Is it time to hang up the anchor and sell the boat?

[Old Ironmaker]

Don't sell the boat if you don't have to. I use mine 99% for fishing, 1% for "boating". If we didn't have a great fishing season, like this past year, I say I'm selling it. By the time it's middle of the winter, like now, I can't wait to get back on the water. It's killing me right now looking out the window seeing open water on Erie, and I'm sure I'm not alone.

 

[Brandon5778]

Reading all these stories was great.. I, like many others, can just barely remember my dad's john boat when I was a small child.. My parents unfortunately sold it when we moved in 2004. My parents didn't get another boat for 10 years. My real boating experiences didn't start until I was 15, but my little brothers were 8 and 10, so I am glad they will get the years on the boat at a much younger age than I did. My brothers and my family absolutely love our boat and being out on the water and it really is one of the few ways the family can all enjoy time together.

I love boating so much so that I bought my own boat when I was 18, and I have a good feeling I will own a boat my entire life. You mentioned the financial side of it all, which is very understandable. My ideology is there is always more money to be made, and I guess my point is if you sell it now you may not get another for 10 years, like what happened to my parents. I would definitely go back to trailering it instead of paying that outrageous slip fee. Of course us boaters are going to urge you to hold on!

 

[Pusher]

You might consider what your 2000 boat will sell for today versus what you could buy a 2004 boat for in 4 years. Is your boat going to lose value over the next couple years? Do you have a dry place to store it for a couple years? Are you planning on more kids in the near future? How much maintenance will it require until then? I would base the decision on what your WIFE wants going forward too. I got a fishing boat for myself and plan to fish it until we start our family. At that point I might sell it and get a cheaper 16' row boat to float in with the newborn and then upgrade after a few years of "saving" to a nicer bigger boat that will meet the wife's (and probably kid's) needs of water skiing on top of fishing.

Of course, I don't have kids yet so this has been good for me too. Thanks for asking. I think it just depends on what you have, what you want, how long it'll be before you can use it again, what value you're losing by holding onto it, and where you'll store it until then. If it's your dream boat, tell your wife to use it as a coffin when you die. Win win all the way around

 

[hostage]

Kids aren't cheap $1000/month in child care alone! Though at the same time my wife started a full time job with great benefits after working a year perdiem and prior to that was a full time masters student. That even though we have lots of child expenses, we are better off financially with the two incomes than we were before.

I think a boat in my condition and its age, it really won't depreciate much.

My only concern is time, don't nearly have as much. I also wonder how it will be chasing her around the boat. Visiting friends during xmas was stressful as we were chasing after her playing with all the decorations. I wonder how it will be on a boat. Will she getting into things I never thought possible? I don't think she can climb overboard.

 

[ezmobee]

She'll be well contained on the boat and her PFD will encumber her a bit as well and slow her down

 

[JASinIL2006]

It gets much easier in a year or so... we had twins, and we survived! Just hang in there!

 

[Pusher]

Have you thought about those child harnesses with the leash? I know it sounds terrible... maybe that makes me terrible hmmm, the wife will have to train me up

 

[Scott06]

when My daughters, now 11 and 13, were real young we didn't use the boat much(17 ft bow rider) either, once they got to be about 6 they hopped on the tube, then skis, now wakeboarding. Yeah it's a PITA when something breaks, summarizing and winterizing, but I'm gald I kept the boat as now every time we go it it's with their friends and we have great times and memories. When we bought a newer 21 ft last year my youngest asked if she could have the old boat....

If it's paid for hang on to it, trailer it, but put some weekends on the calendar to use it, in a short couple of years you won't be able to get the kids out of the water. Compared to other family outings like snow skiing, amusement parks etc I think a modest boat, gas, winterizaion etc is a good value, especially if you can do the maintenance work.

 

[vans]

My son was born in march, i bought my first boat in June. That was 28 years ago. My son and his older sister would still rather be on the boat with mom and dad than most anywhere else. Of course its now a different boat and they bring their spouses. We all still make time for it. Hopefully their kids will feel the same way. That first boat was one of the best things I ever did.

My daughters still love to go out with old Mom and Dad, I thinks it's awesome they still love to boat

 

[theBrownskull]

It is hard, but it gets better. Just plan for short trips or get a baby sitter. I would keep it. Maintain it well and it will be waiting for when your family is ready. I have had to sell many things over the years; some I regret and some I do not. I had more trouble keeping the snowmobiles because the "littles" get cold quickly and the engines are loud.

 

[Drew220]

Slip: $1500-1600/season
Indoor Storage: $270 for each 6months
Other boat related maintenance $500/year?

$540 a year for indoor storage is a steal. It's 225 dollars a month around here. I pay $70.00 a month for trailering (only because my HOA will not allow boats).

It does get easier when the kids get older. Mine are 7 and 5 and we spent every weekend on the water last summer. I love finding a nice quit place on the lake and just relaxing to the sounds of the kids laughing and playing. I went with an outboard engine to help cut down on the maintenance costs and it gives me more versatility (I can fish, swim and tube). No need to winterize, and it's ready to go at a moments notice.

It also helps that i'm only 5 mins away from two huge lakes. The kids are already begging to go out fishing and swimming.

I would give it another try and see how everyone feels about it.

 

[thumpar]

My son is almost 9 now and I have owned a boat for longer than he has been around. The year he was born I bought a jet ski so I could get some water time in on evenings and sometimes on the weekends. I could do it all myself and go out for a few hours to get away. The next summer the boat was back in action and he has gown up on the 2 boats I have had in that time. Boating for us is a family thing.

 

[jkust]

When the kid(s) get a little bit older, sports will start to take over and then suddenly your boat will again not see much use. It is the right of passage around me in my state where everyone has a boat. Worse is that the folks that have a cabin and it just sits unused because they prioritized kids sports. Every phase of their childhood brings challenges to boating time.