mouse4x4

i am like the others everything i have is built not bought. i have never owed anything new besides my 4 wheeler 07 rincon and a lawn mower. i have always sat back and waited for a good deal always looking for things to hustle with buy cheap sell for more is how i make side money. and the fact that i am on a tug boat for 30 days at a time and only get off 15 days out of every other month i party hard when i am home and tear some stuff up but i have another 30 days of no spending till i get home. PAY TO PLAY that is for sure

mouse4x4

like i have said before IF YOUR NOT LIVING ON THE EDGE YOU ARE TAKING UP TO MUCH ROOM that is the my motto makes me a fun person to be around so my friends say.

soldier4402

Yeah thats kind of the strategy I have as well. I shop for months on something I know I am going to be needing or want, then will buy. Wife gets pissed because she says I am an impulse buyer but not really. I look and look. for the last 5 years I have had 4 snowmobiles, three snowmobile trailers, two boats, and two trailers. Made money on my last boat, broke even on 2 sleds and 2 trailers. And between the other two sleds and 1 trailer probably lost a combined 2 grand which for used stuff isnt that bad, and really the one sled cost me as it broke when I sold it, had I took the time to fix probably would came in even.

JB33

I am on the same page as most guys here. I do all my own work, source parts online and local. It is boating on a budget right.? bust out the "another thousand" when you can and fix it your self.
I do have the spare boat going for me, however the "spare boat is an old piece-o-chit tri hull that i bought for the parts. paid 500 and it gets me on the water until my Formula is done. By getting the parts boat I have a whole engine and outdrive if i need them later.
I think that folks who dont work on their boats like we do will never know the feeling of splashing your project after weeks/years of your sweat and $. There are few things that can provide that kind of satisfaction and confidence.
How many times have you guys saved the helpless boater who doesnt know their own equipment?

88bullet

iTrader: (1)

work long late days during the week on friends big power stuff and run my stock power on the weekends. come to the conclusion i dont need to win every race or even try..when everyone else is broken and your still out there..you win!!

Full Force

iTrader: (5)

If you have no clue how to check oil, you have no buisness owning any kind of performance boat!!

inthetundra

iTrader: (1)

That goes to anything with an engine! Maintainance is everything in this world, stay on top of stuff before it becomes a problem, it will last a lot longer.

Dtile

What are you running your timing at? See any bravos at a good price pm me (spares too).

Bowtiepower00

When I was a single guy, a couple of packs of Ramen and some canned tuna can fed me for under $2 a day, and the rest went to fun, toys and whatever...

Now that I have a wife and child to worry about, my toys are the least of my worries, and using Credit is not an option, even if it means my toys being down for an extended period of time...

Stash away as much emergency toy money as possible on the side, grab as many spare parts as you can when you find great deals, and always stay on top of the maintanence and repair before things snowball... Craigslist is great, and don't forget about trading for stuff, I have friends that don't spend a dime on their hobbies, trading keeps them on the up and up...

And, the hardest thing for me, is to reprioritize and keep from accumulating too many (or too expensive) projects.

Otherwise, a season (or two) without my Toys is small potatoes compared to buying formula for my little guy and staying debt free so I dont end up like so many of my friends who have lost everything in this "new economy"...

Another thing to add, find a solid group of friends with different skills and trade your labor, I may not know fiberglass, or interiors, but I can wrench on Harley's with the best of 'em and have all of my own tools and lift, so I trade my bike knowledge for labor on things I'm not as good at, doesn't matter if it's HVAC, Computers, whatever... If you're circle is big enough you can do just about anything at home or on your toys for next to nothing, and the knowledge you have access to can be priceless... As my screenname implies, I'm a Chevy guy, but I have some Ford guys in my circle too, never know what you might need fixed... And as needed forums such as OSO are priceless vaults of knowledge as well.

Twin O/B Sonic

Perfectly said. Haven't seen it put into words so well before.
Thanks. Reading this post even helped me in clarifying what truly is important. As a guy w/no kids and who was on his own for a long time between marriages, sometimes I forget.