I feel your pain. We used to have a large core group of offshores here that would do runs and hangout pretty much every weekend. Now its down to maybe 3-4 on a good day. It's frustrating. I actually am using it more this year and doing more pokerruns. Meeting new people and going to new places.

All valid reasons for why it seems so many have either lost interest, or don't have the energy, or don't have the funds, or whatever. That said, it's those that continue to engage the lifestyle, meet new people to it (yes, there are still some new entries) -- and promote it overall -- who will keep it going.

I think that's the way it always is. I ask ONCE, after that I dont bother again. I hate to be fed BS. Honestly, waiting around for people or working around their issues/schedules is sometimes more hassle than it's worth... then again, I'm not a patient person, haha. :lolhit:

This isnt new. Look at the sports car fad. It was big in the sixties and 70's but the cars got more expensive and so did the fuel and the sports car market was dead for 20 years until 2-3 years ago when the mustang, challenger and camaro all came back out. Granted there were models still being made but the whole sport or activity of it all was slow. It came down to money, and Fuel. On a good day to trailer and even drive your boat out and park it, your out at least hundred bucks probably more by the time you pay launch fees, beer, food, etc. Everybody is hurting these days, even those that make good money either lost a little pay or are working more to keep that pay. Just not a whole lot of people that can go out and burn through a whole tank anymore.

I think people just get burned out or bored with it. It's alot of work and a commitment. I like to go out without having to plan stuff, that way I'm never dissapointed. I actually stopped inviting people to go boating because it's such a PITA. I'd rather be stress free while I boat, that is the point of all of this, isn't it?

It is allot of work, but that doesn't really bother me. My problem is.... None of my friends are boaters and aren't compelled to go out on the lake and tear azz. Kids, nieces, nephews, and the like are grown up now and starting families of their own, so no time, or no desire to go out on the boat like they/we used to. I turned 60 in February and still love to get out on Oneida Lake and haul azz, jump wakes, or just shut'r down and drift and watch the other boats go by. Good for me my GF still likes boating. If she stops liking it, I'll still get out on the water when I can.

It is a big commitment, even with a little boat. And dealing with all of the hassles and expense that go along with it can suck the fun out of it real quick. I was questioning whether it was worth it earlier this year myself.

Went back to the rack and store instead of trailering and even tho it's expensive the ease of use still outweighs the cost and alleviated a lot of the hassle and made things fun again. Sure it's fun to go with other people, but I usually just plan things on a whim and most of my friends need a 10 page itinerary.

Bingo...with life pulling in many different directions ease of use is now priority for us (once my business recovers, if it ever does). We used to go out after work during the week with the rack, never did it once when we were trailering it. Closed cooling helped too since we'd have to leave it in the water until the next day when the rack opened up again. Wouldn't have been possible without closed cooling.

Totally agree. It's such a pain in the ass trying to schedule around all my friends BS to take them out on a free boat ride! The most fun really is w/ friends out on the water, which is why I bought it, but I would expect more flexibility or gratitude from everyone. Sometimes people act like they're doing you the favor to come out.....

Also, like Griff said, 50 people want to go when you're out of town, but when you call they're always way too busy w/ plans that can not be disturbed.

Bill,

It's a shame we aren't closer - kelli and I are on the water any chance we get. Is it a lot of work - yes. Is it worth it? In my opinion, YES!!

We were on the boat from 6PM Friday until after midnight, and then on the water from 1pm to 12:30 am Saturday night.

We, however spend most of our time rafting up with friends, a lot of which are friends SOLELY from the raft up. Of course we normally make a lunch run in the middle of the day somewhere.