Wake Up Call
 

Let me see if I have the joy of boating defined:

Cost of the boat
Cost of the trailer
Weight of the boat + the trailer + gas + add ons = a whole lot more weight than listed.

Now comes the better part, not only do you spend a sh*tload on the boat, trailer, but now you have to buy a damn good towing truck too, damn that's almost half the cost of the boat.

Cost of insurance, bigger better boat = more insurance.
Cost of insurance on the towing truck
Cost of storage, either dry or wet, if wet, then cost of boat lift
Cost of maintenance
Cost of replacement parts
Cost of GAS

So, since I'm new, I know I left out a few more Costs, therefore the Joy of Boating = The amount of euphoria that off sets the total cost of owning a decent boat. It's kinda discouraging when totaling all this up, when purchasing a decent boat, and one of decent size, you take on a whole new dimension of things to account for, I'm glad at least this site really helps on preparing one for jumping into this.

It only hurts when you keep track of the cost .

very good point....It makes me ill when I think about how much $$$ i pissed away since I went high performance.

but it was alot of fun :drink:

What's killing me is the tow weight. I am purposely looking at 26-29' to keep the tow weight low, but after reading the Towing Forum last night I think I'm going to with a HIGH PERFORMANCE CANOE. I simply can't afford a tow truck for the purpose of towing my boat around. I can screech by with my Sequoia 4x4 because I'm looking at 500' from the dry storage to the ramp. I am looking into renting a F-350 to pull it if I want go out of state to different lakes, one of the things which is attracting me to boating. I never thought of the pull before reading this board.

Yeah, it's pretty sobering when you take every expense into account.
Add in Lines, Some good life vests, Fenders, an Anchor - rode and chain, small tool kit to keep on-board, waxes, polishes, and cleaning supplies...

Have to admit, that is why I'm also looking for an affordable under 30' single - probably 24'-27' range.

Worth every dime for sure..

While you're adding it all up why not throw in a nice condo or house at the lake; then you can deduct the cost of a new tow vehicle!

Thats why I left the go fast side and went to the pleasure side. I still have to be on the water, no doubt, so I down sized and have as much if not more fun. I hope to some day get back in but the cost of owning these is just sky rocketing, fuel and insurance are the killers, there are great deals on good boats and there always will be, so that is not the problem, the other costs are out of control and seem to be getting worse. What will happen is the industry will go thru a correction, like it is, and hopefully settle down. In the mean time I will keep my fender boat and pass the gas stations....but I will be out there with the same smile on my face.:D

What's the tow rating on your Toyota Seqouia?

You can be into a Chevy Tahoe or even a 3/4 Ton Suburban for the same kind of cash. The Tahoe can safely tow 7500 lbs. which puts you into just about any 24-26 foot single engine performance boat. The 3/4 Ton Suburban can tow 10-12K depending on setup; which can easily tow a 30-32 foot twin engine performance boat.

Oh and you missed the most important thing. BEER. :evilb:

The Sequoia is rated at 6900. I can keep it local and just do the same lake over and over. My family has been trying to get me to go to different states and spend 3-4 days, with the boat, now I would have a reason. But I never even considered getting my head handed to me when I totaled the bill. With gas being what it is, wow, even the guys who make some great $$$ are gonna take some kind of hit.

I still haven't heard back what the Sonic 28 I'm looking at with the single 502 weighs, but I'm sure with trailer and accessories it's gonna be over 7,000lbs. So either I go with a different boat, and try to make weight, or rent a dually when I go on trips. That's another 300-400 extra per trip. The Canoe is looking better every minute or perhaps I should just get a pontoon and stay drunk the entire summer.

If you're going to keep tack of the costs, it's not the hobby for you. I figured that out years ago. It doesn't make any sense, but it sure is fun. :)

My 26' Sonic with a single 502 was 7280 lbs, on the aluminum trailer full of fuel, gear, tools, anchor, etc. Expect the 28' Sonic to be at least 7500 to 8000 lbs. with all the gear I mentioned.

You don't HAVE to have a dually for a long trip, but NOTHING beats towing with a CC Dually. Enterprise does rent them now at some locations.

Just for info! One of the members of our club has a 28' sonic w/twin 350's for sale.

I'm interested, any info would be great.

I know the Sonic for sale pretty well. It's a buddies, we just opened up both drives to inspect and replaced both gimbal rings earlier this spring. Everything is in very good working order.

2001 Sonic with twin 6.2 small blocks and 1.65 bravo drives. Fresh water boat with a couple trips into salt water for the day/weekend during the summers. 330 hrs on engines, nice triple axle trailer and he even added permanent A/C on it last year. (We do a number of overnight trips and sleep on the boat). Enclosed head and my wife can dam near stand up in the boat. He's asking $55,000.

If you need more info I'll put you in touch with the owner. (He hasn't listed it yet, just sent an email out to the club mailing list)

Russ C.

It's all relative.

$600 / month - boat payment
$300 / month - slip rental
$100 / month - insurance

So for $1000 / month you can have a great boat on the water and ready to go.

Sounds reasonable to me! :D

BTW - My apartment rent is only $800 / month, so you see where my priorities are! :evilb:

Yes, it can be very discouraging. You only have one life and to live you gotta have alittle fun. You just have to make sure that with your hobby you can take care of your other financial responsibilities. At least some of them.:D

Don't forget the costs associated with the hot chicks you will have covering your boat with their tiny bikinis and lotion! :evilb:

BERT,
Forgot registration/plates for boat, trailer, truck, ramp fees ....
Also don't forget .........new tailgate first time you lower it and hit top of trailer coupler, constant replacement of trailer light bulbs.

ed

Yeah, forgot about the registration fees, but luckily I'm in Texas and not CA.

Cost of having fun.
 

Seems like everything I like to do is expensive. Started with motocross as a kid (which is expensive on a teenagers budgit). Moved to offroad truck racing. Big dollars to be competitive! :eek: Sports cars after that. All that money spent, but I wouldn't change a minute of it. Tought to put a price on great memories. Buy a boat you can afford to use and smile! You can't take your green with you when the hour glass stops flowing!:cool:

"If you have to ask, you can't afford it."

I ditched the trailer and truck for a dry stack. After seven years of ownership, and paying to have the boat (38'/11,000 lbs.) trailered around four times, I'm still $$ ahead.

Damn! You nail all those chicks in a $800 dollar apartment? LOL!

Now that's just painful...

Only 4 months of actual good boating weather up here in Canada so it gets pretty expensive really fast!

Just when I thought I was in the clear, WHACK!!!, 4K for transport!! I can't win!:hothead: :mad:

Looks like you've got a ROAD TRIP coming!!!!

Don't forget the $100-$400 a night for a room and slip when you travel.:eek:

And poker run fees if you choose to do them.

I have a friend who has towed his Baja before he sold it, whould drive it down, and I would fly him back. But I can't find a tow vehicle for rent one way to Dallas. Budget rents Excursions, but none in the Boston area.

I think a few here have rented trucks from Enterprise. I haven't had the need - yet - but may be something to explore.

You are looking at it the wrong way.... Buying a bigger boat gave me a reason to buy a new big ass diesel truck!!!!!

My family does have to eat Chris !

Enterprise only rents 1/2 ton, I know they are rated @ 9,200lbs but I don't want to chance it, I want a 3/4 at a minimum.

just by a high mileage flatbed work truck f350 or f450 and put the family in the sequoya.. they can be found relatively cheap and the lifespan is a lot longer than most people think, especially towin down the highway.

why dont you try lookin for an 5 to 6 year old diesel truck that will run a very long time, and look for a good deal on an older boat. Take the time to shop around, you will find a good deal.

the way I look at it........compared to the cost of a cottage....... where you still have to have a boat.......the cost of a boat is a picnic