If you want to go a 100 buy a flatbottom vdrive for 20 grand and tear it up because you are going to need the same Lake conditions to run your Offshore at a 100 as that little Flatbottom.

You speak with "fork tongue" my friend!

Now thats a good dad right there!

personally for me... its not even the money aspect.. at least for me, i have every dime ive ever saved and or made going into my boats. I am trying to start/grow a business with doing it. some agree some wont. But whats the point of making money if your not spending it? I am young, dont have a mortgage yet other than the shop im building. Ill probably live at home until im married, no kids, child support, etc. just a truck payment. I think you would be surprised the amount of young people in my area with performance boats. we have a crew around us that we actually all met on Facebook and Instagram who all boat together almost every weekend. lots of 20-25' baja and scarabs. but hey, any boats better than no boat!

everyone else is right though, you can go to a dealer, sign papers for a ski boat and hit the lake that weekend with 10 people! here i was working first month on the summer tirelessly to get the cafe on the water, and was always *****ing at people about dirty feet, shoes spilling beer etc... ive found that most people ive met with go fast boats, either just run the boats with a couple people, or have other boats and the go-fast is their personal toy... i guess the saying is true across the board... "you dont ever want to own a boat, all you want is a friend who owns a boat"

not to thread jack though... does anyone else see this... up near our cottage... theres some brandy spankin new nortec cats. very new sunsations with big power, imco drives, etc etc.. i see them on the boat lifts every weekend, and have never seen the nortec run... EVER. and the sunsation ive seen off the hoist, about half a dozen times... i dont get it... if you have the money for a boat thats 150g + why not run it every weekend?

Load that Donzi up and head north. We have a good group on the tennessee river out of Huntsville, and you can go as fast as your boat will go.

my life experiences up until now have been when you are in high school and college you have a million friends. likely because you see everyone everyday in classes, library, gym, lunch, etc...once you graduate from college you likely have a number of friends you stay in contact with via weekend outings after work activities etc. as time goes on the number of friends dwindles!!! and dwindles fast!!!! before you know it people are getting married, working 70 hours a week, having kids, and bam....your left with no one. hahaha.

i see all my co workers in there 50's and 60's....all they do is spend time with family and old relatives who are ready to pass...or doing yard work. sure there are people out there in there 50's and 60's partying. and kudos to those people. but the vast majority are not. just my 0.02.

the people with those 150k plus boats didnt get them because they sat on there @ss. many are business owners, etc...that dont have much time for boating. i.e. many of the yachts around the world sit un-occupied because CEO's or business owners own them. those jobs are 24/7.

I just hit 50. Had a step-father die of skin cancer at 45 about 20 yrs ago. was a big wake up. Enjoy life while you can.

"if you have the money for a boat that's $150K why not run it every weekend". A point I tried to make earlier. It cost hundred's of dollars to run it. In the beginning when it is new perhaps you would take it out for a quick blast, but the reality is they are a lot of work. It's the same work no matter what you do. So, I think you find yourself using it more for a particular purpose..........meaning poker run's or group fun run's. Does this answer make sense?

We go to Mississenawa over by Peru Indiana nearly every weekend.

it would Amaze you how many people own planes , and will put LESS than 5 hrs on them in a year ..But they will tell you the own a plane and are a pilot ..lol

My eight year old loves boats! Knows quite a bit about them too. Many members on this site would be jealous seeing the list of boats he's ridden on and the speeds he's went in those boats. He broke 100 in a V bottom at 4 years old. He started boating with me when he was 6 months old. I can tell you this kid would rather be boating, snowmobiling or riding his quad then doing most other things. He has the need for speed. Many of his boating experiences would not be possible without the job I have, so he as well as I are very lucky in that regard. I sold my personal boat about a year ago, and my son asks me once a week when I am going to buy another boat. We have never been stuck on the dock since I sold mine, Not one time.

In my honest opinion, its up to parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles etc, to get our youth into outdoor activities. I know sometimes the kiddos mom or wives put the brakes on. Its our jobs as Dads to push the limits with the gals and get these kids out enjoying our passions SAFELY when they are young. Old habits die hard so get them out when they are young!

AJ
Performance Boat Center

Painfully, I been using my boat less and less every year. I love to get out but effort it takes just getting harder and harder to justify. Not the $ part, just al the BS that's going with it. Uncover, rinse off, hook up, trailer, get it ready, fuel, check fluids. etc. ok, after a least an hour, I'm on the water and loving it. Dreading the return. Wash, flush motors, parking back to storage, wash trailer, cover etc. So for a few minutes of run time, several hours of STUFF to do. My Son see this and while he loves being out, he hates helping. It's a chore. It's either in your blood or not. It's becoming more and more of a limited special event toy. So.. it's up for sale.

I am 27, I bought my first performance style boat three years ago, and it's the boat I currently have 94 Baja 260. I paid 5,000 for the boat, the boat was in Clearwater beach Florida, and the guy that I bought the boat from inherited the boat and the condo that is was located at. The drain plug was left in while the boat was on a boat lift the cockpit of the boat filled about knee deep with rain water after years of it sitting. I rebuilt the motor myself, I build massive Diesel engines for generators for a living. I have redone all the stringers from the windshield to the bow, this winter I will be redoing everything from the windshield to the transom ( floors, stringers, bulkheads,transom). Right now as the boat sits with purchase of a trailer I have 12,000 into it. There is no way I could afford this boat if I was unable to perform the repairs and maintenance myself. I also have a good network of friends in my home town that pull together to help each other, as well as the vast amount of information/advise on OSO. And you can fish off a performance boat I have caught many of cat fish standing on the swim platform haha.

I am the guy he was talking about with the 252 Baja.

I grew up on the water. Literally, parents bought a 17 foot searay when i was 2 months old. Grandparents on one side had a 42 foot sail boat. On the other side, 330 Searay. Uncle had stand up skis, and Hobbie cat. other uncle had a 19 foot searay. We would take WEEK LONG trips in a 17 foot bow-rider with camper tops. up and down the Tennessee river. with a family of 4 in the same boat. My parents where Not well off back then. that boat was the only $$ thing they had. As times changed, they upgraded to a 260 over nighter searay. Later when I was about 21-22 I was allowed to borrow it on my own taking friends out. I bought my first boat at 23 a Baja 252 Boss w/454Mag. This was a MAJOR purchase for me at the time. I had a 4 year degree from Auburn, good job, small house, and one paid off car/hot rod, and a truck.... a lot of my friends, family where like "don't get in over your head".... I also had student loans... to me that 25 footer with a cuddy cabin was a new LIFE. I stayed overnight on it like 13 weekends in a row haha. I met more boating friends my age, and our group started to grow, and grow.

I kept that boat for 5-6 years, and sold it 3 years ago, one week after it sold, I struck a deal on my current Baja 342 Boss... this was again, a major purchase. to me 28 years old spending big money on a boat. BUT I use it, almost every weekend. and I don't just run it for an hour and go home, Our group boats ALOT of over nights. Family birthdays are on the water, My sister/brother-in-law are big boaters. parents have a 330 SS formula now, uncle has a 330, grandfather has a 330... so on.

Our normal weekend consists of the following tied up at a beach my grandfather cleared off int he 60s.

Parents 330 SS, Sisters 270 searay, Friends Fountain 24sc, Racenfast 271 Formula, Freinds Baja Hammer, Friends Baja 2523 islander, freinds 170 Searay, Freinds, stingray, friends 28 DOnzi, freinds 380 searay, freinds 270 rinker... ect... and I am missing a few i am sure. This is our NORMAL crew, we all have friends that come along sometimes as well. With out this kind of group, and freindship I am sure most would sell the boats and move on to other things. a few of us in that group had the back ground like I did. but only 3-4 of us, the rest did not find the water until later in life.

Money, and time is a big deal. You have to want to spend the time on the water, its not all easy. its not all cheap. alot of our group is having kids (25-35 year olds) and they are finding the water was a fun hobby, and its still a fun hobby with kids. so I hope it countinunes. becasue I am one of the few that would be out alone if they stopped ha.

When I tried to buy my 342. I had a credit score of a 792... and was turned down by one if the biggest marine Mortgage company recommended on this site. I had 10k cash to put down as well. My credit union did not flitch when I asked them, that's how I did it. and Most my age don't have that kind of cash, or credit. (most being in the real world, this sight is mostly more well off people.. comes with the territory)

I see this reason from a few different reasons....

I am 30 years old and my gf is 35. We both have good careers as well as extra income from her teaching competitive dance and me flipping cars. We have no kids and live in a Condo downtown that requires ZERO maintenance Other then showing up for work on time we have very little responsibility. Most all of our friends.... with-out boats do, they spend a lot of time and money on there children and there activity's, and also working and cleaning on there homes. If that's what is important to them so be it.... but they always ask us how we afford it, i say add up all the money you spend on kids, food, soccer dance hockey and i bet you could afford some type of boat! But, it's also what we choose our extra income on. It's deffintly a lifestyle many don't understand.

I grew up at the lake of the Ozarks every weekend since i was 9. We were raised on and around boats so the chores and work just came with it. Dad made us help clean and wash the boat before we took it out or went skiing or anything. During and after high school i lost interest in hanging out with mom and dad at the lake every weekend, and took up motorcycles, and then began drag racing them. But i soon remembered that sitting on a boat at the lake surrounded by hot chicks in bikinis was waaaay better then sitting in the pits at some drag strip in a leather suit sweating my ass off.
It does surprise me how many people just flat out are not interested in power boats. We have a house at the lake now and it seems almost impossible to get people to come down for the weekend. Some seem scared. one girl wouldn't even walk down the ramp of the dock, had one that wouldn't get in the water! Some say they cant afford it, but all we ever tell people is to bring food and booze... but then they go to vegas every month and feed money into slot machines! And those are the ones that say I am wasting my money! Owning a power boat is expensive, it is a **** ton of work, but I guess it takes all types to make the world go round!

I think the big thing with our group is a lot of us grew up on the water. I know that plays a huge factor in wanting to put your dollars into this crazy expensive hobby. There are 100 cheaper hobbies I could have, but my boat is by far my favorite toy and was worth shuffling the deck of other toys around to get it.

Me, you, Justin, and Dustin are the only 4 that grew up on the water.

My dad, Mike, heath, daniel, Dave, and others did not.

I'd say there are a lot more 'younger' people on this forum than many have thought, including myself.

Good sign.

Soooo.....if i was young 20yrs ago, can I still be young ? LOL.
Pssst: Mentally I am...obviously...lol.
Mental age: 25
Physical Age : 1800 BC

Cause generally people with the money to buy that boat own and run a business that takes up even more of their time. That boat is prob their small time of year get away to let loose and enjoy.

Just cause you make more one day does not equal to working less or now magically having more free time or every weekend free.

And that right there is the biggest reason my Sonic is for sale lol

I'm 29 soon to be 30, I have always loved boating and I've had several different old cheap boats since I was 19 (mostly crap that was more fixing than driving). I bought my first "nice" boat ('98 Baja Outlaw 24) this year, I did it after buying a house and advancing my career to a point that I felt comfortable buying it. I really think it all comes down to finances holding younger people back, I know I would love to have purchased a bigger boat with twins but I had to buy something smaller that I could tow/store myself to stay in budget.

Towing and storage is another issue. Most think I am crazy for towing a 35 everywhere. and most cant store it at home like i do at the moment. thats again another added monthly expense.

Ya I tow my 35 everywhere as well. Storage is $300 a month still and an hour from the docks.

Don't want to own a home so it is a cost I have to live with.

I have been boating all of my life, bought my first boat (a 10' wooden row boat $50) in 5th grade with my brother. We mowed lawns, delivered news papers, shoveled snow to pay for our toys. I have had many boats over the years, the last being a 320 Baja bought new in 95. In 96 I got married. the boat left and was replaced with 3 horses. Been married for +18 years, have 2 daughters and now have 5 horses and 2 ponies.
Horses are as expensive as boats and require similar work.

I think it is time for me to get my toy back. All I do all weekend is fix what the 4 legged extruders break and trailer them around to shows. I have had enough. I don't know if boating can cure the Equestrian Virus but it is worth a try. Anyone have any ideas how to help me make the family change back to the water. I was thinking about cyanide carrots.

I will say this, I currently have my boat for sale and I have had three people contact me and ask if I wanted to trade it for a wakeboard boat. I think as wakeboard boat owners get older they figure out that it's just to damn hard on there body and they are missing work etc. I have a friend that is down for at least a month once a year cause he jacked something up wakeboarding. I feel that a perfomance boat is a natural transition for them, it's still exciting. They would rather have some kind of rush vs getting a cruiser or bowrider. Just my opinion. I will say all my friends are in there early 30's and they all like riding on my boat, but like everyone else says none will own one. Although there are quite a few young people in my area that do own performance boats it's definitely not the majority.

My buddy tore his pectoral ligament wake boarding late this summer, I had shoulder issues a few years ago. We'll get to old for this stuff yet!

I'm 33 with a 27 looking for the right 35. My story is a little different. My dad could care less about being on a boat or the lake for that matter. My grandad ruined him as a kid taking him fishing from sun up to sun down. I love being on the water period whether its fishing, pleasure, swimming etc. I had a stand up jet ski at 9 that my dad got me. I would get pulled over EVERY weekend for being too young to ride but that didn't stop me. As soon as the patrol was out of site I was back on it. I burned more 8 gallon tanks of gas between 9 and 18 than I care to admit. At 18 I bought my first boat that I still have to this day. 1983 Glasstream Pro Bass. Granted I have now retired it without motor at my hunting camp but you couldn't pry that boat out of my cold dead hands. I would rather watch it burn to the water line (which just about happened on its last voyage) or sink (which it has multiple times) before I sold it. Dated a girl (who is now my wife) who had an old family boat that had been beat to hell. It was a 90 something 19 ft Regal. I remember after college filling up that 15-20 gallon tank was difficult at $3.00 a gallon but we made it a priority. I had a decent job but didn't have money to burn so to speak. We just made it a priorty we were going to be on the water. After making a few trips to the boat mechanic one year I drew a line in the sand. I'm wasn't spending anymore $3-400 to fix a dying, rotted boat. We saw a 212 Baja on our local lake and the wife and I thought it was the coolest boat ever. I thought 21 ft was HUGE, LOL. I remember saying, we'll never have to buy another boat if we take care of this one, LOL. Man was I wrong. When I say I was bit by the bug even worse is an understatement. We kept that boat for maybe 9 months and traded it for the current boat I have and now we want to get the right 35.

We have made some GREAT friends out on the water. Some people we just got to know better by being on the water. I could put pen to paper about what it has cost but I wouldn't trade it for the memories and fun we have had.

With all that being said, we make boating a priority. Maybe money is part of the answer. We definitly aren't rich, but have good jobs, we don't do fancy vacations, we drive used paid for cars, we save enough for retirement and college, we have a new 9 mo old, we don't live extravagant lifesyles but we do spend most of our time and "extra funds" on boating and having fun. When I got into boating I didn't know crap about boats, motors, oils, grease, hydraulics, ethanol, electronics etc. Quite frankly LC would tell you I still don't know crap about any of that and I would agree but I have learned a lot and want to learn more. I just didn't have anyone in my life at an early age to teach me all that. Nothing pisses me off more than when I go to a party and someone says," now that the baby is here have you sold the boat yet? When you are you going to sell it? You know you won't have time for all that blah blah blah f'n blah........." I could really care less about what the "Jone's" are doing or buying but we "boat within our means". I would encourage everyone else to do the same.

Two things (out of a bunch) that I think we could do to help more people get interested and stay interested:

1. I know we all have opinons, heck this is what makes this website fun. But when I guy comes on here saying he is thinking about a 24 Outlaw or a 26 "XYZ", don't tell them to go buy a 38 instead because____________________ (fill in the blank). I know its all fun and games but they are probably already stretching to buy the 24 or 26. Sometimes you can tell people are joking, others are just being "look at me a$$holes".... Tell them the good bad and ugly about what they are looking at. I thought when I bought the Baja I wanted an open bow, not once did anyone sit up there except for kids. Sometimes people have to purchase something to really find out what they really want. But that doesn't mean we can't give them good or bad advice about what they are looking at.

2. Take time to talk to the "future" big boat owners. We all get it, (insert a LOT of sarcasm) you have the 42 ________, you are bada$$, you are the only guy that has 1650's at the poker run, you have more tatoos than me, your wife can't smile and her tits don't move and are way to good to talk to me about your boat, the poker run, small talk etc. This is by no means everyone on the water but don't be that guy. Sometimes I think some do more harm to our hobby than promote it. Believe me it goes a long way and you never know who you might meet.

cost of boat
cost of boat insurance
cost of boat registration.
cost of fuel
cost of trailer
cost of trailer insurance
cost of trailer registration and plates
cost of truck
cost of truck insurance
cost of truck registration and plates
cost of lift or rack or well.
cost of umbrella insurance policy
cost of off seasonal storage
and we haven't touched on maintenance, repair, upgrades.
All this for a quick ride to the sandbar, we're a sick, stupid bunch.

I bought my first boat, a 1968 Pirahna 24x7 with a 200hp Mercruiser 292 with a #2 drive..
Paid 6k for it. spent 2k rebuilding engine and drive.
Gas was 59c a gallon
I was making 10k a year working after school and weekends at a gas station.
It was not uncommon to do that

I dont know many students making that these days,,its definately not as easy.At the same time cost of living has tripled...
A running 13yr (2000) old 24ft sport boat today would be about 2x3 times what i paid and need work..
Gas is $3+ a gallon..

Its only gonna get worse as the divide between the rich and poor
widens as the middle class gets wiped out ..
Just look at sales of new boats,,the hottest segment is the 200k and up boats..
40+cats 40+v bottoms 35+ CCs ,etc..
While speed boating has never been cheap its evolved into a rich mans game especially
where the younger generation is concerned.

so

Bingo!!! Great point....

Originally Posted by HTRDLNCN
Its only gonna get worse as the divide between the rich and poor
widens as the middle class gets wiped out ...

Its funny, about 20 years ago I wrecked a boat hitting a submerged object. Bought another boat and had them side by side in the driveway transfering parts from one to the other and this little kid stops at the end of the driveway and says, "are they both your boats?" "I said ya and he said, "man you must be rich". We all lived in the same townhouses and his parents had a Harley,couple cars, vacationed all the time, etc, etc and the 2 boats, one worthless and the other I just paid 800 bucks for and I was the rich one???? Go figure.

Having fun.

Trade those three horses in for 1300 horses . :cool-smiley-011:

You gotz 4 boats you are a Zillion Aire

No that just means he is broker then the rest of us that only have one. Lol

I know how to get them on the water again... buy this boat. [IMG]http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/...s7uwrwqmp.jpeg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/...s0bsi6zh9.jpeg[/IMG]

It will be kinda like riding a horse just on water

Funny what cranehill said about the guys with the big boats kinda being pricks! I have always had some sort of a hot rod 'either a lifted truck or jeep or mustang or drag bikes and i loved talking shop with people at the gas stations or cruise nights but for as friendly as everyone brags about there fellow boater is.... Which in general is true it's the guys that have the really nice super cat boats that seem to draw the line! One time this summer while at the shoot out poker run at one of the stops I was on the dock tying up and some fat old ass hole who just got of an extreamly nice MTI, I won't mention the boat was walking by with same ragged looking chick and says cute little cat.... I looked right at both of them and asked "what kind of cat did you have when you were 29? :-)

It's all about priorities, Go to your local sports bar and see how many of the younger generation are sitting at the bar watching sports. Boating involves a lot of money and time. In my case i did not even get into boating till 07 with a friend but the wife grew up with boats , I was into drag racing , muscle cars and sportbikes . In 09 which I was 39 we bought a 288 for are first boat just as the boating ind was taking a crap but got a pretty good deal, did a few things to it and used it ( no major problems). We came across a good deal on a 32 this summer and bought that so now I had 2 sitting behind the house but luckily the 28 sold in 2 weeks.The 32 is far more work in general and I think some get tired of it. I would say by far the best bang for the buck are motorcycles, never get dirty easy on fuel and low maintenance. Since I have recently taken over the family business and time is short on it but when we use it its moving and not tied up somewhere. With only 5 months to use the stuff around here the stuff is mainly dust collectors.
http://i1167.photobucket.com/albums/...psd9408d64.jpg
http://i1167.photobucket.com/albums/...ps27eeb439.jpg
http://i1167.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9305f87b.jpg

And the reason I bought a house on a canal,,,,,,,,, now if I could just get time away from work to finish it.