you know what I tell my friends when they ask what it’s like to own a boat? I say, stand under a cold shower and tear up $100 bills.
We are in a boat club. It was a $6000 upfront cost plus a little shy of $300 a month plus gas whenever we take one out. Pretty sweet deal. All the fun of owning a boat with none of the bullshit.
Mentioned earlier about owning 7 boats. More accurately I own 1/8th of 7 boats. Had the one 80+ ft St Augustine Trawler style main craft that we live on out to sea and 5 skiffs we work/dive from. Three 18ft center consoles and two 22ft Pangas. The main craft we had is about to come up on some major fiberglass and general maintenance work (likely $200k+) and she honestly wasn't very comfortable in seas so we decided to upgrade. Got a slightly bigger steel hull boat with more house space. Trying to sell off the other craft now for whatever we can get. August will be our first trip on the new boat and I'm kinda looking forward to it. But yes, I can attest that boat maintenance is pricey. We put our skiff engines through hell. We generally just hope to get 3 years or 3.5k+ hrs out of them. Then then it's 13-20k for a new one depending on which boat. And that's not even getting into the main engine and generator on the main craft and general maintenance.
This. They are constantly rotating boats in and out and don't keep anything over 3 years old. If I had to guess most the boats probably coast about as much or more than my house.
I'd be so nervous renting out boats. It's amazing how many people come here and rent a boat and clearly have never used one in open water before.
No, I worded that poorly. By "here" I meant here as a vacation destination, not a business I own. All the boats I have anything to do with are commercial lobster diving related.
I live about 100 yards from a dock I can tie a boat too, or toss a kayak in at.... about 1/4 mile to the boat ramp. I can't live here and not have boats
They have those clubs up the road at lake travis, I see em advertised all the time. Would be a good deal for someone who lives close enough to a lake for day trips and wants a boat but doesn't want a boat. I always wonder about how the scheduling goes. I also wonder how much the club owners are banking.
we had - 87 outboard that they bought when I was two months old, don’t remember the brand - 94 Mariah 180 4.2L (I think that was the engine, boat I learned to drive on) - 03 crown line 210 5.7L - jet ski in there somewhere my mom bought drunk for 1200 bucks - a shitty old pontoon my aunt gave us after my uncle passed - now have a 26 foot tritoon with a 150 on it the tritoon is the ideal boat
Love my tritoon, but my buddy's dad had a 21 crown line (think it was a 1998), and that was a pretty sweet ride
they’re great but the tritoon is a gentler ride especially as the lake they live on has gotten busier
Just got back from taking my brothers boat thru the Erie Canal with him on the way back to Michigan. Absolutely amazing how old that locks system is and to think they could build it 200 years ago.
In the market for one, most likely in the winter, but starting to poke around. What is a good price range for a decent/safe pontoon that won't be used for pulling anything? It'll literally just be for taking friends and such out on the water, some casual fishing, and that's about it. Our lake house will be done in October, so I'll be paying new house payments at that same time. I'm not trying to break the bank, but also wouldn't want a POS that is constantly in the shop. I've never owned a boat, so I'm completely in the dark as to what's reasonable, or what I should look around for. Also, If kids come, the boat house will have 2 spots, so a ski boat or something like that would be an option later on down the line, but I definitely want to start with something cheaper.
If I were in your shoes (and this is coming from someone who has owned a variety of boats for over 25+ years), I would be looking at an electric pontoon boat, 17 to 20 ft range. Seems like they can be had for less than $20 g's and all the rumors are they alleviate many of the outboard issues we longtime boat owners have loved forever
We did this for a few years when I got into sailing like a real bad boy. Here’s the fleet we had access to. https://sailtime.com/houston/fleet/
I zipped all around Sydney Harbour in a 16 foot Haines Hunter for months, years back, and had a blast. Something like this. I am no longer a boat owner but wanted to chime in to say that was a damn fun time, even the work that came with it I can look back on and appreciate.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjgePMhqt6k/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Getting a boat on dry dock without a lift is no problem
Not boat related, but also not sure where to ask this, but why are all giant floating water pads #x6 ft? I googled "Largest floating water pad" and the first one that I see is 18x6. After scrolling the first page, that's also the biggest one that came up. I'm probably going to be buying one soon, and if possible, want one that's not quite so narrow.