2tonchevy

cool thread!

i fall into this group myself. people always tell me "you own your own business! you have plenty of money!" and i just shake my head.

ive ben into boating for along time....but since i moved to cumberland 2 years ago ive started moving toward the performance side and lemme tell ya....everyone knows you cans pend as much as you want on a boat. but i have less than 1/3 of the money in my 25 warlock cat than i had in my ski boat that i owned when i moved up here from GA. and my warlock has a brand new engine, brand new interior, rebuilt gimble, headers, new wiring and gauges from front to back, and i nice trailer. and ive turned every nut and bolt on my boat myself. i bought the boat for nothing because it was in pieces and in piss poor shape and needed alot of work. but i already had most of the parts that i needed to finish it...it really just took alot of wrench time, sweat, and a little outside of the box thinking.

my boat isnt a new one.......but at the end of the day...its my name on the title and no one elses. i own it. i decided after my last boat that i wasnt gnna borrow any more money to by toys. i made this decision after i had about 5 of the best years of busines sive ever had and at the end of this run i really didnt have anything to show for it. i was young and much more foolish than i am today: new trucks, new house, new boats, motorcycles, rock crawler buggies, cruises, women, trips out west...etc. it was alot of fun but i wish i had the money i blew today.... now i tow with a 1997 z71 that i paid 2 grand for. and my gas saver is a 2002 toyota echo ($1700) that gets 42 mpg. the only things that i owe money on these days are investments that are paying me more than im paying them.

there is some very good advice in this thread and in this day and time it would serve anyone well to step back and looko at where their money is actually going. times are tough but they are abou tto get tougher. the seperation between the "haves" and the "have nots" is growing every year and unfortuinately most of us will be falling into the latter. smart budgeting and a little foresight will make a world of difference in the years to come.

Rookie

iTrader: (4)

Like everyone has stated things are going to break. I search craigslist, ebay and the swap shop like a hawk. If I see a good deal, I buy it if I know mine is going to break. I have local rebuild shops repair starters and alternators $25-$40. I'm just like you I do as much work as I possibly can do on my own.

Like Mild Thunder stated earlier... I have not had a car/truck payment since 2005. I still drive my 2000GMC. I have 276,000 miles on it and it still runs like a champ. I also drive a $500 '96 Olds Cultass 4 door 267,000 miles to and from work. I do not have any credit cards and the only debt I have is my house payment. I try to put a $400 car payment/month into savings so I have money for emergency boat/snowmobile/car repair purposes.

007joe

iTrader: (1)

I had to sell a 1969 Chevelle to pay to put an engine in my boat (that didn't go very well)
Otherwise, I always (tried) to do my own maintenence, and even helped other guys at my marina in exchange for their guidance.
Learned my lesson though, like a lot have said, I won't be doing it again until I can keep spares.
Lot's of good tips in this thread

machloosy

I'm the same as every guy that's posted. Turn every bolt myself unless absolutely necessary to take somewhere. For the I/O crowd, I don't know that a spare motor is a necessity unless they are big power blower motors, but an extra outdrive is real smart. It takes 30 seconds to take a quick sample of the outdrive lube oil at the end of the day too. Do maintenance early and often and do it yourself. My boat is mine, so is my f-150 I tow with. Somebody said no more loans on toys, I agree 100%. And eating out, coffee etc. Would you rather eat out everyday and spend that $2500 or have 3 extra fully paid for weekends on the boat???

the deep

iTrader: (8)

Welcome to the 99% club , we rock !!

f_inscreenname

Lists, lists and more lists. Everything goes on a list. Then spend the winter looking for everything on list.
Except the fact that things break and there will be times that you can do nothing about it but look at your broken boat sitting in the driveway. It happens. There will be a time that you miss the big holiday or event. You just have to get over it. Like was said earlier in this thread I've seen enough people spend that extra hundred dollars getting a part here on Friday for the big weekend just to find out it's the wrong part. Also like said you have to keep your eyes open at all times. I'm not really into having a garage full of spare parts so you also have to be selective on what you do buy. I see some here will even keep an extra motor. Don't think I would do that. Motors don't like to sit for long periods of time and drives don't either for that matter.
Big items will come and you can't be prepared for all of them or you would just have another boat sitting right next to the one you have. The best way to avoid these big-ticket items is take care of what you got and don't let them get to be big things if you can. Fix the little switch as soon as it goes bad or anything else because things add up real fast a boat.

Twin O/B Sonic

You can save searches on e-bay which I do and then shop the local craigs ad's regularly.

On keeping motors and drives, I mean more to have access to every part you could possibly need more than a complete drop in. Way easier (and better) to store disassembled anyhow.

Also agreed on vehicles. No payments here. Bunch of miles but all perfect w/regular and anal maintenance.

zschaefer38

Good topic. I actually have a boat bank account. A percentage of every paycheck goes into it, not much, but enough to say "WOOO HOO" May 1st. I also pay my seasonal rack storage in payments over the winter. But I like what others said. I may start looking for a spare Bravo One. Nice to have a back-up drive. Engine wise, well, if it goes it goes. Pull out the CC and get it fixed. But, unless your beating on the boat, engine failure is uncommon with proper maintenance. I have 3 kids, so performance boating is tough on a budget, but we manage. We dont go out to eat much and date night is once a month. We just upgraded to a 34 Vyper in October (had a 24 outlaw) so we are real tight now. But, like my wife said, bring beer, bring drinks, snacks, food. Use the damn fridge and microwave. She specifically purchased a new griddle to cook breakfast and burgers on the boat. Hence why I passed up the Top Gun or Cafe and bought a Powerquest. Amenities!

JD Dearden

If you take away the payment of the boat. Which for me is a write off that I really really need. Boating is a very affordable family activity. I have two little girls and they love it. There are very few activities that everyone can have a good time at the same time. Where I boat, I will launch and head to the cove and drop and relax.

Depending on how much drive time I think a day on the lake is very affordable. With that said though I live in Utah and we get 6 months a year boating maybe. Most people think I am crazy paying for a boat in the winter. But for me a like it that way, by the time summer rolls around I can't wait to get back on the water, I really think I would burn out on boating if I could do it all year. And cleaning the thing is such a pain and I am glad I only have to part of the year.

When it comes to repairs I say if it breaks fix it when I can and don't worry about it. I spent a lot of years stressing over money, it is pointless to do so. Money comes and it goes I don't see any reason to stress about it anymore. I love nice things but at the same time I would just as happy with out them!

JD Dearden

Yes it is. One of my buddies always says "I like half my ****"...