me. I have owned a lot of different kinds of boats, including day-sailers, outboards, cabin cruisers, row boats, canoes and float tubes. I have been very nearly drowned, caught in line squalls, in hurricanes in shoal water, dismasted in big storms. My current boat is a plush 18 footer with a big motor and a lot of electronics. At the moment, she sits crushed under a collapsed roof. I have never added it up, but it probably costs me about 400 per boating hour and many many days of my labor to keep it up.

I now affirm: Boats are an expensive luxury that are not worth their cost. The last boat is covered by insurance. When I recover the damages from the Ins co. I promise myself that this love affair is sooo over. If I get the fishing bug again, I will charter a boat, equipment and guide. If I just want to relax in the sun afloat, I will take a cruise, or stay home and get sauced.:cool2:

 

[Bird]

This is at the upper Niagara River boat launch. Truck had 5000 miles on it and was totaled. Trailer still attached.

I got to see the same thing at Port Aransas, TX, 20-25 years ago. A guy was launching his boat and did not have a rope or anything attached to the boat. As he backed down, the boat floated off the trailer and out a ways. The fool jumped out of the truck without setting the brake or even putting it park, ran right into the water and took off swimming after his boat. And of course the truck and trailer kept right on rolling back. When I stopped, you could just see a red square out there that was the truck's roof under about a foot of water.

 

[mjarrels]

Clutch replacement shops just love boat ramps!

mark

 

[pennwalk]

We have a couple of different boats but by far the ones that get used the most are the plastic kayaks. They are super easy to use. You can launch them anywhere. If you don't use them they are fine. They don't rot or rust. They never need a mechanic. No need for fuel. Each person has their own. If I want to check out what is up the creek and my wife doesn't feel like it I can and she doesn't have to. We have used them on the ocean, down on the bay and on various rivers and creeks. It is a little different kind of boating but I find the heavier complicated boats just get used less.

Chris

 

[mostly_gas]

Boat owner 40+ years Mississippi river and Lake of the Ozarks and Bull Shoals experience. I would rent a few times prior to buying, try a pontoon and deck boat. Also watch the wind, it can mess with you as much as the current :2cents:

 

[IslandTractor]

Thanks for all the comments and insights. A lot of good points to consider have been posted and they will help us in making a decision.

After a little research, it looks like slip rental would run about $150mth. Not sure if the expense would be justified. Also found rentals for an equivalent pontoon run about $400+ per 6 hour day. If I knew I would be using the boat at least 7 or 8 times through the summer, the cost of new would cover itself in about 6 years.

Don't forget boat maintenance in your budget. If you store it at home you will still need to shrink wrap if you want it to stay "new" and you'll need the engines winterized and battery stored/charged. Even a pontoon boat kept and maintained at a boat yard could cost well over a grand to two grand a year if the yard does all the work. Maybe half that or less if you keep it at home and do the work yourself. Most honest boaters will tell you that you'll spend at least 10% of purchase price per year on maintenance if it is done professionally. My experience is more with salt water and sail/power not with trailer boats so costs may be different. Key point though is that there ARE ongoing costs.

I used to have a 36ft sailboat that I sailed on weekends and for one week cruise each year. I got sick of needing to round up a crew on weekends. Now I have a 24ft sailboat I can sail solo and I get together with friends and charter a boat for a cruise for two weeks each summer. Chartering/renting makes a lot of sense unless you use your boat extensively.