Gumbydammit

I agree with the suggestion of the houseboat. I found that people who are not happy with performance criuses...are happy to sit in the houseboat for the day, while relaxing. (Parking on a sandbar helps things out. Nothing beats a boat only beach. NOTHING!)

Rafting with friends listening to the band play at Americas Cup without the piss poor service and drunk people is quite a bonus too!

If you add all the money and time spent on the hobby, vs. the "perfect time" you get....toss it in. I think you have to enjoy the whole thing. I find myself drawn to finding that 1 in 100 cheap gem in someones backyard for a friend. Living in CT, there are not too many weekends you have to work with and many of those this year have been F*&^ing flooded on the river. (Another reason I suggest a small houseboat.) It helps that I enjoy the whole thing. Building or modd'ing your boat is a worthy way to spend the time!

Both my kids say the best memories are from the boat. It is a family time that no-one can interfere with. My friends and family that don't own boats have become used to the fact that we just don't make plans in the summer. "If it is raining, we might be there...otherwise, I will be floating."

I have all winter to play with my Nitty Gritty and the LP12. Hell, a new set of interconnects for my system can cost the same amount as an outboard for the houseboat. The older I get, the less I find myself wanting to spend cash onthe stereo. I would rather buy new boat stuff to listen to live Dead shows through the Klipsch KG2's on the houseboat! (Did I just admit that??) OY VEY!

I guess this winter I will continue transcribing my vinyl onto CD for houseboat use.

When you are on a boat only sandbar, the fire is crackling and the kids are all there with friends around..a few beers...a few doobies??!!?? (I mean Doobie Brother tunes...)...it just does not get any better.

Besides, my yearly boat budget is not nearly what I see friends of miine spending on a damn Disney cruise! I don't wait in lines. No crowds. No park rangers. No cops. 95% of people I encounter on the river are 100% cool and friendly!

Take some videos and watch them on the rainy Saturday nights!

Airpacker

Just what is the price of sanity anyways?
How much does a good shrink cost per season?
Would I be better off venting anger and stress to a stranger with a degree?

I DON'T THINK SO!!!!

I go boating,it soothes my nerves,it gets me away from John Q.Public(who just so happens to pay for my excesses )it releives the stress of business ownership,it allows me some serious quality time with the wife and kiddlet.If I turn off my phone,NO ONE can find me unless I want them too.

Is it worth whatever it costs for the short season I get?

ABSOLUTELY,YES,DEFINATLEY,OF COURSE IT IS.

Milord

I think most here have said what I feel. I think it's in you or it isn't. I have friends that just don't understand why I spend what I do on my boat, and I don't spend **** on mine compared to some of you guys. That is all relative however. If I had it, I would spend it without a 2nd thought. I will someday have a boat that costs more than some of my friends homes. They will think I am nutz. I don't give a ****. When I get on the water my smile is so big it hurts sometimes. It consumes me in the winter wishing I was on the water. In the summer, I'm on the boat as much as I can be. Sometimes I just go sit on it if I really don't have time to go out. Turn on the tunes, kick back, have a beer and forget about lifes trials and tribulations. I am definitely a changed man in the summer. I would not give up boating for anything or anyone! Period!

turbo2256

Can you hear it the water calling you? Part 2:

Do you find your self waiting all winter waiting to go boating?

Do you find your self driving through an area with a lot of boats parked and eyeing the hull designs instead of the girls in halter tops?

Do you kick back in the middle of your favorite body of water and relax stereo blaring no boats for miles?

Do you have your preferance in boats but would settle for a row boat in a pinch?

Can you stare at the water for hours and be content?

Is it time to take 4V ? ..... I am out of here..... later

NASTY HABIT

I must say .... in my current relationship, we have had many hobbies all motorsport related ie: streetbikes , dirt bikes , boats hotrods even bicycling , rollerblading ect.. ect.. without a doubt the time we spend boating , which has been none this year ... are the best times we have ever had.,..We so look forward to being on the water and spending time prepping the boat togehter and so on.,... last night when I told our daughter that our new engine will be here today .. she smilled from ear to ear and said "we'll be back in the boat soon" that alone makes it all worth while But as stated earlier .. pick your hobbies...boating sure works for us and I do hope it always does..

Good Luck in your Quest !!!

ps. while reading all this I couldn't help but remember growing up around boats and on the water .. there really couldn't be a better way to grow up....not to mention most people involved in the boating world that I have come to know are just an outstanding group of people....