Re: How far away is too far to own a boat.
It seems to me that if the shortest drive to launch is an hour or more, it's too far for day trailer boating. Maybe even less. Sure it can be done; anything can. But the root of the question is whether, with the drive, you will use the boat enough to make it worth it.
When you add the time to load all the stuff at home, deal with the launch from the time you enter the gate to the time you drive the boat away, reverse that, and put everything away at home (worse if you have to clean and cover) there's not much time at sea.
It also means you have to commit the full day to make it worthwhile. So that means you can't go on a Saturday if anyone has sports, home projects, commitments with others, etc. And not on Sunday, too if you go to church (I go atheist in the summer).
And woe unto you if you go on a Saturday and something happens and you don't get home in time to go to that thing at the in-laws. You are at high risk!
And if you are left with only full days, how many are there? If you live where it gets too cold in the fall and spring, you have about 14 weeks in the summer, which equals 28 days if you skip church. How many have commitments, how many rain? Doesn't leave much.
To me the best boating is the short hops. An hour cocktail cruise or just an excuse to run the boat. A half-day fishing trip. Take the children tubing for a couple hours. An hour at dawn before work; a short evening fishing trip under the bridges on a week night.
