Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

Ciscovet · Jul 11, 2012

Hey guys,
The title is pretty much self explanatory. I'm pretty new to boating so I have been spending a lot of time on my boat. I never grew up with boats and since the end of last year I have been on the water. Of course now I want an bigger boat as noted in another post. The truth is that this will be my first one and will be here at the end of November. Now I am spending a lot of time wondering if i will be able to afford my boat and if I will even be able to go out boating. How have others handled balancing their home life with boating? I am 37yrs old and have a busy steady job to go to. My fiance decided it was a great idea to start up a franchise consignment clothing store which will be opening soon.

Any advise would be great. Thanks fellow boaters.

Thales14 · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

Congratulations on your new baby.
I'm new to boating myself, and everyone's circumstances are different, but for what it's worth....
I suspect your boating activity will be impacted the first year, but if your finances can stand it, it will be a nice gift to allow your kids to have the opportunity to grow up around boating.
It's fortunate that you already have one, cause it would be harder to pull the trigger to buy one for the first time after you child is born - just too much else going on.
Congratulations again.

ricohman · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

You sacrifice a lot when kids are small. I had to cut my cycling, running, motorcycling, boating and many other things waaaay back.
A baby changes your life. How you adapt your life to the baby to make your wife and yourself happy is the key.

southkogs · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

Congratulations Ciscovet!! Kids do change your life completely - though, I think it's ultimately for the better.

You've got a lot of irons in the fire right now, my friend. If it were me, I'd probably sit still on a new boat purchase for a little bit. The baby will slow your boating down for about 6 months. Not that you can't go, you just have to be waaaaaaayyyyy flexible. What's going to effect your boating more right now is starting up a business ...

18 - 24 months from right now, your time and financial situation will be completely different. You'll be able to better evaluate how much time you have and how much money you should spend. It also gets you more time to look at different boats and get an idea of exactly what you want.

Don't sweat it ...

dmtalon · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

The first year will be a blur... Once they start being able to do stuff it gets pretty fun! I am very much looking forward to getting my (just shy of 2yo) son on a dirt bike. I am not new to boating in general, however I just bought my first boat two weeks ago. My son is working on his driving already!

SDSeville · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

Ciscovet said:
How have others handled balancing their home life with boating?

Boating and home life do not need to be balanced. For me, they are one in the same. My kids have been on the water since they were very young, one since he was an infant. Everyone in the family loves boating and it is something we always do together. My kids are 11, 18, and 21 now and they all want to go boating every chance we get. It is great that the older kids still want to spend time with the family and bring their friends around for the fun too.

Another benefit is that boating vacations are cheap relative to other vacations. A week at the lake (in a nice hotel) costs me less than $1500 for a family of 5 (including food, gas, slip, launch fee...). A week in Hawaii $6k to $8k.

JB · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

Don't get all sweated up about short term effects on your life. They will only last 2-4 years (per offspring), then they get better and better. The boy and girls who got me worried about this sort of thing are now grandparents and I wouldn't trade the experience for. . . .anything.

Ciscovet · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

Thanks for the replies. I really want to have that boating family life. Part of the problem I see with young kids these days is that they are bored with life. They then start getting into trouble. I blame video games and lack of parenting but i digress. A year ago I made that change myself. I managed to quit smoking, got my *** off from the tv and started exercising. I managed to lose almost 30 pounds and now I run daily and I am in the best shape of my life. That's when I bought the boat. Life is much more fun for me. I love being outside. I want my child to have memories of him boating with his dad. I want for him to enjoy it and it will hopefully keep him out of trouble and get us closer together. I never really had these things with my own father.

Scott Danforth · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

congrats on the Baby. it will throw a change into your recreational plans, however you should not need to sell the boat

you will, however be looking at things from a new parents perspective, maybe not going out during a small-craft advisory, or thinking things like: will the car seat fit; should I install a Bimini to keep sun off the baby; new baby cloths or new fishing gear

jkust · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

I started boating at three months old so have technically been boating 39 years and we had no issues bringing the kids onboard as soon as the boating season started the years they were born. A little common sense and there were no issues. My wife also owns a consulting company and I'm a busy VP at a multinational firm and it all works out just fine. As the kids get older making time for boating gets more difficult. When they are young it is a piece of cake.

Ryan50 · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

Don't worry man. A new baby will certainly enrich your life. I have a 6 month old son who has been boating for 2 months now-he loves it. He has probably spent 25 to 30 hours on the water so far and not once have we had to call it a day early because he was fussy. The steady hum of the engine and rocking motion puts him to sleep. Get a properly fitting infant vest and all the extras that you need when you go anywhere with a baby and have fun.

Maclin · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

We need more information, like how far apart are the contractions, can the wife back the trailer down the ramp while in pain, etc.

Congratulations!

rivermouse · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

You dont need to stop boating at all. Here is a solution.

BTMCB · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

Maclin said:
Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

We need more information, like how far apart are the contractions, can the wife back the trailer down the ramp while in pain, etc.

Congratulations!

Classic - very clever.....

Congrats to the OP.

SDSeville · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

Ryan50 said:
The steady hum of the engine and rocking motion puts him to sleep.

Very true.

SDSeville · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

If you want to be on the water, you can make it work. Maybe you don't need a new boat if it dents the budget. With 2 kids in college at once and a ton of cash lost in the real estate crash, I sold my newer boat and restored my old one. Other than missing a season during the restore, nothing changed and we are still on the water. In my life, I can't afford to not have a boat.

Home Cookin' · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

Well first "boating" can mean anything. Taknig a baby for a one hour boat ride is not the same as an all day excursion. Boat and weather conditions matter.

But anyway, the new baby and wife's new job will comlpivate and change your life, so don't complicate it more by switching boats. Keep what you got, especially if it's paid for. Guaranteed you won't use it much but you'll get back to it, but no matter how little you use it, even none at all, DO NOT SELL IT as you will never find the "right time" to replace it.

Your child is a long way off from video games although your approach is to be commended. Worry about infant stuff, not teen stuff. the day will come soon enough.

be flexible. be ready to cancel or end a trip at a moment's notice. Always do what wifey wants.

calvinator · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

Just my opinion.....

I have 3 early teen boys and we just had twins.

With a baby on the way, I would sell it and leave boating for awhile. Enjoy the baby time and come back in a few years.

Only reason I keep our boat is because it is paid for and the 3 older boys love tubing, kneeboarding, fishing. I suspect we'll use our boat 8-12 times this year and that requires heavy scheduling and hope the weather holds for those scheduled days.

Financially, the boat wastes money. Dry stack and storage is $2k annually. If I use the boat 10 times this year, I'm looking at $200/use -- pretty steep. I'm ok with it for now, just because the kids love it.

Good Luck ! ! !

bgc · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

Congratulations!!!!! In a couple years they can help with maintenance

MolsonCanadian · Jul 11, 2012

Re: Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

We had our baby on May 29th. He was out with us at the end of June at a month old. Hes been out 3 times, and twice overnight. We're heading on a week long trip on the Trent Severn waterway at the end of July. We purchased a Salus PFD for him (like the one pictured above) it fits great and I'm confident it will work. He loves it, and by loves it, I mean sleeps all the time!

We are also getting him used to the water by dipping him in the pool often also. (A lot warmer than the bay). We worried about it too, but so far its been great.

Baby on the way!! How is this going to effect my boating

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