To buy a boat . . . or not . . . can't decide

[Sho'Nuff]

Hi All - so as many of you know my family has a seasonal camp in Maine. The camp is right on a lake, and we go there pretty much every weekend from mid May through the end of September. We have had the place for the past 8 years or so, and we have no plans to give it up anytime soon. It has the double benefit of being very cheap (~$3000/year) for a vacation home, and being a lot of fun for all of our family members, especially our two kids (who will be 4 and 7 in March).

That said - I came very close to buying a boat in August of last year, but because the end of the season was drawing near I decided to wait and save myself the expense of storing and winterizing the boat. As boat show season is now rapidly approaching, I am again contemplating buying a boat - only now I am really wondering whether I should buy a boat.

The question is not whether we can afford a boat (we definitely can) or whether we would enjoy it (we definitely would) - the issue in my mind is whether we would get enough use out of it to justify the purchase. In past years I would say unquestionably yes, but my son is just getting into the age where he is going to be playing a lot of summer sports, which I expect will eat into our camp time significantly. As he grows older I can only imagine that the erosion into our camp time will become greater and greater. This makes me question whether or not buying a boat is a wise personal decision, as the season up here is already short, and I am really concerned that we will not use the boat enough to justify the purchase. I do understand that buying a boat is not a wise financial decision.

Thoughts on this situation? The answers I have been getting from other people have ranged from "buy the boat - you will love it and have many great memories on it!" to the polar opposite "Screw the boat man . . . you know what BOAT means? Break out another thousand." So yeah . . . not exactly helpful.

FWIW - I the boat I am thinking about is a 2015 or 16 Yamaha SX240 HO - a pretty nice dual engine jet boat

TLDR - OP is thinking about buying a boat. Concerned about the purchase not for financial or enjoyment reasons, but because his young kids are becoming more involved in summer sports that will erode into camp and boat time. Not sure what to do.

 

[dainthomas]

Break
Out
Another
Thousand

 

[WackyDan]

Break
Out
Another
Thousand

This....

I've had plenty of friends into boats....and while they are enjoyable, they are the biggest maintenance hogs out there.

If you live near a populated area, your best bet is a private boat club where you pay per year to access a pool of boats.

 

[IronWing]

Boats are the second F. Rent one when you feel the urge.

 

[feralkid]

If you live near a populated area, your best bet is a private boat club where you pay per year to access a pool of boats.

Not always a better choice, economically. Often limited to crappy little boats and restricted to daytime hours. YMMV.

 

[CraKaJaX]

Make friends with someone who has a boat at said camp. It's MUCH more enjoyable this way - not even mentioning the financial side of things.

 

[SMOGZINN]

My old man, a notorious angler, used to tell me that the two happiest days of a fisherman's life is the day he buys his boat and the day he sells it.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

This....

I've had plenty of friends into boats....and while they are enjoyable, they are the biggest maintenance hogs out there.

If you live near a populated area, your best bet is a private boat club where you pay per year to access a pool of boats.

Understood. The maintenance is one reason I am looking into jet drives, as they are really easy to maintain and winterize. And the Yamaha marine jet engine has a reputation for reliability.

As to renting a boat - there is a place to do that on our lake. But it is VERY expensive. As in $500 a day.

 

[preCRT]

If not now, you will have time once the kids are in college.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Make friends with someone who has a boat at said camp. It's MUCH more enjoyable this way - not even mentioning the financial side of things.

I have plenty of friends at camp who have boats. While it was a lot of fun to go out with them when I was younger and kidless - it is much more of an imposition to ask them to take us out when you have two kids, their friends, and the wife in tow. The only boat at the camp that can handle a ton of people easily is my father in laws 28' pontoon, but honestly I don't enjoy hanging out on that thing. It does absolutely nothing for me.

 

[z1ggy]

My manager has a boat. He talks about two things all the time:

How much he loves it
How much $$ he spends to fix it and maintain it

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Boats are the second F. Rent one when you feel the urge.

What is the first F? Car?

 

[poofyhairguy]

What is the first F? Car?

If it flys, floats, or f*cks then rent don't buy is how the saying goes.

 

[gorcorps]

I have plenty of friends at camp who have boats. While it was a lot of fun to go out with them when I was younger and kidless - it is much more of an imposition to ask them to take us out when you have two kids, their friends, and the wife in tow. The only boat at the camp that can handle a ton of people easily is my father in laws 28' pontoon, but honestly I don't enjoy hanging out on that thing. It does absolutely nothing for me.

So what I read here is that you don't like the water enough to warrant getting your own boat.

If you're already saying "does nothing for me" when you don't have to pay for it or do any of the maintenance, I can't imagine what would happen when you do.

Unless your answer is "I love every single second I'm on any of my friends' boats, and I wish I could get more time out there" then it'll be a giant waste.

 

[96Firebird]

Maintenance depends on your usage - Not using a boat regularly is worse than using it every weekend, in my experience. My old roommate has had plenty of boats, and no major problems with any of them during the summer season. Reason being, we would head out on them just about every weekend. His bass boat we would take out a couple times during the week as well, to get some fishing in after work.

Sounds like your usage won't be often, in which case you'll probably experience more problems. Sounds like you're looking to buy new/close to new, in which case you might get a warranty with the purchase. You might get use out of that warranty, hope it covers a lot.

 

[CraKaJaX]

I have plenty of friends at camp who have boats. While it was a lot of fun to go out with them when I was younger and kidless - it is much more of an imposition to ask them to take us out when you have two kids, their friends, and the wife in tow. The only boat at the camp that can handle a ton of people easily is my father in laws 28' pontoon, but honestly I don't enjoy hanging out on that thing. It does absolutely nothing for me.

If it does nothing for you, why dish out your own money for one? I can't imagine that the difference in pontoon vs what you're looking at is terribly different. Yes, it's faster. Yes, you'd be driving it. But the concept is the same... you're on the water.

Also, I haven't really seen you mention the -bad- stuff that goes with a boat. Sure, you'd enjoy it while on the water. But if you say your kids are at the age where you'll be taking them here and there for sports, activities, clubs, etc. where will you find the time to spend on general crap that goes with owning a boat? If your kids are a concern, I'd shy away from a boat and spend the time on them. Maybe when they get a bit older and possibly have an interest in fishing or something (especially if your son is old enough and gets a boating license) would be a better time to buy a boat. You'd have more help on putting it in the water, docking it, storing it, cleaning it, general maintenance, etc. Otherwise you'd probably be doing most of this stuff yourself - and therefore spending a time away from the kiddos in doing so.

Just my 0.02.

 

[Artdeco]

As someone who recently bought a fish & ski, you definitely need to buy a boat

Why are you going new? They're used the second you turn the key.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Jet drives/boats are great for shallow draft and flat water. I want one bad to go hoon on the Delaware river. I don't like jet boat slow speed handling. Tougher to dock unless you use a trolling motor.

Most outboard setups will cost less up front, less to operate, less to maintain for a roughly equivalent boat. A little bayliner capri is a great intro to boating without spending a fortune.

 

[Stopsignhank]

Out here on the west coast there are a couple of saying about boats.

You know the two happiest days in a boat owners life? The day he buys the boat and the day he sells it.

A boat is a hole in the water that you throw your money in.

I do know someone who has a boat and loves it. However he is a mechanic and has no problem doing all the maintenance on his own boat. He also takes it out at least every two weeks so it gets used all the time.

 

[highland145]

Webster: Boat- a hole in the water that you throw $$ into.

That said, if you're there a lot, go for it. The one I got rid of a couple of years ago was a garage boat.:\

Edit: I see Hank beat me to it.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

So what I read here is that you don't like the water enough to warrant getting your own boat.

If you're already saying "does nothing for me" when you don't have to pay for it or do any of the maintenance, I can't imagine what would happen when you do.

Unless your answer is "I love every single second I'm on any of my friends' boats, and I wish I could get more time out there" then it'll be a giant waste.

You misunderstand me. I love the water. My kids love the water. I grew up on the water as a kid.

I do not like a giant floating deck that you put around on at 2 MPH. I.e., my father in law's Pontoon boat. Not my idea of fun. Its plenty of fun when we are parked and dive jump off. But otherwise I can't imagine owning ANY type of pontoon boat.

 

[jlee]

Noooooooooope.

 

[DrPizza]

I cannot fathom being at a camp on the shore of a lake and not having a boat. Tubing, water skiing, fishing, going for a ride (presuming a decent sized lake, and not some 4 square mile pond) - and Maine appears to have plenty of lakes where you can actually go for a ride and it not be like going for a ride in a car and driving from one end of a parking lot to the other.

Get the boat. I'm completely unfamiliar with the one you're looking at, but would caution you to compare replacement parts with other brands. Apparently, Volvo-Penta parts are hella more expensive than other brands - not by a margin of 10 or 20%, but more like 200-300% more expensive for certain parts. E.g., multiple boat mechanics amazed that the water pump on my boat needed to be completely replaced for a leaky seal. It was impossible to just replace the seal. Other boats: $25 d-i-y; my boat: $400 d-i-y.

And, given a choice, "you want to play t-ball, or you want to bring a friend to the lake each weekend to go tubing" - you're not going to be bored watching a t-ball game.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

The two happiest days in any boat owners life: The day he buys the boat and the day he sells the boat.

Boats are a major pain in the ass and a major expense. If you're not 100% absolutely completely, positively sure that you can't live another day without a boat, you don't want one enough to justify the hassles. Pass and keep passing until you're so sure that you can walk into the dealer and buy one without asking us for advice. As long as you need help making the decision you're clearly not ready.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Jet drives/boats are great for shallow draft and flat water. I want one bad to go hoon on the Delaware river. I don't like jet boat slow speed handling. Tougher to dock unless you use a trolling motor.

Most outboard setups will cost less up front, less to operate, less to maintain for a roughly equivalent boat. A little bayliner capri is a great intro to boating without spending a fortune.

The low speed handling issues have largely been addressed in the newer dual engine boats. I've driven and docked many jet boats and they honestly are not that much different from an inboard outboard if you ask me. In fact once you get used to pulsing the throttles I think they are MORE maneuverable at low speed.

FWIW - this boat if purchased will be a exclusively a freshwater lake boat.