Are you amazed by the number of never-used boats in your area?

[pullin]

For some reason, this absolutely astounds me. As I travel to and from the lake, storage lot, etc. I see an amazing number of boats that are (apparently) never moved, and are never used. Are you ever surprised by this? It just doesn't make any sense.

In my neighborhood, one house has a boat on a trailer that has literally never budged in 20 years. It just sits, slowly rusting on its trailer with rotted tires. No cover, no protection at all. I doubt if it has any value other than junk, but the owner keeps it there.

At the storage lot where I keep my RV, I can count a dozen boats that have never been moved in the 4 years I've been there. Not only have they never been used, but most apparently have never even been looked at. The covers have long since rotted to threads in the sun, and the upholstery is completely shot, and the tires are so far gone there's no way to pull them out of the lot. Some of these are fairly new and expensive craft, but the owners put them there and apparently forgot about them.

Why do people do this? I can't imagine making boat payments and storage fees, year after year, on something I never even see, much less use.

Is this just my area, or do you see lots of forgotten boats in your neck of the woods? I'm curious.

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Are you amazed by the number of never-used boats in your area?

I've noticed it at the storage facility I keep my trailer. Near one ants built a mound that touched the skeg and now the motor is just rotting away. At the marina a new building was built about 5 years ago. Some bought dry stacks at $63,000 and up. They now pay an HOA fee and taxes and have NEVER moved their boats! A neighbor brings his boat home from storage every spring for a good cleaning and battery charge-- then back to storage not to be seen until next year... 3 years in a row now since he moved here.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Are you amazed by the number of never-used boats in your area?

It seams to be very common, and I have no clue as to why. I cant understand why you own a boat if your not going to use it.

 

[calvinator]

Re: Are you amazed by the number of never-used boats in your area?

My storage lot is the same. There is a jeep there that is so old that it is rotted into the ground. There is another boat that has plants growing in it.

I met my storage lot neighbor 3 yrs ago. 30 something lady and she had a brand new 20' sea ray. It hasn't moved since I met her!? flat tires, and now the cover is falling apart. Plug is still in and it is filling with water. Wonder what happened ?

There is a nice chris craft w/for sale sign there I wanted to buy. I left msgs and even a note to call me on the boat. Nothing. And now someone stole the outdrive off it. What happened to them ?

I'm pretty friendly with the storage lot owner. She says people still pay for this junk! After 90 days of non-payment, she moves it out.

Most often she said 3 reasons why this happens:
#1) illness & they can't get to it
#2) divorce
#3) death and sometimes the person's trust just keeps paying.

 

[joelybob]

Re: Are you amazed by the number of never-used boats in your area?

Then if you ask them if they want to sell it they say no no no !

 

[pckeen]

Re: Are you amazed by the number of never-used boats in your area?

Always the same story - time and money.

People buy toys, then get too busy to use them or are too financially stretched to pay the $100 + it costs to fill the boat up with gas. Then the boat is unused, and is worth more to the owner than it would be sold second hand.

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Are you amazed by the number of never-used boats in your area?

Sadly, the current economy has been in the dumps since '09. Your assessment may be the #1 reason.

Always the same story - time and money.

People buy toys, then get too busy to use them or are too financially stretched to pay the $100 + it costs to fill the boat up with gas. Then the boat is unused, and is worth more to the owner than it would be sold second hand.

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: Are you amazed by the number of never-used boats in your area?

At the 800+slip marina next to my house there are so awsome boats that just sit. My old slip neighbor had a beutiful 28ft Cobalt sport boat that is kept on a lift. they have a detail company come the week before Memorial Day and clean & polish everything. they go out for one day and it sits the rest of year. it is a $5500 a year slip.

 

[pckeen]

Re: Are you amazed by the number of never-used boats in your area?

On the other hand, I guess some people just have way too much money. If anyone has some that I could have, let me know.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Are you amazed by the number of never-used boats in your area?

sometimes they buy an old boat that happens to run when they get it, then it breaks down, and they don't know how, or don't have the money, to fix it. or they buy an old boat that constantly breaks down, and they either give up or lose confidence in the boat. That's why I recommenend against new boaters buying old boats.

some buy a good boat but circumstances change. Here, lots of people buy the boats primarily for the children to use. At 15-17 they are all over it. then they get serious summer jobs, go off to college, not home in the summers, etc. So they sit; the parents may use them occassionally, keep them around for grandchildren--if ever.

Some people quit boating when they have babies, planning to get back to it when the babies are about 6. Half of them don't get back to it esp. when the boat deteriorates.

Many people overestimate how much they'll use it--especially a trailer boat. Using a trailer boat is a lot of work and a whole day commitment--and once you get busy, how many whole days do you have that also have good weather? In that regard almost no one uses the boat as much as they thought they would.

And there's the downward spiral of if it sits, it doesn't work well; it doesn't work well, so it sits and gets worse, so that hauling its carcass out and getting it running isn't worth it.

Non-boaters think they are like cars--just hop in and go, starts every time, park it and forget it when you're finished. They are sadly disappointed when they find they need constant attention. Worse, one spouse doesn't get it about the work and the other has to do all the work--so he gets tired of doing all the work and she gets tired of waiting for him to do the work.

Once you've driven the sofa boat up and down the same flat lake a dozen times, it's not that much fun, so you do other things.

Once you own it, it seems cheaper just to keep it than get rid of it, just in case things change and you use it more. Inertia kills you.

 

[VE8EV]

Re: Are you amazed by the number of never-used boats in your area?

I also suspect that a lot of people have no idea how quickly a boat depreciates. When they lose interest they might half-heartedly try to sell it but want way too much money. The older it gets the greater the difference between expectations and offers so it just sits there.

 

[gm280]

Re: Are you amazed by the number of never-used boats in your area?

I have to agree with the valve of these boats. I person buys their boat for X amount of money, uses it a few times, then puts it in a storage yard for future use and forgets about it until someone wants to buy it years later. Then those glory days come to mind and they want that X amount of money back from the glory days they bought it. And it is now a huge project effort to get it to something resembling their old boat again. And so they hold onto it because they still THINK it is worth more then it seriously is anymore. Hence total over cost project boats...then won't sale ever.

 

[Mel Taylor]

Re: Are you amazed by the number of never-used boats in your area?

Often the boat is the symbol of a dream. Maybe a dream of freedom, or eternal youth or some other romantic ideal. But it's a dream that somehow never comes to fruition as the years roll on. To get rid of the boat is to admit that the dream is dead and not many of us are wiling to turn loose of our dreams very easily. So the boat sets in the driveway or storage area or slip year after year slowly rotting away along with our dreams.

 

[joelybob]

Re: Are you amazed by the number of never-used boats in your area?

Often the boat is the symbol of a dream. Maybe a dream of freedom, or eternal youth or some other romantic ideal. But it's a dream that somehow never comes to fruition as the years roll on. To get rid of the boat is to admit that the dream is dead and not many of us are wiling to turn loose of our dreams very easily. So the boat sets in the driveway or storage area or slip year after year slowly rotting away along with our dreams. I want some of want your on

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Are you amazed by the number of never-used boats in your area?

I want some of want your on

The rain had me depressed enough before reading his post.. He needs some uppers!

 

[joelybob]

Re: Are you amazed by the number of never-used boats in your area?

:laugh:

The rain had me depressed enough before reading his post.. He needs some uppers!

 

[Dave88LX]

Re: Are you amazed by the number of never-used boats in your area?

I'm sure people wonder the same thing driving by my house. :laugh:

 

[pullin]

Re: Are you amazed by the number of never-used boats in your area?

Often the boat is the symbol of a dream. Maybe a dream of freedom, or eternal youth or some other romantic ideal. But it's a dream that somehow never comes to fruition as the years roll on. To get rid of the boat is to admit that the dream is dead and not many of us are wiling to turn loose of our dreams very easily. So the boat sets in the driveway or storage area or slip year after year slowly rotting away along with our dreams.

Damn Mel. That was beautiful (and sad) [sniff]

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts. This has mystified me for awhile.

My wife is in charge of the loan department at a local bank. She says a likely answer is buying "all the boat payment they could afford", without really thinking about mooring, storage, tow vehicle size, etc. When they discover the purchase price is just the beginning* they end up letting it deteriorate.

*Just ask me about my airplanes... On second thought, don't.

 

[VE8EV]

Re: Are you amazed by the number of never-used boats in your area?

Just ask me about my airplanes... On second thought, don't.

Whenever the subject of how much money it costs to maintain and operate a boat comes up I always tell people
"Just be glad we're not into flying!"

 

[V153]

Re: Are you amazed by the number of never-used boats in your area?

Mel ain't heavy, he's my brother ...

Lotta times round here folks retire from 'up North', buy a house, buy a boat, then get sick or worse. Hope that's not too heavy ...

As has been mentioned the economy still ain't all that wonderful, contrary to 'official' reports stating otherwise. Alotta people are hurting.

In FL during the past few years 100,000 boats disappeared from the tax rolls. Meaning money from licensing/registration. The state scratched their heads & wondered how something like this could happen. "We should be adding boats not losing them!" Being incompetent beaurocrats they hired a consulting firm, at the taxpayers expense, to tell them what was wrong.

Dunno what it cost the state but I probly coulda told em the same thing the 'conultants' did for a lot less. They reached the brilliant conclusion that the economy still sucks, fuel prices are too high, insurance & registration is becoming prohibitive, maintenence costs & storage keep rising, etc.

In addition, and to their credit. They noted that the ever increasing number of no wake zones, most to 'protect' our beloved sea cows & the rest to protect the rich, was turning boaters off. But I digress.

Yes I am amazed at the number of boats that never seem to move. I swear some of em round here haven't moved in twenty years. Too bad scrap fiberglass ain't worth much ...