In 1999, I bought a new single engine cruiser with A/C, queen-sized midberth, head and full galley for $40K. I babied it so much that when I sold it in 2010, the first couple that came to look at it said "We'll take it" without even taking it out for a sea trial. I sold it for exactly half of what I paid for it 11 years prior, and because I used it regularly every month of every year for 11 years, I calculated my true cost of ownership to be slightly less than $6 an hour, not counting fuel - which really wouldn't make a significant impact since I spent a lot of time on the hook in various coves overnight.
The memories alone are worth more than $6 an hour.
Today, I just got back from looking at several used but larger twin engined cruisers in the 9-11 year old range, priced in the $40's to $50's.
(Think SeaRay 290's) They are in nowhere near the condition mine was when I sold it, even though they are being advertised as "excellent".
So yeah, a couple of years later, I'm regretting having sold mine.
Don't regret NOT getting this one. It sounds like you've got the primary reason for making this work covered, and that is - you have to USE it. If you don't use it, it's an expensive proposition. But the more you use it, the cheaper the fun-per-hour becomes.
Forced into taking early retirement @55. Laid off @ 60. Now I work part time in retail for pin money. DH is being slowly forced out of his job but is 65 so not too upset. We have modest pensions and sold our condo for good profit and moved to a great co-op Mobile Home Park with low pad rent. We have no debts. We looked at a used boat today and are going to buy it but I wonder if we are nuts to do this or should we go for it. The price id the boat is 15k which is a lot for us but we have the money to pay cash. But that money is a little bit of our house sale profit and a part of me says we should keep all that money for the future. But,on the other hand, what is the point of being retired or nearly retired if you have nothing to do that you can enjoy together. My DH is mobility challenged so we can't go for walks, sight see or even shop at the mall together. We both love to fish and it is something we can do together in a boat while he is seated. We have had small boats but they are actually more difficult to get in and out of the water than a boat that is big enough to require a trailer. The bigger boat will also enable us to fish on a nearby large lake and river instead of traveling a long way to use our small boat on a small lake which would also entail finding babysitting for our cats and leaving my 90 year old mother with out support while we are away. So I have all this going around in my head and I know that I want to go for it so that we can enjoy our life, have fun and store up memories for when we can no longer get out and about. But writing a cheque of that size for something that is for pleasure is tough to do. Am I nuts to buy the boat or am I nuts for hesitating to buy the boat.
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