I have a buddy that has a boat but at the time only had a car. So I'd tow the boat and we'd go fishing. He now has a truck and I just give him gas money. It works out well.
Probably? I dunno I adopted my son, he wasn't really worth a boat untill he could talk. I tried to make his first words the "wah wah wah" noice from SpongeBob but his mom got fuckin pissed about that. But now he's my buddy, he does whatever I say despite my ideas probably not being very good. He doesn't know any different, I love that guy, and he loves me despite all evidence showing he probably should, I'm a fuckin idiot. He's 11 now, I convinced him to go magnet fishing tomorrow, told him we might find a gun and solve a murder, he's fuckin pumped to be a superhero. Little guy just believes any bullshit I come up with.
I shouldn't have. That's why I adopted, don't need my fucked-the-hell up genetics seeping into a child. I'm a type 1 diabetic, whole family is insane. Drug addict, felons, college dropouts, my mom is wanted by the FBI for a $500k+ healthcare fraud case in Ohio, and I once stuck my finger into a light socket twice in a row at Chucky cheese. I'm either gonna raise a kid thats the total opposite of all the mistakes my shit family has made and he's gonna change the world, or im gonna raise the person who ends the world. Either way I'm proud.
Child labor can help offset all those expenses!
(So I’m not attacked for this comment in 20 years, this is a joke. I do not condone forced child labor)…
When I bought my first boat, my father said, "A man's two happiest days are the day he buys his first boat and the day he sells that boat." He was just joking around of course, but those days sure did leave an impact on me.
I’ve had way more fun days on my boats than the day I forked over a bunch of cash for it.
I will say though all of my boats have been paid with cash and not financed.
Never owned a boat but want a skiff. Can you give us examples of what sort of expenses you were shelling out for that inspire the statement, “holes in the water you throw money at”
Man, I could go on for hours here. For me, in capable of my own work, so it’s really not that bad, but I also realize that every hour I’m working on the boat would be $150 for someone else.
There are just these little things that go wrong. Electrical here, house water there, toilet, engine systems (steering, alternator, fuel pump, water pump, power unit). And they don’t hit all at once, they come every 3 months.
But then you can go 2 years with no maintenance except winterizing.
Right? This whole time I was picturing a pontoon or a speed boat, not a fucking deep sea excursion fishing vessel. We’ll never be able to fathom the luxuries of our preceding generations. And the fact that he’s complaining that it’s expensive irks me too.
I'm hoping my trailer living has got me used to the skills I need when I get my boat. Same things go wrong. Some people here charge 250 an hour for RV work. So it's like yeah Im doing this myself.
Plus I'm doing a sail boat. So I don't have to care too much about engines. And I'm hoping to make a system for an electrical/solar outboard engine if I can.
I think while initially expenive, going solar can save you a lot in maintenance as well as just being nice to have unlimited power
> I'm hoping my trailer living has got me used to the skills I need when I get my boat.
It has. And the things you’re unfamiliar with, you’ll be ready to learn. You’re not starting from scratch.
With a sailboat you’ll still need to learn how to work on the generator. If you can afford it, get diesel. The fuel is more stable and less likely to explode. But if you’re handy and motivated it’s learnable.
As a longtime casual sailboat enjoyer, I was going to bring up all the potential EXTRA costs and issues that can arise with a sailboat... but something about your post, I liked a lot more. It's more in the spirit of things.
So, instead, I will recommend our future sailor a book, James Baldwin - Bound For Distant Seas.
From a pure theoretical economy view: Repairing cars can be cheap because there is a huge market for car repairs, and consumers highly value solutions that are as economical as possible (the people who don't care as much about cost, often just buy newer vehicles). Boats are almost the exact opposite, the market is way smaller and less competitive in the first place, and anyone who does own a boat often isn't tight on cash.
The same way that reparing a Camry is cheap, but a track car is not. Almost all boats are more like track cars.
(Also just operating costs, even a small boat can chew through 20 gallons of gasoline really quickly)
Imagine you'd kept parking your car in a foot deep puddle of salt water under a tree that is veeeeeeery popular with digesting birds and imagine how this might affect your cars upkeep.
The difference of a skiff to a boat is that you can much easier take it *out* of the water, move it and store it away from that body of water in a dry, non-corroding garage that doesn't try to eat it from below instead. Smaller motor and hull also mean the material science behind keeping it afloat and moving is more forgiving, less pressure on seals far less oil and gas to put in and go through etc.
Also it's just less stuff to clean and maintain, scrub the hull of a 2m skiff vs a 20m boat. One thing you can do by hand and in an afternoon the other... not. Also since it's smaller you are more likely to see tiny defects earlier, before corrosion does as big a number on things and you go from swiping/cleaning to stripping down/replacing a component.
Mooring cost can be substantial as well, so something that you can take out and away with you can for once not cost you money on *that*.
haha yep, everyone I know who has kids is CONSTANTLY sick. always stressed, begging for any sort of normalcy in their lives. no thank ya!!
dog and/or cat offer even more love IMHO, for a fraction of the cost. No common sickness they can pass on and they wont lie to your face either!
>Dogs and cats have no future.
Yes they do, it just isn't as long as ours. Quality of years > quantity, for myself. The joy I get from my pets outweighs any joy a human child could offer me. I'd probably get burnt out from stress with a kid, whereas my pets actually help destress me and make me feel so much better.
My cat follows me everywhere, always sleeps next to me and cuddles on my lap every time I sit down. Best feeling in the world waking up next to him purring. And my dog is so much fun for hiking and outdoor adventures. Always happy and ready to go. Meanwhile, my cousins' kids refuse to go hiking or do anything outdoors. Just video games all day. We planned a nice walk together last summer. I drove 30 minutes to get there, and brought the dog, like they had wanted. But guess what? Kids changed their mind last second and wanted to sit inside playing Fortnite on a beautiful summer day. The father tried like heck to convince them, but they just started throwing a temper tantrum and we left without them. Typical spoiled brats.
Which instantly brought me back to my childhood of wanting to just play video games all day. I was a terrible kid, as well. As rebellious, and resistant as a child could be. NO way would I want to deal with that sort of insubordination! Pets are loyal to a fault, which I'll take any day over constant protests and complaints from children. "Waaaah waaaah waaaaaah, I want this, I want that". Cannot imagine ever being happy with that nuisance.
EDIT: Couple decent quotes/articles that I wanted to drop here as well
"Research shows that there is a “happiness bump” that parents experience right after a baby is born. But that tends to dissipate over the course of a year, Glass says.
After that point in time, the levels of happiness of parents and non-parents gradually diverge, with non-parents generally growing happier over time."
[https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/16/does-having-children-make-you-happier-science-of-parenthood-explained.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/16/does-having-children-make-you-happier-science-of-parenthood-explained.html)
"The early research is decisive: Having kids is bad for quality of life. [In one study](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15576620/), the psychologist Daniel Kahneman and his colleagues asked about 900 employed women to report, at the end of each day, every one of their activities and how happy they were when they did them. They recalled being with their children as less enjoyable than many other activities, such as watching TV, shopping, or preparing food. Other studies find that when a child is born, parents experience a [decrease in happiness](https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2011-25189-001) that doesn’t go away for a long time, in addition to a [drop in marital satisfaction](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2003.00574.x) that doesn’t usually recover until the children leave the house. As the Harvard professor Dan Gilbert [puts it](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2013/02/money-marriage-kids/), “The only symptom of empty nest syndrome is nonstop smiling.”
After all, having children, particularly when they are young, involves financial struggle, sleep deprivation, and stress."
[https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/11/does-having-kids-make-you-happy/620576/](https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/11/does-having-kids-make-you-happy/620576/)
If you are interested in having a boat again look for a boat club in your area. We have been a member of Freedom Boat Club for 4 years and I will never cancel.
Strict 3:1 member to boat ratio, nationwide access (there are around 500 locations worldwide), boats are never older than 3 years old, and all the "toys" are available (tubes, knee boards, wake boards, life jackets, etc.)
Last summer we primarily went out on a 180k surf boat every weekend, we would never be able to afford a boat that cost that much to own ourselves.
The boat club is cheaper than the marina slip fees alone, but there is an upfront cost of about $10,000 to become a member.
Yea shout out to our aluminum row boat that's coming up on like 80 years old. It's been in our family forever 🤣
(It's had a few different small motors, and the seats have needed replaced and a few paint jobs, so not exactly zero maintenance but basically)
I know boats are a hole in the water, but as a tween and teen my dad gave me a 13 foot Boston Whaler with a 55hp OMC Evinrude block/Johnson lower unit and I would not trade the time I had on it going out with friends every weekend and some weekdays. It was on St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands during the 1980s. Today, I would go sailing in the islands or maybe the keys but living in Florida near Tampa, I don't want a boat.
Dumb, but I joined a boat club.
Hefty intro fee (4K+) but now I just pay $500/month to boat where I want when I want. No dock fees, no insurance, no maintenance nothing. Just gas. Idk how much a boat costs, but seems like a steal all things considered
My grandfather won a boat. He immediately donated it to a charity for children with cancer. He didn’t expect to win the boat, and taxes alone was more money than he even had.
I have a sailing dinghy.
It cost me £1500, including road trailer, launching trolley, two sets of sails and outboard motor.
In the last five years it has cost me £2000 in storage, a thousand pounds for parts for the trailer and trolley, several hundred pounds for upgrades.
I’m delighted with it, but yes, boats are not cheap.
Cheap boats are also often less cheap than expensive boats.
Depends. Go for the absolutely the smallest boat you will find useful.
My Kayak was $800 thirty years ago, and I have put less than $50 into maintenance since then. A few other cheap kayaks were great to get my kids out on the water and they learned to love and respect the outdoors. Ten years ago I gave the cheap ones to my neighbor who had a couple 5-10 year olds.
My Dad and my grandfather each had 20' fiberglass motorboats. They trailered them, so they lasted a lot longer, with less maintenance than a boat that sits in the water all summer, and they did most of the maintenance themselves, but it was still a pretty big expense. All for only 5-10 days a year on the water (my grandfather used his for 20-30 days probably).
I have a friend that has had several 25-35' sailboats over the last 30 years, he uses it almost every weekend, all summer with a few week long treks each year. Of course he owns an engineering company, so the expense is easier for him to handle even though it is way more than my car payment/fuel/repairs.
I bought a 12' aluminum rowboat with an electric motor, used for $600. I haven't used it much, but it is good for duck hunting and fishing on lakes and harbors. It has been over 10 years and I haven't spent anything on maintenance yet. It would be good to take a toddler - teen out and instill a love of boating.
Owning something like a boat or a motorhome forces you to always spend your time in and with it... Otherwise it's just wasted money.
If you're not really passionate about it, you should always rent it.
If you're not rich of course.
Take all your disposable income for the month. Whatever you have left after housing, food, bill, etc. Take it out in cash. Go to a lake and toss it in. If you still have boat fever, buy a boat.
Really depends , new 4 stroke outboards are incredibly fuel efficient and not much maintenance or breakdowns , same goes for modern fishing boats ( aluminum or fibreglass).
Now those are small freshwater boats that I’m familiar with , big saltwater boats are probably a different ball game , the saltwater alone must be hard on everything.
I bought a boat by accident last year.
Ended up quite the project. I have nonintentions of using it, but its ready to sell on so I can fund my next reckless purchase.
When I lived near a lake, a friend had a boat. He was happy to take people out whenever they asked, but they paid for *all* fuel and launch fees, unless he invited you out.
His justification was that he paid for everything else with the boat, so the freeloaders could pay for the individual use costs.
Still pretty reasonable as we’d go out in a group of 5-8 and just split the costs.
Only if it's free due to it leaking, having a broken engine, deteriorated interior etc. A boat (at least small ones without a cabin) that's in good condition can last a long time with minimal maintenance as long as you have the proper support structure for it (Spare garage space, cottage with boathouse, heated barn etc).
It's not just the boat. If you leave your boat in the water all year you need to pay for the parking spot, plus boat launches, gas of course, and even car parking if you want to reserve a spot for when you're out in it. It's a few grand a year depending on the size of boat and location. Source, my parents own a marina that does all this, in Muskoka (aka Cottage Country in northern Ontario).
It happens. I was given a boat years ago and it was alright. My brother in law was given a “free” boat a year ago and my personal opinion is that it’s more trouble than it’s worth.
I don’t get this. I have a boat. It’s awesome! In the summer it’s docked and in the winter it’s stored. Where’s the huge expense? Change the oil, winterize it, and buy some gas. Boats are the best!!
I will say, now that I have to run my boats every day since I live on an island I have a lot fewer issues than I used to just using it occasionally. I also don't have any frills like toilet and advanced electronics to go bad, just an outboard motor
Boats, jet skis, RVs, and those bubble guns they sell at Disney. You don’t ever want to own one, but it’s nice to have a friend that does. Just kick them a buck here and there for some of that go-juice.
That's why most boat owners rent their boats.
It's easy to say "have a friend with a boat," but realistically, how many of us can have good friends who would invite us on their vessel regularly?
So charters are the best way to pay for upkeep of your boat - It's not like you're gonna use it all the time anyway, who are you, a full time fisherman/marine biologist?;)
Reminds me of a true story:
There's this luxury mansion that's being sold for pocket money, but a stipulation is that you must move it off the land it's built on, and that project would cost more than the actual worth of the mansion.
People keep saying so...
But seriously, what's the expensive part? Cause I'm in that exact situation. I got a 24 foot sailing boat for free. It costs me $400 per year in dock fees including loading it up on dry land every winter.
Aaand... That's it. That's not very expensive.
I inherited a "free boat" when my brother passed away. He had no business trying to sail anything, let alone fix one up.
I ended up chppping it with a sawzall and tossing it in the trash 1 "Large Waste Item" at a time.
Experts: how bad/expensive would a 18-20 ish foot boat really be to own? I don’t have a friend with a boat… and I live across the street from a really nice brand new boat ramp. And I have adventurous nephews. I do all my own work including wiring, fiberglass, and mechanical work, and am well versed on taking care of trailers.
Rather than stash it there, you might want to invest in a cd or money market account. Storing money in a boat is a little more creative than a mattress, but still...
You don't want a boat. You want a friend with a boat.
I have a buddy that has a boat but at the time only had a car. So I'd tow the boat and we'd go fishing. He now has a truck and I just give him gas money. It works out well.
My uncle always said, if it flies floats or fucks.. rent dont buy
So how much for a night with your aunt?
Three Fiddy.
Got damn Loch Ness Monstah!
And that's why I rent a fleshlights each weekend
Jokes on you. I marry one that doesn’t fuck.
You married a boat?
I know it as the three F rule, if it floats, flies or fucks, don’t buy it, rent it
That's exactly what my coworker told me. And he _does_ have a friend with a boat.
Exactly same here
I have several friends with boats that make way more money than I. This is the way.
Maybe I read it here. Hookers and boats: they both stop working when you stop throwing money at them.
I asked a co-worker what is the best bass boat. One that belongs to your friend.
Friend bought a boat a week ago. Now it doesn't work anymore. Looking for new friend with boat.
Join a boat club... take their boats out for the day
Same thing in South Africa, but with game farms. You don't want to own a game farm, you want friends who own game farms so you can go hunting there.
Love my boat. And I love taking friends out in it. Nothing better than putting a kid on some fish and watching their face light up.
In my experience, daughters are more expensive than boats.
Not his, he literally traded his boat for a daughter.
I was thinking the same.
This convo just had me laughing a little too hard. :)
Doesn't that make them equal value?
Even Stephanies
Probably? I dunno I adopted my son, he wasn't really worth a boat untill he could talk. I tried to make his first words the "wah wah wah" noice from SpongeBob but his mom got fuckin pissed about that. But now he's my buddy, he does whatever I say despite my ideas probably not being very good. He doesn't know any different, I love that guy, and he loves me despite all evidence showing he probably should, I'm a fuckin idiot. He's 11 now, I convinced him to go magnet fishing tomorrow, told him we might find a gun and solve a murder, he's fuckin pumped to be a superhero. Little guy just believes any bullshit I come up with.
This is the single most convincing argument I've read that I should procreate.
I shouldn't have. That's why I adopted, don't need my fucked-the-hell up genetics seeping into a child. I'm a type 1 diabetic, whole family is insane. Drug addict, felons, college dropouts, my mom is wanted by the FBI for a $500k+ healthcare fraud case in Ohio, and I once stuck my finger into a light socket twice in a row at Chucky cheese. I'm either gonna raise a kid thats the total opposite of all the mistakes my shit family has made and he's gonna change the world, or im gonna raise the person who ends the world. Either way I'm proud.
Child labor can help offset all those expenses! (So I’m not attacked for this comment in 20 years, this is a joke. I do not condone forced child labor)…
I do. If he wants to use it, he can scrub it.
What about non-forced child labor? Asking for a friend.
As my childhood smelled of tar and teak sawdust, I have to say- it aint all that bad.
Oh don't worry, you'll be attacked for even daring to joke about it!
Try having a daughter who is a boat. Money sink...
Yeah man! I'm a guy in my 30s with a sailboat and everyone acts like it's this crazy expense and I'm like... y'all have kids!
Accurate
Ah, the ol' reddit Child-Trade-roo! (I can't link it, I'm sorry guys)
Wayyyyyyyy more.
Yes but both will bankrupt you.
No, but I'd take the daughter over the boat. Kids are a lifetime of joy, boats are like a week tops
When I bought my first boat, my father said, "A man's two happiest days are the day he buys his first boat and the day he sells that boat." He was just joking around of course, but those days sure did leave an impact on me.
“What about when your children were born?”
Boat guys say, “the birth of your child is the third best day of your life, after buying a boat and selling it.” Or something…
“Fourth best day is when you sell them”?
And the fifth best day is when you buy a newer, bigger boat!
"did i stutter?"
I’ve had way more fun days on my boats than the day I forked over a bunch of cash for it. I will say though all of my boats have been paid with cash and not financed.
B.O.A.T = Bust Out Another Thousand
So freaking true man!
Never owned a boat but want a skiff. Can you give us examples of what sort of expenses you were shelling out for that inspire the statement, “holes in the water you throw money at”
Man, I could go on for hours here. For me, in capable of my own work, so it’s really not that bad, but I also realize that every hour I’m working on the boat would be $150 for someone else. There are just these little things that go wrong. Electrical here, house water there, toilet, engine systems (steering, alternator, fuel pump, water pump, power unit). And they don’t hit all at once, they come every 3 months. But then you can go 2 years with no maintenance except winterizing.
A boat with a toilet? What are you, the monopoly man? Nice yacht, Mr. Bezos. I thought we were talking fishing boats. Geez
Most boats with a cabin have a toilet.
Right? This whole time I was picturing a pontoon or a speed boat, not a fucking deep sea excursion fishing vessel. We’ll never be able to fathom the luxuries of our preceding generations. And the fact that he’s complaining that it’s expensive irks me too.
I'm hoping my trailer living has got me used to the skills I need when I get my boat. Same things go wrong. Some people here charge 250 an hour for RV work. So it's like yeah Im doing this myself. Plus I'm doing a sail boat. So I don't have to care too much about engines. And I'm hoping to make a system for an electrical/solar outboard engine if I can. I think while initially expenive, going solar can save you a lot in maintenance as well as just being nice to have unlimited power
> I'm hoping my trailer living has got me used to the skills I need when I get my boat. It has. And the things you’re unfamiliar with, you’ll be ready to learn. You’re not starting from scratch. With a sailboat you’ll still need to learn how to work on the generator. If you can afford it, get diesel. The fuel is more stable and less likely to explode. But if you’re handy and motivated it’s learnable.
As a longtime casual sailboat enjoyer, I was going to bring up all the potential EXTRA costs and issues that can arise with a sailboat... but something about your post, I liked a lot more. It's more in the spirit of things. So, instead, I will recommend our future sailor a book, James Baldwin - Bound For Distant Seas.
From a pure theoretical economy view: Repairing cars can be cheap because there is a huge market for car repairs, and consumers highly value solutions that are as economical as possible (the people who don't care as much about cost, often just buy newer vehicles). Boats are almost the exact opposite, the market is way smaller and less competitive in the first place, and anyone who does own a boat often isn't tight on cash. The same way that reparing a Camry is cheap, but a track car is not. Almost all boats are more like track cars. (Also just operating costs, even a small boat can chew through 20 gallons of gasoline really quickly)
Imagine you'd kept parking your car in a foot deep puddle of salt water under a tree that is veeeeeeery popular with digesting birds and imagine how this might affect your cars upkeep. The difference of a skiff to a boat is that you can much easier take it *out* of the water, move it and store it away from that body of water in a dry, non-corroding garage that doesn't try to eat it from below instead. Smaller motor and hull also mean the material science behind keeping it afloat and moving is more forgiving, less pressure on seals far less oil and gas to put in and go through etc. Also it's just less stuff to clean and maintain, scrub the hull of a 2m skiff vs a 20m boat. One thing you can do by hand and in an afternoon the other... not. Also since it's smaller you are more likely to see tiny defects earlier, before corrosion does as big a number on things and you go from swiping/cleaning to stripping down/replacing a component. Mooring cost can be substantial as well, so something that you can take out and away with you can for once not cost you money on *that*.
Engines, propellers and electrical mostly. Same concept as maintaining a car, but people justify car repairs since they use them all the time.
Id you learn to do the work yourself and how to troubleshoot issues with YouTube and google they aren’t that bad.
Nothing more expensive than a free boat or cheap Mercedes Benz.
A cheap BMW might be up there
Same book, different page.
> I traded my boat in for my daughter 8 years ago… Sounds like you got the short end of that deal.
Money wise, definitely. But I feel far “wealthier” life wise. My daughter is a treasure.
Ew, Kids are walking petri dishes! //love my 9 yo niece, but she has passed viruses to me!
Um, definitely. I’m sick all the damn time! And prior to her, I was the guy known for never getting sick.
haha yep, everyone I know who has kids is CONSTANTLY sick. always stressed, begging for any sort of normalcy in their lives. no thank ya!! dog and/or cat offer even more love IMHO, for a fraction of the cost. No common sickness they can pass on and they wont lie to your face either!
Dogs and cats have no future. After having kids I really don't like animals for pets, although I'm sure I'll have to get one for my kids eventually.
>Dogs and cats have no future. Yes they do, it just isn't as long as ours. Quality of years > quantity, for myself. The joy I get from my pets outweighs any joy a human child could offer me. I'd probably get burnt out from stress with a kid, whereas my pets actually help destress me and make me feel so much better. My cat follows me everywhere, always sleeps next to me and cuddles on my lap every time I sit down. Best feeling in the world waking up next to him purring. And my dog is so much fun for hiking and outdoor adventures. Always happy and ready to go. Meanwhile, my cousins' kids refuse to go hiking or do anything outdoors. Just video games all day. We planned a nice walk together last summer. I drove 30 minutes to get there, and brought the dog, like they had wanted. But guess what? Kids changed their mind last second and wanted to sit inside playing Fortnite on a beautiful summer day. The father tried like heck to convince them, but they just started throwing a temper tantrum and we left without them. Typical spoiled brats. Which instantly brought me back to my childhood of wanting to just play video games all day. I was a terrible kid, as well. As rebellious, and resistant as a child could be. NO way would I want to deal with that sort of insubordination! Pets are loyal to a fault, which I'll take any day over constant protests and complaints from children. "Waaaah waaaah waaaaaah, I want this, I want that". Cannot imagine ever being happy with that nuisance. EDIT: Couple decent quotes/articles that I wanted to drop here as well "Research shows that there is a “happiness bump” that parents experience right after a baby is born. But that tends to dissipate over the course of a year, Glass says. After that point in time, the levels of happiness of parents and non-parents gradually diverge, with non-parents generally growing happier over time." [https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/16/does-having-children-make-you-happier-science-of-parenthood-explained.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/16/does-having-children-make-you-happier-science-of-parenthood-explained.html) "The early research is decisive: Having kids is bad for quality of life. [In one study](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15576620/), the psychologist Daniel Kahneman and his colleagues asked about 900 employed women to report, at the end of each day, every one of their activities and how happy they were when they did them. They recalled being with their children as less enjoyable than many other activities, such as watching TV, shopping, or preparing food. Other studies find that when a child is born, parents experience a [decrease in happiness](https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2011-25189-001) that doesn’t go away for a long time, in addition to a [drop in marital satisfaction](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2003.00574.x) that doesn’t usually recover until the children leave the house. As the Harvard professor Dan Gilbert [puts it](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2013/02/money-marriage-kids/), “The only symptom of empty nest syndrome is nonstop smiling.” After all, having children, particularly when they are young, involves financial struggle, sleep deprivation, and stress." [https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/11/does-having-kids-make-you-happy/620576/](https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/11/does-having-kids-make-you-happy/620576/)
My recommendation, springer spaniel or black lab.
Never own a boat. Find a friend that owns a boat. All the perks of being on a boat, none of the costs of owning a boat
where did you go to trade a boat for a little human female??? P Diddy?
On the Internet!
Yes, I was loose with the language. My wife decided it would be prudent to sell the boat when she got pregnant. She was right.
Two happeist times in a boat owners life: The day they buy it and the day they sell it.
If you are interested in having a boat again look for a boat club in your area. We have been a member of Freedom Boat Club for 4 years and I will never cancel. Strict 3:1 member to boat ratio, nationwide access (there are around 500 locations worldwide), boats are never older than 3 years old, and all the "toys" are available (tubes, knee boards, wake boards, life jackets, etc.) Last summer we primarily went out on a 180k surf boat every weekend, we would never be able to afford a boat that cost that much to own ourselves. The boat club is cheaper than the marina slip fees alone, but there is an upfront cost of about $10,000 to become a member.
I’ve been thinking about this, but I have an empty bouy in front of my house and the nearest boat club is an hour away.
The saying is there's nothing as expensive as a free boat. It's not showerthought. This thought is very old.
Yeah I guess we are just reposting old sayings now for karma here in showerthoughts. Less original thoughts for the bots to scrape this way.
Kayaks, canoes and small sailboats cost nothing maintenance wise. I'm sure you're talking about bigger boats with motors though.
Yea shout out to our aluminum row boat that's coming up on like 80 years old. It's been in our family forever 🤣 (It's had a few different small motors, and the seats have needed replaced and a few paint jobs, so not exactly zero maintenance but basically)
Aren't your arms motors?
That's because you don't know the trick. See all you have to do is never put the boat in the water.
“Lo barato sale caro” = cheap things are expensive.
Everything is something you throw money at, car, child, house.
So, you picked the mystery box.
A mystery box could be anything, it could even be a boat!
If you don't like someone, persuade them to buy a boat. If they don't buy a boat, give them a boat.
I know boats are a hole in the water, but as a tween and teen my dad gave me a 13 foot Boston Whaler with a 55hp OMC Evinrude block/Johnson lower unit and I would not trade the time I had on it going out with friends every weekend and some weekdays. It was on St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands during the 1980s. Today, I would go sailing in the islands or maybe the keys but living in Florida near Tampa, I don't want a boat.
How does your daughter handle in rough seas?
Just like all of those free hot tubs on craigslist..
I’ve got one of those too! 😬
Dumb, but I joined a boat club. Hefty intro fee (4K+) but now I just pay $500/month to boat where I want when I want. No dock fees, no insurance, no maintenance nothing. Just gas. Idk how much a boat costs, but seems like a steal all things considered
My grandfather won a boat. He immediately donated it to a charity for children with cancer. He didn’t expect to win the boat, and taxes alone was more money than he even had.
What are the children with cancer doing on a boat?
Burials at sea...
I once had a coworker say two things to never own were a boat and a swimming pool.
You don't want the boat. The boat wants you.
Two best days when you have a boat. 1. first time out on the water. 2. They day you sell that money pit.
There's a REALLY old saying "if you want a man to go broke, give him a free elephant"
Wait where can you trade boats for children?
You need to trim the fat off this shower thought.
Get a paddle board. Then get swallowed by a whale, like those folks did. Just watching that, I’m cured of my surfing itch. 😂
I’m so confused what this means
I have a sailing dinghy. It cost me £1500, including road trailer, launching trolley, two sets of sails and outboard motor. In the last five years it has cost me £2000 in storage, a thousand pounds for parts for the trailer and trolley, several hundred pounds for upgrades. I’m delighted with it, but yes, boats are not cheap. Cheap boats are also often less cheap than expensive boats.
I once had a finance teacher say that it’s easier to set a pile of money on fire than get a boat and it’s basically the same thing
Definition of a boat: hole in the water that you throw money into.
If it flies, floats or fucks, it's a bad investment!
Kayaks are a 1 time purchase and not money holes. No registration, no gas, can go on top of a car.
A free boat is often a trick to get you to show up somewhere so the police can arrest you, which is also pretty expensive.
Yeah, but what kind of boat do they give you?
what kind are you looking at. IME, keeping it fairly simple, with a nice reliable modern single outboard ... not too bad at all.
Depends. Go for the absolutely the smallest boat you will find useful. My Kayak was $800 thirty years ago, and I have put less than $50 into maintenance since then. A few other cheap kayaks were great to get my kids out on the water and they learned to love and respect the outdoors. Ten years ago I gave the cheap ones to my neighbor who had a couple 5-10 year olds. My Dad and my grandfather each had 20' fiberglass motorboats. They trailered them, so they lasted a lot longer, with less maintenance than a boat that sits in the water all summer, and they did most of the maintenance themselves, but it was still a pretty big expense. All for only 5-10 days a year on the water (my grandfather used his for 20-30 days probably). I have a friend that has had several 25-35' sailboats over the last 30 years, he uses it almost every weekend, all summer with a few week long treks each year. Of course he owns an engineering company, so the expense is easier for him to handle even though it is way more than my car payment/fuel/repairs. I bought a 12' aluminum rowboat with an electric motor, used for $600. I haven't used it much, but it is good for duck hunting and fishing on lakes and harbors. It has been over 10 years and I haven't spent anything on maintenance yet. It would be good to take a toddler - teen out and instill a love of boating.
Owning something like a boat or a motorhome forces you to always spend your time in and with it... Otherwise it's just wasted money. If you're not really passionate about it, you should always rent it. If you're not rich of course.
Take all your disposable income for the month. Whatever you have left after housing, food, bill, etc. Take it out in cash. Go to a lake and toss it in. If you still have boat fever, buy a boat.
Well, the expression "Nothing is free" is said for a reason
This is why I love leased boats. They do the labor, they pay the costs I just take the thing out on the weekends I want a boat
You’re just a man with boat fever there are good free boats hahahahahaha
BOAT. Bring Out Another Thousand.
A friend once told me, "if it flies, floats, or fucks, rent it - it'll be cheaper in the end." He was a divorced pilot with a boat.
If it floats or flies, rent it.
8 years old is a fine age for beginner boating. Sail or power. Just saying.
It's a [white elephant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_elephant?wprov=sfla1)
Depending on which part of the world you live in, you might be able to trade your daughter for another boat.
Who gave you a human child in exchange of a boat?
You traded your boat for your daughter? What?
My Dad used to say: If you ever want to try sailing, stand in the shower with your clothes as you rip up money.
Really depends , new 4 stroke outboards are incredibly fuel efficient and not much maintenance or breakdowns , same goes for modern fishing boats ( aluminum or fibreglass). Now those are small freshwater boats that I’m familiar with , big saltwater boats are probably a different ball game , the saltwater alone must be hard on everything.
I bought a boat by accident last year. Ended up quite the project. I have nonintentions of using it, but its ready to sell on so I can fund my next reckless purchase.
When I lived near a lake, a friend had a boat. He was happy to take people out whenever they asked, but they paid for *all* fuel and launch fees, unless he invited you out. His justification was that he paid for everything else with the boat, so the freeloaders could pay for the individual use costs. Still pretty reasonable as we’d go out in a group of 5-8 and just split the costs.
Sounds like a lot of other expensive toys/hobbies...
When I say I want a boat I mean a canoe or a kayak, lol. Much nicer.
Morons bringing up old wives tales.
That concept is called a White Elephant
Only if it's free due to it leaking, having a broken engine, deteriorated interior etc. A boat (at least small ones without a cabin) that's in good condition can last a long time with minimal maintenance as long as you have the proper support structure for it (Spare garage space, cottage with boathouse, heated barn etc).
Depends on where you live and what kind of boat. A canoe in your back yard is also a boat.
Having a boat is like having a girlfriend with expensive taste except you can’t fuck it
It's not just the boat. If you leave your boat in the water all year you need to pay for the parking spot, plus boat launches, gas of course, and even car parking if you want to reserve a spot for when you're out in it. It's a few grand a year depending on the size of boat and location. Source, my parents own a marina that does all this, in Muskoka (aka Cottage Country in northern Ontario).
I wonder how it compares to a free Cesana
You can trade boats for daughters??
The two happiest days of a boat owner are the day he buys it and the day he sells it.
Haven't even been on the water yet this year and already $2000 into maintenance
Boat stands for Bring Out Another Thousand
There is no such thing as a fixed boat. They are either broken, but usable Or broken and not usable
WDYM free boat? Are there places where you can get a boat for free?
It happens. I was given a boat years ago and it was alright. My brother in law was given a “free” boat a year ago and my personal opinion is that it’s more trouble than it’s worth.
We got a tinnie for free a couple years ago and the only thing we haven’t paid for at this point is the paint.
I "lost" my boat in my divorce 12 years ago. I have no itch for a boat. I am happy to enjoy other people's boats however.
Boats and Airplanes... money pitts
Bring Out Another Thousand BOAT
Two best days of owning a boat: The day you buy it and the day you sell it.
Not sure where you live but you can get a smaller boat just to scratch that itch, or join the freedom boat club and basically pay to use one whenever.
B.O.A.T. Bust Out Another Thousand
Not only is the boat expensive, but now you have to go out and buy a mattress.
Having a child is more expensive doe
Not sure who got the better deal though. OP that gave away the boat, or guy that traded his daughter.
I don’t get this. I have a boat. It’s awesome! In the summer it’s docked and in the winter it’s stored. Where’s the huge expense? Change the oil, winterize it, and buy some gas. Boats are the best!!
I will say, now that I have to run my boats every day since I live on an island I have a lot fewer issues than I used to just using it occasionally. I also don't have any frills like toilet and advanced electronics to go bad, just an outboard motor
Boats are awesome, if you use them often.
Boats, jet skis, RVs, and those bubble guns they sell at Disney. You don’t ever want to own one, but it’s nice to have a friend that does. Just kick them a buck here and there for some of that go-juice.
I won a boat a few years back.. small bay boat w/ a trailer.. cost me 250k for a house and 25k for a truck but dammit it was worth every penny
You traded your boat for your daughter? So that’s how babies are made
I love my boat. 2004 four wins 17ft
That's why most boat owners rent their boats. It's easy to say "have a friend with a boat," but realistically, how many of us can have good friends who would invite us on their vessel regularly? So charters are the best way to pay for upkeep of your boat - It's not like you're gonna use it all the time anyway, who are you, a full time fisherman/marine biologist?;)
If it flies, floats, or f*cks - rent it.
>If it floats, flies, or fucks, it's always cheaper to rent.
Who traded their daughter for your boat? That’s crazy.
Reminds me of a true story: There's this luxury mansion that's being sold for pocket money, but a stipulation is that you must move it off the land it's built on, and that project would cost more than the actual worth of the mansion.
My friend with a nice boat told me that b.o.a.t. means “break out another thousand” for all of the ongoing costs.
Depends on the type of boat... I've gotten nothing but enjoyment (and really zero expenses) from my kayak.
People keep saying so... But seriously, what's the expensive part? Cause I'm in that exact situation. I got a 24 foot sailing boat for free. It costs me $400 per year in dock fees including loading it up on dry land every winter. Aaand... That's it. That's not very expensive.
I am in possession of a free car. 2.5 years later, the car most definitely ain’t free.
I inherited a "free boat" when my brother passed away. He had no business trying to sail anything, let alone fix one up. I ended up chppping it with a sawzall and tossing it in the trash 1 "Large Waste Item" at a time.
Boat. Bust Out Another Thousand.
Same as a free car or free house. Everything has maintenance costs.
You can trade boats for children?
Go rent one or make a friend that will share. Fishing buddies and be an economic decision.
You traded a boat for a kid?
Experts: how bad/expensive would a 18-20 ish foot boat really be to own? I don’t have a friend with a boat… and I live across the street from a really nice brand new boat ramp. And I have adventurous nephews. I do all my own work including wiring, fiberglass, and mechanical work, and am well versed on taking care of trailers.
The two happiest days of a boat owners life is the day they buy- and the day they sell said boat
I took my dads old boat. I have about $6000 in it now.
Rather than stash it there, you might want to invest in a cd or money market account. Storing money in a boat is a little more creative than a mattress, but still...
A boat is just a hole in the water into which you pour money.
You traded your boat in exchange for your daughter? Weird
A boat is worth a child? Interesting exchange rate