I wish you all the luck and safe ownership of your new boat.

Reading your posts reminds me so much of me all those years ago. I hope it's easier for you.

Thanks Chris, I appreciate all the insight.

It sounds like you had a pretty rough go of a boat deal, sorry to hear that. I know these things are hit or miss.

Not at all. I still have the same experiences today, I can just afford them.

My early big-fast boat experiences were simply because I failed to look at and understand everything that goes into this sport, cost-wise. That and failing to realistically predict future income, financial reserves (none!) and that a guy can go from single and wild to married with a kid so unbelievably fast.

Seriously, you really should sit down with an experienced performance boater and make a list. The Allstate insurance thing is a major newbie mistake. It tells me you've underestimated in other areas as well. Ask any of us- we'll run thru it with you. There's absolutely no reason for any of this to be hit-or-miss. There are many of us that can tell you to the dollar what it's going to cost you.


And for God's sake, get the boat SURVEYED before the $$ changes hands!!! That is, unless you like looking at it on the trailer

P.S. On the insurance, seriously- it's very common for an agent to quote and write a performance boat, then a few weeks later underwriting tosses it. You need to at least talk to someone in the "real" HP boat insurance biz beforehand. If you can't get bought now, what will you do after you own the boat and they drop you? Or you find out that $600 a year Allstate number is $4,000 because you're young, have no experience and no strong financial wherewithall (homeowner, etc).

If you're making 70k and have little to no debt, then you should be able to pay the balance of 16k in a year. Go to the bank and pay the high rate. It will paid off fast and the interest difference should not be a big deal. It will also build your credit for the future. The loan from a friend won't do that and may cause problems for the friendship.

The loan through the bank was on a Rule of 78's... I have no interest in paying that kind of juice when I plan on paying it off in a year or two.

Thanks for the heads up on allstate, Chris... Any insight on State Farm? My friend's wife is an agent and a coworker has a boat through there- say's her rates are super cheap with good coverage.

Chris:

I did what you are suggesting. I sold all my toys and got my first house. Got married, moved up to a bigger house. planned on kids, bought a bigger house to fit a growing family.

Even though my wife and I had good times and continue to do so, not being on the water was miserable. I now have my Donzi, which is a small fixer upper... not being on the water is miserable while I fix it.

In hindsight, I wish I never sold my boat (or my Corvette)... being basically debt free (besides mortgage) is nice. Being on the water is nicer. So my advice is carpe diem. Life's BS will work itself out and you can have fun while it does

"Most people work their entire lives for things they could only enjoy while they were young"

An older friend told me that prior to leaving on a 9800 mile, coast to coast motorcycle ride that my whole family told me to save my money, as was going to college in 2 months. After hearing that, I went, and I remember it all to this day.

My dad would say, if you could afford all those toys you can afford your own place. I came back east from LA in my 20's ,moved in with my parents for a while, mom charged me rent. No free ride there. Doug

SF is just as bad. You need to talk to Elton Porter Insurance or Sy Goldberg and get a real quote from someone who knows what they're talking about. I $hit you not, they'll write it and once underwriting sees it they'll toss it back. If you absolutely must, you can try Progressive. You're playing Russian Roulette on getting claims paid though. You need to spend some time running searches in the Insurance & Finance section.

State Farm insured our 33 Daytona with 1150s and 138 mph Lakes,rivers, did'nt matter just no poker runs & no coverage for the shootout