REMEDY

The memories of the boats and friends and good times are priceless!! Be $ensible and have some fun, better to have done it than look back and wish it when it is too late!

Frequency

There are so many good comments on this thread, all valid points of view. When I buy I always have an exit plan if finances go South. It brings piece of mind to know that a boat payment isn't going to hamstring your ability to support your family.

boating37

This thread made me fell a lot better about my self, because I thought I was crazy and had my priorities all wrong.But I do look at it that I am a single male not married and no kids,so I can afford to spend the money on boats and myself now. Because one day I might get married and have kids and then have others to take care of.

Frequency

On the way down to LOTO a few years ago I helped out an older gentleman (80's) at a gas station. Seeing I was a boater he offered me some sage advice in return. "I am at a point in my life where I finally can afford to do anything I want", he said; "The problem is, I don't want to do anything. Enjoy life while you are young, because when you are my age you won't have the energy for those experiences."

I followed his advice and proceeded to make a string of really bad boating decisions that cost me plenty.

The point is, those financial surprises did not have a significant impact. If you own your boat (payments or not) it will be worth the money. If your boat owns you (I broke a drive and I'm done for the season) you bought too much boat.

J.B. Marshall

Great thread, thanks for starting it. I bought my first boat at the age of 24 & single at the time back in 1988, paid $25K as a second owner with only 14 hrs on it, original owner bought it on a wimm and his wife hated it, I was in the right place at the right time. I absolutely loved that boat.

I kept it for 18 years and it ran as good the day I sold as when I bought it and it did'nt owe me a dime. Sold it with 650 hrs on the original motor and it was never touched outside of regular maintenance. Every time I wanted to trade up buy bigger & better I had a new life change, married, first child, second child, new house, & then home improvements.

The time finally arrived when I could justify the disposable income and after many years of saving for such a day and having my career advance on over that time period I searched out my dream boat and made the purchase back in 2005, again I was in the right place at the right time after many yrs of homework and searching for the right boat.

the point is; everyone has different prioity's in their lives and different ways in how they manage their money/income. It comes down to personal preference and what is important to you in your lifestyle. There is a lot of good info povided in this thread use it as a guide to help make your life choices.

Boating is a way of life for me and my family but is also a costly endeavor.

Best of luck

Mike A.

You should not buy a boat if it wipes out half of your savings. Also, do not finance the buy. You can spend $50,000 on a really fast single engine boat and have a blast! Gas, maintenance, catastrophic repairs all far less money and stress.

hotjava66

This has been an interesting thread, one of the better ones I have read through and lots of good points. It hits close to home for me because I just purchased my first performance boat. I grew up around boats, have a lot of great memories as a kid boating. My parents got out of it after us kids grew up, and I have been jonesing ever since. I had a couple small boats when I was younger, but it just wasnt the same. I decided years ago I wouldnt buy another boat untill it was what I could really afford the one I wanted. So its been almost 15 years, and life of course has its ups and downs, got caught up in work, family, homes, etc. Last summer I decided I really need to do this while I am still young enough to enjoy it, and get the kids involved too. It sounds funny, but it really stemmed from the losses I took, both in my savings and investments, the real estate I had, the turndown in business, etc. Financially, im not in as good a position as I was 3 years ago, but I decided that putting it off any more was not an option, win or lose it is something I love to do and want to do. Why go through the motions of work/life if you cant also do the things you enjoy. So I bought a boat that I really like, didnt go as big as I wanted but it is a great boat and will do everything I want. Didnt spend a ton of money, but didnt want to be a slave to it either. As said in previous posts, the actual cost of a boat is minor compared to fuel, maintanance, upgrade, travel expenses. Had a pretty good idea what I was getting into but I havent even had it in the water yet and have spent plenty of $ getting things the way I want them, way more than I planned on lol! So far though its been worth every penny, I havent been this excited to do something in many years. My opinion is go for it, but dont break yourself in the process. I am a firm believer in owning and not borrowing, but in this case even though it wasnt a ton of $ I financed, if things do go really bad I would rather lose a toy than my house or business. The #'s are this, cost of boat was around 33% of yearly gross. Payment and use 8-12% of total gross per year barring any major breakdowns.

wantsa311

One of my friends said this to me a couple years ago when I was considering a new boat.

"However, boating makes no financial sense whatsoever, so stop trying to decide logically!"

Rookie17

That's what I was trying to say in my longwinded way
Looks like we're on the same page, beers are on me if you're ever down this way.

Lets also not forget the smile on our wives and kids faces when we're doing 70 across the lake, or when someone says "damn, nice boat!" at the ramp. Seeing the joy it brings for my family beats extra money in the bank or by a mile for me. No contest.
As long as they're still smiling, I'll keep working my azz off and spending

Uncle Dave

Entertainment ALWAYS cost money whatever the form it takes.

Whats is cost to blast off to a secluded island for a weekend by plane?

To Hotjava- yes you spent money and a turndown hit.
Look at it this way- you could have invested in stock instead of buying a boat right before the downturn and you would have lost money and had nothing to show for it.

To the guys that have enjoyed the lifestyle from afar and wondered weather to buy in or not - do it, but do it smart.

Put down the vagicil and step it up - come play.

UD