Tired of boating?

[90stingray]

Neighbor informed me that he is selling his mastercraft that he bought new in 1999. Reason... he says hes tired of all the work and his kids arent into it anymore. But he wants to put in a pool! (This might work to my advantage) Another neighbor down the street sold his 1996 starcraft because he was tired of it as well. Both guys are probably 50 years old and kids are teens. I am wondering if both guys have been around boats all their lives... how do you lose the love and just get out of boating? I hope i never get to that spot. As of now, i still love boats and everything about them.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Tired of boating?

not an unusual situation at all, even here on the water where you don't mess with long drives, ramps, etc. and boating is both convenient and almost year round.

People also get busy if they enroll the children in sports, etc. Teenagers who aren't allowed (or trained) to use the boat are not going to ride around with their parents. Plan for that.

I find that most people use their boats far less than they think. Many hang on to them but seldom use them. If it weren't for the teenagers many boats would never get used. I also think people work more these days and have less spare time; even the days off are packed with stuff you have to do.

If you have an older boat that needs babying, mechanical issues to address, etc. it gets to be less fun/more work as time passes, then you don't use it and that affects how it runs, and you get the downward spiral. If you own a boat that has to be washed, waxed, flushed and covered, you have increased the work at the expense of use. If you have a speciality boat (like the mastercraft) and you don't use it for that specialty, you aren't likely to take it out for just cruising around, for example.

If you can't conveniently use the boat for short trips (an hour or two) you won't use it much. People kid themselves in this regard when they buy a boat, and picture the "dinner cruise after work" thing. And if you have a short boating season, it becomes even more of a question of keeping it.

If you buy a boat, and then start having babies, forget it.

I grew up on the water, live on the water, and the family, and now me, always have had boats. But there have been long stretches where they didn't get used hardly at all. Been through the old boat hassles and the care and feeding hassles. I will always have boats, but I get it when people question whether it's worth it.

 

[Cincyrunner]

Re: Tired of boating?

It's a lot easier to fit boating into one's life if you live on the water and/or have your boat docked at a marina. But I think that's a very small percentage of the boaters out there. Most are probably like me who live inland and have to trailer their boats to inland lakes and rivers. And that does take quite a bit of work, both planning and preparation as well as actually doing it. Right now my best scenario to go boating is what I'm doing today....it's a Friday and I'm taking 1/2 day vacation, and going boating with my family and a couple friends. We're planning on being out on the water for the majority of today, like 6-7 hours. The two-hour after dinner cruise with the wife only just isn't feasible to do. We plan to go boating and we plan to be out all day long. Our kids are still young enough to enjoy the tubing and the kneeboarding, so that's our motivation in this sport. But there's going to come a day when our kids aren't going to want to go boating with my wife and I and it'll be just us two. I figure we have another 7 - 8 years before that time comes. And if we're still living in this same house and in this same location, then I imagine it'll get to be too much work and effort to own a boat anymore and we'll get rid of it. I hope it doesn't come to that, but we're prepared for that if it is.

Now my plan is to retire and buy a lake-front house on Lake Norris, TN and if that happens then we'll keep the boat so my wife and I can continue to enjoy using it after the kids are out of the house. We may even upgrade to a larger boat as well.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Tired of boating?

how do you lose the love and just get out of boating?

lack of funds is a real step closer to loosing the love....
also, lack of time to get out.

i've not lost the love, but funds are tight. and the 'ol lady has bum hours at her work the last two years making it so we can't go out on the weekends. i've tried it by myself many times, but by yourself, after a while, can get old too (assuming ya don't fish, like i don't)...

 

[jcupo6]

Re: Tired of boating?

I went through an almost 2 year stretch where I thought I was done with boating. Before that I went out pretty much every weekend, many time both days. I guess I burned myself out. Well, I sold the boat and two years later the itch came back, bad. Selling that boat was the biggest mistake I've ever made! Still regret it :facepalm:. Oh well. I should not have made the quick decision to sell and just wrapped and stored the boat. It's different if you need the money, I just thought I was done with it. The best advice I could give, if you ever do feel like you're tired of boating, don't make and rush decisions. Prep the boat for a long sleep, and see what happens. Life changes constantly and you never know what next year will bring! If someone told me a year and a half ago I'd have a new job, a house, two boats, and I'd be engaged, I would have laughed in their face.....

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Tired of boating?

I too tired of it. It got to be monotonous. That's all we did for recreation. One day at work a guy was talking about his water association and his lake house and all that. He sold out and bought a farm and now he doesn't have this and that bla bla bla.

I thought about that and the kids were getting older and had other interests. So I too bought a farm and am not sorry in the least. I quit aquatic activities for a long time 10 years maybe and one day decided to get me a bass boat and do some fishing. So I now have a boat sitting in my shop and when I want to go I can. I usually go out and sport around the lake a couple of times, full blast, fish for a couple of hours, sport around the lake some more and come home. Lot of fun. And being retired, I can go on a weekday when the parking lot is almost empty and not have to fight the mobs.

My 2c,
Mark

 

[jkust]

Re: Tired of boating?

I've seen this scenario repeat over and over and over. Where the boating tended to survive is where it is at your lake home and not a trailer boat. Got my boat almost new (40 hours) from a guy in the exact scenario. Thought he'd try boating and quickly realized he couldn't fit it in with the kid's sports. Only went to one lake a mile away. Trailering a boat and all that it entails can be a pain but mostly it is an event to look forward to. Even if this happens to us, if I pass the love for boating on to my kids as my parents did to me, I'll be happy. At the end of the day it is hard to not be a life long boater in Minnesota.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Tired of boating?

The only downside to having a lake home is that you transfer expense and time of maintaining a boat and trailering it to maintaining and paying for a house you use for less than 2 months of the year. (in total number of days spent). There are lots of reasons for getting tired of boating, but switching up the lakeside activities is what keeps it fun. Also, a jet ski or other toy can make quick-easy trips for the day much easier than dragging out a boat and all of the associated equipment.

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: Tired of boating?

So far I've seen mentioned how much nicer it is to go boating when you don't have to mess around with trailering a boat and dealing with a crowded ramp, which is all true.

However, something that's being overlooked is who you go boating with. Bringing along friends or family members who don't get a chance to go boating very often makes it much more enjoyable. Invite someone from work who hasn't been on a boat in a while (it helps if she's good looking ), or have your kids invite a friend. Sharing the boating experience with different folks helps make it more fun and keeps up the enthusiasm level. If you do the exact same thing time after time after time it's bound to get boring.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Tired of boating?

Boating is how I get out fishing, so unless I quit fishing, I'm not quitting boating. Sure you don't "have to" have a boat to go fishing, but shore fishing isn't that great out here. Plus, the kids like the boat, swimming, the lake, etc.

I might go to a different type of boat, bigger or smaller, but I don't see being completely without a boat.

 

[Restless22]

Re: Tired of boating?

I can see going to a fishing boat eventually. My kids will be driving in a few years, so I'm sure we can downsize. I really admire some of the bass rigs nowadays and center consoles. Those flake paint jobs are pretty in the sun.

 

[acarter92]

Re: Tired of boating?

Yep, I see how people can get sick of it. Boating is a lot of work and money.

I use my boat just about every weekend. I think if I used it once a month I wouldn't own it, I put a ton of time into keeping it safe, clean and running well, and just minor stuff adds up in time and money. To me it's worth it because I spend a lot of hours on the boat, I'm sure someday I'll get sick of it and probably sell it. Although I'm sure I'll come back when I get the bug again.

To me what keeps it fun is doing different things. One weekend we'll spend a day bass fishing, the next we might invite some friends tubing, then the next we may go to the bay and make a 50 mile cruise and sleep on the boat, then we might go camping for a couple days.... You get the point, if I only did one type of activity on the boat and/ or only went to one local lake I would get sick of it quickly.

Just my $0.02

Austin

 

[Restless22]

Re: Tired of boating?

Yep, I see how people can get sick of it. Boating is a lot of work and money.

I use my boat just about every weekend. I think if I used it once a month I wouldn't own it, I put a ton of time into keeping it safe, clean and running well, and just minor stuff adds up in time and money. To me it's worth it because I spend a lot of hours on the boat, I'm sure someday I'll get sick of it and probably sell it. Although I'm sure I'll come back when I get the bug again.

To me what keeps it fun is doing different things. One weekend we'll spend a day bass fishing, the next we might invite some friends tubing, then the next we may go to the bay and make a 50 mile cruise and sleep on the boat, then we might go camping for a couple days.... You get the point, if I only did one type of activity on the boat and/ or only went to one local lake I would get sick of it quickly.

Just my $0.02

Austin

What boat do you have?

 

[acarter92]

Re: Tired of boating?

It's a 17ft Blue Fin Sportsman, so as you can imagine sleeping on the water keeps it very interesting . But I like my little boat, or at least it's gas mileage.

Austin

 

[Restless22]

Re: Tired of boating?

It's a 17ft Blue Fin Sportsman, so as you can imagine sleeping on the water keeps it very interesting . But I like my little boat, or at least it's gas mileage.

Austin

Very cool.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Tired of boating?

Austin and Fisherdan hit on an important point--you can grow tired of doing or seeing the same thing every time you go out. I can't imagine being trapped on a small lake for years of boating. I can't imagine "boating" means riding up and down and looking.

Variety is crucial--and for variety you need either several boats, or one that is versatile enough to do most of your desired activities. That means one that maximizes open space and is durable. If you think about it, you and your family do more stuff, and have more fun, in the kitchen than in the living room. Don't buy a boat that is like a living room.

As for this: Now my plan is to retire and buy a lake-front house on Lake Norris, TN and if that happens then we'll keep the boat so my wife and I can continue to enjoy using it after the kids are out of the house. We may even upgrade to a larger boat as well.

If upgrade means replace, No no no! you can't have too many boats. the one you have now will be broken in so your children can take over; you get yourself another one for old adults. And since you're on the lake you get to have a 14' for the small children to use. You can't have too many boats!

 

[theBrownskull]

Re: Tired of boating?

I have seen many people do that over the years. Some have boated their whole life and other only a short time. Don't know why but people lose interest sometimes. But it is good usually they sell good stuff cheap.