09-23-2017, 12:51 AM
(09-22-2017, 04:55 AM)Nortoon_imp Wrote: I have two friends with boats. They have a saying. "There are two days you enjoy a boat, the day you buy it and the day you get rid of it".
Each year Gil brings his boat up from Fredericksburg, Virginia so we can enjoy a weeks fishing on West Lake next to the Sandbanks Park on Lake Ontario. It seems there is always something that needs repair before his visit. This year it was a $1000 repair on the four carbs of the motor. On his way home the trailer had a flat tire in the hills of Pennsylvania.
I am lucky that I have a historic dam to fish from 10 minutes from my home. The last time I was there I caught a 2 pound Pickerel (Walleye). It was a perfect size for eating, and I seriously considered taking it home. But I am a catch and release fisherman. After I long pause I told the fish he was lucky and tossed him back in.
In defense of boat ownership (and as an extension, RVs because maintaining / use issues have some similarities):
I do wonder what would possess someone to put down $60k for a Mastercraft wakeboard boat when that money could be better spent buying 9 new CB1100 '14 Standards, but to each his own...
I hear the cautions about too much time and hassle, too much money for RVs and boats--I don't own an RV but do have a Glastron 17' ski boat. It's MSRP back in 2006 was $27k! I bought it used from a guy in 2012 for $8900 and it has run near perfect. I live near the Colombia River and in 30 minutes it goes from covered parking on the side of my house to on the river, ready to have fun with the kids and their friends. It's instant vacation each time when out on the river. I go alone to get away and just float while I hold my "office hours" on Fridays with cell phone in hand and quizzes to grade. I can take my wife and friends for boat picnics and see the city of Portland from a different angle. I take it out between 20-30 times per season, March to October here in Oregon. A friend and I go out early Saturday mornings and we ski before any crowds form at the marina. It's really pretty cool.
But I researched all that before buying the boat. I saw how close I was to the river that has countless areas to explore. My budget wouldn't allow for a fancy ski boat and I didn't have room on the side of the house for a 20' plus vessel. I researched the Glastron like you would for any vehicle and people seemed to love it. I have to winterize it and yearly maintenance is around $500, and gas averages about $20 per outing, coming out to about $40-45 cost each time I take it out. Small families exceed that just going out to dinner. Believe me, boating is more fun.
But, you have to accept that there is lots of equipment with skis, wakeboards, tow ropes, vests, inflatables for towing (which do require time to inflate and tie down). And on hot days, you have to have some patience to get all those things ready--worth it to me. 6 years later and my year and model of boat seems to be selling on CL for around $8-10k. If I really wanted to sell I would feel comfortable undercutting that to $6-7k...of course assuming someone would actually buy it!
I get a very similar freedom boating that I do with my motorcycle riding, but different. When people ask about owning, I tell them to think over all the above to see if they're comfortable with the idea: time getting ready, drive to water, putting things away, maintenance, cleaning, etc. After 6 years, maybe I get a little tired from doing some of that, but I'm still happy it's there, ready to go.
But...I can't see boating replacing mc interest. Nope. Nor would an RV...at least for now. But all three, boating, RV touring, MC riding all allow for one to see different things, have a bit of adventure and enjoy things out there. So I can see RV purchases affecting MC sales somewhat...but, think it all through before plunking down the money. Awk!, too long!