What do you give up to own a boat?

[NCOffSeason]

I am in a pickle and need some advice. Our finances are stretched pretty thin with a mortgage, car payments and our boat payment. My daughter just got braces which will take another $100+ per month. We're okay, but we're just getting by rather than paying extra on some stuff and reducing debt.<br /><br />My daughter is playing softball this spring and my son plays baseball. He will also play travel ball this summer which will take alot of weekend time away from boating activities.<br /><br />The boat is the biggest "extra" expense and I think it needs to go. $300 a month will go a long way in other areas. The family doesn't want to sell.<br /><br />I have a buyer ready to give me what I want from the boat. And, i know we won't be able to use it much and I hate to have it sitting there. I know the kids will not be playing ball like this forever so I want to give them 100% of our attention.<br /><br />Any words of wisdom would be appreciated.

 

[Dhadley]

Re: What do you give up to own a boat?

Thats a tough question. If more parents were like you there wouldnt be so many kids in trouble. And I feel the same way as you about boats just sitting.<br /><br />The debate on whether to keep the boat or not could/will go on forever. The important thing is just what you said -- give the kids 100% of your attention. Doesnt matter if its at the ballpark or on a Sundy cruise.<br /><br />You have the right idea. Whats your gut feeling?

 

[Luna Sea]

Re: What do you give up to own a boat?

Get a bigger boat! <br /><br />I'm an addict to boating myself (and iboats ) . I give up lots just to enjoy the short season. Staying at home all winter, not going out, wearing scrappy clothes, not wining and dining the dames, drive an old truck, no more fast food, sort of on the wagon.... I think you get the point. Got a nice tax refund coming, could use it to get ahead, instead I was under the tarp this weekend taking measurements to see how my new fishfinders gonna look on the dash. LMAO

 

[JRJ]

Re: What do you give up to own a boat?

I agree with Dhadley, you have a hard decision to make. The wife/kids want to keep the boat and I don't blame them. However, braces and sports are just the start of expenses. I dought $300 includes gas,insurance, etc. Sell the boat and keep enough of the savings to rent a boat of the familys choice as often as time and money allow. The young people on my street just don't have time to use their boats with all the other activities/sports going on. The kids will grow as your earnings will, and soon you'll be a boat owner again :cool Enjoy the kids while they are home.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: What do you give up to own a boat?

Interesting dilema Chris. I was in the opposite situation. Just getting by with two kids in sports (hockey of course), mortgage, bills, two vehicles etc., but we have lived by the lake (500 ft) for 10 years and we kept saying next year. Well we finally bought a boat last year to enjoy with the kids even though we really couldn't affort it. We have gotten allot of enjoyment out of it and I'm glad we did it. 10 years from now when I might be able to afford it they will be gone and an opportunity will have been lost.<br />To make ends meet we have cut way back on dining out, reviewed and changed our insurance coverages, went from hi-speed internet to DSL (4x dialup speed), eliminated expensive vacations, bought a programable thermostat (saves about 25%/month on home heating costs), renegotiated our mortgage and got rid of expensive credit cards (18-22% interest). We don't smoke or drink so no savings there for us. <br />It seems you have your priorities right - kids first. Now you only need to decide if the boat or other "luxuries" need to go. Unfortunately we can't have our cake and eat it to

 

[Bondo]

Re: What do you give up to own a boat?

Or,................<br /><br />Looked at from another angle............<br /><br />The Amount of Fun,+ Enjoyment is Just as High,<br /><br />In a $1500.00 Boat,<br />As a $15,000.00 Boat....................... <br /><br />You, And your Family, Can have your cake,+ Eat it Too.................

 

[hohmanr]

Re: What do you give up to own a boat?

Making the decision to sell the boat has got to rank right up there with hardest decisions ever....Thankfully my eight year old daughter and wife are pulling the tarp off the boat in the spring before I...Summer days playing on the beach, digging for clams, fishing, snorkling and looking for green crabs...No lack of exercise on any given day that's for sure...<br /><br />How about a Spring & Fall league only???

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: What do you give up to own a boat?

Very good point Bondo. Our boat tends to be more toward the lower part of your scale but it does everything we need it to do. Tubing, skiing, fishing and swimming is why we bought it. Nothing elaborate but we do enjoy it.<br />Perhaps a more affordable boat is in your future Chris.

 

[JasonB]

Re: What do you give up to own a boat?

I'm with Bondo on this one. I own two boats. Between them, they have a value of 6-7k. One is a whopping $1500. Insurance is cheam, upkeep isn't bad, and I don't get bent out f shape is someone spills or scratches something. Tss that new boat, get an older, yet reliable one, and do it all. Toss the boat payment all together.

 

[55Crestliner]

Re: What do you give up to own a boat?

I have to put in my vote for the cheap boat/no payment route. (heck, look at mine, it's VERY cheap to run, uses almost no gas, and of course, is paid for).<br /><br />I've been going through this with the family van that we have, it's a little over $300 a month too, but replacing it with something smaller and cheaper isn't as much an option like it is with a boat. Gotta have a reliable car for the family.<br /><br />How much time do you have to pay on the boat? I would think that would be a factor.<br /><br />The time I get to spend with my little guys on the water is priceless, I feel I'm giving them tons of good memories that just aren't the same as any other. About my only complaint with my boat is that it wouldn't be appropriate for saltwater, and it's not big enough to ski with. But I know it doesn't take $300 a month to have all that.<br /><br />I say sell, and get something simpler.

 

[Terry H]

Re: What do you give up to own a boat?

I'm probably in agreement with alot of folks, and no so with others, I say don't borrow money for a recreational toy. If you can't afford to own your boat outright, than wait till you can. If you really want something you will find a way to aquire it without going into debt. Just my opinion Chief

 

[RatFish]

Re: What do you give up to own a boat?

All good advice. Streamline those expenses and get a cheaper boat. Dare I say... Get rid of the cell phones and cable TV hookup. Those things aren't cheap.

 

[LubeDude]

Re: What do you give up to own a boat?

What do you give up to own a boat?<br /><br />Nothing!!!!<br /><br />A boat is a luxury, plain and simple. If you cant comfortably afford it, then you dont have one.<br /><br />I went through the buy everything on payment deal, now I pay cash. I save untill I can buy it. I bought a used car, I bought a used truck, and I bought a used boat. I lived here on the lake for three years untill I saved the money for my first boat here. It was hell waking up every morning and looking accross the lake wishing I had a boat. Would I like to have everything new, sure, but I cant afford it. I dont live in a house I cant afford either. I am 57 years old, and I own everything I have outright. Just put the priorities in order and go from there.<br /><br /> Now if we all had SBNs money

 

[umblecumbuz]

Re: What do you give up to own a boat?

Chris,<br /><br />Kids are not there forever. Your major responsibility is to them while they're under your care. Everything else should come secondary to that.<br /><br />Who knows - if you bring them up right, they might even buy you a boat in a few years time! If you bring them up wrong, they could just end up vandalising other people's.<br /><br />Boy, what a hard choice. I only got into boats seriously by chance after my five had flown the nest, so I was thankfully never faced with your decision.

 

[NCOffSeason]

Re: What do you give up to own a boat?

Great responses! Keep 'em coming. This is great therapy.<br /><br />BTW, I think you guys are right. Give up the $40K boat and find a cheaper boat that will get us on the water without the payment and worry. <br /><br />Here is our boat. It is a loaded VLX and it will be hard to give her up.<br /><br />

 

[Dhadley]

Re: What do you give up to own a boat?

Amen Stillfishing.<br /><br />I was lucky. My Dad recognized the fact that I was fascinated with boats when I was very young. He put himself in a position that allowed us to have a boat that I could use.<br /><br />Boats and stock cars kept me out of being in real trouble and away from drugs. Almost everyone I went to school with fell into one or both of those traps. <br /><br />After my divorce I tried my best to keep my son involved with boats - skiing, fishing, racing, working on them, whatever. His mother did everything in her power to keep him away from me and the boats. He ended up in trouble and on drugs. I get to see him on visiting days now.<br /><br />Keep a boat. It may have to be a different one but keep a boat. Find a way to take part in their sports AND take them boating. Maybe you cant do both every weekend but find a way to not deny them the boating experience altogether.<br /><br />Youre a lucky man to have a family that enjoys the boat as much as you do.

 

[snapperbait]

Re: What do you give up to own a boat?

Chris.. From the wakeboard perspective, Old Nautiques (70's thru late 80's) throw better wakes anyway!...

 

[Solittle]

Re: What do you give up to own a boat?

Chris - I think you can enjoy boating without breaking the bank. First sell what you have & dump the $300+ a month. Keep the financial rains tight and stuff $200.00 a month in a shoe box for 5 months - then buy a used boat - a fixer upper (neat family project). When things get a bit better buy (again for cash) a bigger better one. And on - and on - and on.<br /><br />I started with a 12' wooden sail boat 35 years ago - then a 15' outboard - then 16' and on and on. Our kids will say today that some of their finest family memories were when we were out on the water.

 

[tommays]

Re: What do you give up to own a boat?

chris<br /><br />when my children got to that age i had to give up my J24 sailboat to much money and time was not a good childrens boat had to be kept in a slip ect,ect went down to a wind surfer for my sailing fix<br /><br />went about 3 years boat less and then got a budget maxum powerboat and trailer 10 years on the trailer i would never go back to the cost of a boat yard again<br /><br />tommays

 

[Realgun]

Re: What do you give up to own a boat?

I was thinking along the same lines as SoLittle. I am doing that now. I bought a boat almost 2 years ago. I have been nickel and diming it since. I have put a few dollars in recently but always in budget.<br />I have two small 1's too. 10 and 8. The nice thing is next month I will not put a dime or a nickel in it then I can pit a nickel in it. IT works better than a payment every month no matter what.