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

[Geekbabe]

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.

Owning a boat is great but please remember that it becomes a resource suck, every extra dime & every extra hour goes into maintaining the boat. You might consider sharing ownership with a couple of other people, particularly if you are only going to use it a couple months out of the year.

 

[Meghan54]

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.

Ever investigate tri-toons? For example, Manitou and Princecraft (among others) offer tri-toons that, properly equipped, will do 45-50 mph. (You do have to give them some horsepower, but we're talking outboards, so cost to maintain is a very small fraction of what I/O's cost to maintain.)

http://www.boatingmag.com/boats/manitou-23-legacy-shp-0

http://www.boatingmag.com/boats/princecraft-vogue-25-xt


The entire article:

http://www.boatingmag.com/boats/20-best-pontoon-boats?image=0

 

[Meghan54]

Owning a boat is great but please remember that it becomes a resource suck, every extra dime & every extra hour goes into maintaining the boat. You might consider sharing ownership with a couple of other people, particularly if you are only going to use it a couple months out of the year.

You may have a point if you're talking about I/O's or sailboats exclusively, but if you include outboards in that, the sentiment is not completely correct. Just don't see the thousands being spent on outboard powered boats.

I've owned boats almost my entire adult life (I'm 60+ now and have an 18' Javelin fish-and-ski) and have yet to dedicate every spare dime and extra hour maintaining it, or any of them. Granted, the one I/O I owned was much more labor intensive and expensive (bellows, gimbal bearing, winterizing, etc., etc.) and that's why I won't own one.

As far as boating goes, outboards are very cost effective, if you can call a hobby that. For instance, the new Evinrude E-tec's have a 3 year, 300 hour maintenance interval.

 

[momeNt]

So this thread has taught me that boat discussions are dangerously hyperbolic.

OP - if you do happen to get a boat, be careful who you tell, and don't tell too many people at once, I wouldn't risk the hyperbolic sink hole that may swallow up you and your family.

 

[calyco]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PbP7oVHNyw&t=3m27s

 

[SlitheryDee]

Studies show that people with boats are an average of 3.28x happier than people without them.

 

[RGUN]

Ever investigate tri-toons? For example, Manitou and Princecraft (among others) offer tri-toons that, properly equipped, will do 45-50 mph. (You do have to give them some horsepower, but we're talking outboards, so cost to maintain is a very small fraction of what I/O's cost to maintain.)

http://www.boatingmag.com/boats/manitou-23-legacy-shp-0

http://www.boatingmag.com/boats/princecraft-vogue-25-xt


The entire article:

http://www.boatingmag.com/boats/20-best-pontoon-boats?image=0

Performance pontoon boats are a market I don't quite understand why it is becoming so popular. At the boat show they had a (I think Princecraft?) pontoon boat on the floor with a Mercury 400R attached. In the more specialty/to order builders area they had an exotic looking pontoon with twin Mercury 300's.

You should sort the opinions of people into those who own/have owned boats and those who have not. I suspect you'll find that most people who have owned boats accept that it is expensive but know that it is absolutely worth it to be out on the water. Given my experience boating, and what I've read regarding boat clubs - I don't think that's a good solution for anyone planning to use their boats more than one or two prebooked vacation weeks a year. Weather changes too quickly to plan more than a couple hours in advance. You have to be opportunistic on weekends and I don't think you can count on last minute availability especially if you live somewhere with a short season.

*edit* - This is the one from the show - South Bay Pontoons - can be fitted with twin 400R motors (800hp in a pontoon!) http://www.southbaypontoon.com/product-details.aspx?LineID=314&Image=10583

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

I inherited my grandfather's old fishing boat and put about a grand into rehabbing it. I think this last season I may have come close to recouping that money for the amount of Dungeness crab I hauled outta the Puget Sound. 🙂

 

[dud]

Studies show that people with boats are an average of 3.28x happier than people without them.

... until they become 10x unhappier having to pay for the costs of ownership of said boat. The delusion of owning a boat and a pool are the biggest scams ever perpetrated on the American public.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Ever investigate tri-toons? For example, Manitou and Princecraft (among others) offer tri-toons that, properly equipped, will do 45-50 mph. (You do have to give them some horsepower, but we're talking outboards, so cost to maintain is a very small fraction of what I/O's cost to maintain.)

http://www.boatingmag.com/boats/manitou-23-legacy-shp-0

http://www.boatingmag.com/boats/princecraft-vogue-25-xt


The entire article:

http://www.boatingmag.com/boats/20-best-pontoon-boats?image=0

My father in law owns a tritoon with a 225HP mercury outboard on the back. It can move (when my FIL turns up the throttle, which he never does), but it IMO it is a pig in the water. Pickup sucks, turning radius sucks, etc. Not to mention it is a PITA to dock in the wind. My FIL is a seasoned boater (he has owned over 40 boats in his life) and even he doesn't like taking that thing out alone because docking it with one person is a real chore.

Really IMO the only good things about my FIL's boat are: 1) its not mine; 2) it floats; and 3) it carries a ton of people; 4) its fun to jump into the water from.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

... until they become 10x unhappier having to pay for the costs of ownership of said boat. The delusion of owning a boat and a pool are the biggest scams ever perpetrated on the American public.

I am fully aware of the cost of owning a boat. I'm looking at probably 2k a year in maintenance and about 1500 year in fuel. Plus whatever payments I need to make on it (if any)..

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Owning a boat is great but please remember that it becomes a resource suck, every extra dime & every extra hour goes into maintaining the boat. You might consider sharing ownership with a couple of other people, particularly if you are only going to use it a couple months out of the year.

If every extra dime I have had to go to this boat it would be a pretty god awful boat.

 

[momeNt]

If every extra dime I have had to go to this boat it would be a pretty god awful boat.

You can keep all the pennies, nickels, and quarters. Whatever you do don't own a yacht, because there goes your quarters.

 

[RGUN]

If every extra dime I have had to go to this boat it would be a pretty god awful boat.

Not to mention the fact that a lot of manufacturers have warranties extending 5-10 years. I'm happy to say my boating experience doesn't mimic the opinion of most of those on here. Sure when things break they are more expensive to repair than the equivalent automotive type repair - but the frequency of failure isn't very high.

 

[DrPizza]

I have a fish & ski as well. It has been sitting on the lift at my sister's beach house for 4 years. I've used it maybe 5 times over that period. I think it's been in the shop more than that. :\

Getting rid of it.

I am fully aware of the cost of owning a boat. I'm looking at probably 2k a year in maintenance and about 1500 year in fuel. Plus whatever payments I need to make on it (if any)..

I wish I could remember who told me, but the number 1 rule: NO ETHANOL! Even if your boat can run 90/10, if possible, get ethanol free fuel. Unlike cars, gas spends a lot more time just sitting in boats. And the more it sits, the more likely are problems down the road.

I'm looking forward to another NY Finger Lake this year - Cayuga. There's a "party" bay that attracts tons of people. My son's just outside of Ithaca, NY and takes his boat there all the time - there's a boat that anchors in the bay & cooks all sorts of food - take-out menu. And a guy in a kayak paddles up to your boat, gets your order, then delivers your order. Pizza, wings, etc. - in the middle of a lake.

 

[squirrel dog]

I had a nice pontoon boat , sold it . What made it really nice for me was the way it handled wakes from other boats . It could take the three or four foot bow wave from a cruiser and , well if you steered into the oncoming wave it was like running over a rope with your car , literally no bounce at all . My boat had two logs , three would be nicer . That and the largest outboard you can legally put on it . I had a 150 hp etec,It was light and very fast , or it got up on its power band quickly . Would plane out in about 10 secs . It was a Bently , cost was near &40 new this was a few years ago . 24' , but was 32' from back of motor to the very front of the boat .

 

[Sho'Nuff]

I wish I could remember who told me, but the number 1 rule: NO ETHANOL! Even if your boat can run 90/10, if possible, get ethanol free fuel. Unlike cars, gas spends a lot more time just sitting in boats. And the more it sits, the more likely are problems down the road.

I'm looking forward to another NY Finger Lake this year - Cayuga. There's a "party" bay that attracts tons of people. My son's just outside of Ithaca, NY and takes his boat there all the time - there's a boat that anchors in the bay & cooks all sorts of food - take-out menu. And a guy in a kayak paddles up to your boat, gets your order, then delivers your order. Pizza, wings, etc. - in the middle of a lake.

Yeah I agree re: ethanol. But if its not available the only thing you can really do is add stabil with every fillup.

A buddy of mine has a place on Winnepesaukee and they have a cove that is affectionately called "Budweiser" cove. Tons of boats anchor there. Water is about 3-4 feet deep. Lots of people drinking, partying having fun. Ice cream boat and grill boats galore, etc. Its a good time.

 

[DrPizza]

... until they become 10x unhappier having to pay for the costs of ownership of said boat. The delusion of owning a boat and a pool are the biggest scams ever perpetrated on the American public.

Jealous or something? I've never once regretted owning my boat - either of my boats.