I know where and how I caught boat fever. I know how to treat it.

[Brat]

DH had a wonderful wood lapstraight Thompson, would take our son out often. Later son got involved in racing small sailboats at the Willamette Sailing Club. His Sr. year in highschool we stopped at the California Maritime Academy during our college visit tour. Seeing The Golden Bear ended the search. While at the Academy he was on their racing team and took great pleasure beating Stanford and Cal with a donated vessel w/o kevlar sails. After graduation he sailed for ARCO,

Boat fever can morph into a career.

 

[Souschef]

Now this is my dream LOL. This was taken outside the marina in Monte Carlo It even has bow thrusters

 

[RobbieB]

This was my first boat;

I car topped it and put the motor and the gas in the trunk. And yeah, I hoisted the thing with ropes and pulleys to the garage rafters.

That sucked.

 

[pb4uski]

I once proposed a "hull index" for people to use for discussions - "What is your hull index?".

With a Windrider trimaran (cheating) and a couple of kayaks in the fleet, I was up to 9 at one point.

I'm up to 9 now, but a couple "cheaters" with a pontoon boat and a catamaran.... along with a single-hull sailboat, jet-ski, two kayaks and a SUP.

 

[pb4uski]

....And don't ever calculate the cost per fish.

No Al, fish is priced per pound.

 

[Ronstar]

I'm up to 9 now, but a couple "cheaters" with a pontoon boat and a catamaran.... along with a single-hull sailboat, jet-ski, two kayaks and a SUP.

Good to know. I can tell DW that I know of people with 9 hulls when I explain how I need to build and add a cedar strip kayak to my fleet. Which will be down to a single kayak after I sell my pontoon boat.

 

[marko]

I disagree ---- if it is your hobby/passion. Boats are mine. Yes, it's a big "IF". If boating is not "in you", then boats don't make sense.

Boats are not cars. You don't just leave them sitting in your driveway for weeks on end and then just get in and start them up. Most people don't seem to understand that and the marketing folks don't have any incentive whatsoever to let them know.
.

Have a neighbor who uses his boat 3-4 days a summer. He does thinks it's a car and then is amazed when the things starts taking on water, stalls 9 seconds after leaving his mooring, the battery is dead or the steering seizes up on him.

My dad, grand-dad and great grand-dad all were sailors and that's how I got the bug since I was 4.

It's a commitment and unless it is a lifestyle for you, stay ashore. Everyone knows not to plan on us for weddings, cookouts or excursions between May and October.
If--even once-- you make that dreaded calculation of "dollars/days used" you're in the wrong hobby.

We are lucky to live 50 feet from a cove where we keep a skiff that can take us out to the big boat; to illustrate the lifestyle element, I'm not sure we'd live there if it wasn't for the proximity to the boat.

 

[FIREmenow]

Have a neighbor who uses his boat 3-4 days a summer. He does thinks it's a car and then is amazed when the things starts taking on water, stalls 9 seconds after leaving his mooring, the battery is dead or the steering seizes up on him.

My dad, grand-dad and great grand-dad all were sailors and that's how I got the bug since I was 4.

It's a commitment and unless it is a lifestyle for you, stay ashore. Everyone knows not to plan on us for weddings, cookouts or excursions between May and October.
If--even once-- you make that dreaded calculation of "dollars/days used" you're in the wrong hobby.

We are lucky to live 50 feet from a cove where we keep a skiff that can take us out to the big boat; to illustrate the lifestyle element, I'm not sure we'd live there if it wasn't for the proximity to the boat.

I heard a funny quote from a seasoned sailor, repeated to me, that went something like, "Even as we sit here at the marina sipping our drinks with the boat safely tied to the dock, something is breaking....."

 

[Winemaker]

Now this is my dream LOL. This was taken outside the marina in Monte Carlo It even has bow thrusters

Did you see me on top with my glass of Sauv Blanc?

 

[TromboneAl]

My first boat (A Snark):

Mine was 100% styrofoam. On its last voyage, we capsized, turned turtle, and when we got it upright, the sail/mast were gone.

 

[HFWR]

Now this is my dream LOL. This was taken outside the marina in Monte Carlo It even has bow thrusters

“Fill ‘er up.”

“That’ll be $10,000.”

 

[Bamaman]

Now this is my dream LOL. This was taken outside the marina in Monte Carlo It even has bow thrusters

We have one this size on our inland lake. I joke the owner brings it up here to avoid paying ad valorem taxes on it. Such a boat has the range to sail for the Mediterranean.

 

[Bamaman]

My grandmother paid $4,500 for 200 feet of deep water lake frontage on the Tennessee Rjver. It has gone up 100 times in value. And growing up part time there has stoked my love of boats.

We keep a 24 footer and a Waverunner hanging in a double boathouse. I don't care what it looks like for a 67 year old to ride Jet Ski's. I have owned them since 1985.

 

[akck]

And don't ever calculate the cost per fish.

On the bright side, the cost drops with each fish caught. But, it’s still cheaper to go to the fish market and buy your fish.

When we first got our boat, we’d go out and catch a ton of fish, especially when my parents were alive and visited. They’d come with 2 suitcases and go back with 4 fish boxes. Now, over the last few years, we only catch what I want to clean. As others indicated, it’s becoming like work to go out with getting the boat ready and cleaning up after taking up half the time. Still, it’s a nice feeling to have a winter's supply of halibut in the freezer.

 

[marko]

I heard a funny quote from a seasoned sailor, repeated to me, that went something like, "Even as we sit here at the marina sipping our drinks with the boat safely tied to the dock, something is breaking....."

Breaking, leaking, rotting, loosening, seizing, dripping, knocking, squeaking, swinging, getting moldy, falling over, starting to smell or rolling around and not tied down.

But that's just on good days.

 

[RobbieB]

And worth every penny!

Also why I buy cheap old used boats. Slip rent is my biggest expense.

 

[CaptTom]

This thread is getting closer to areas where I have some expertise

Here's a quote I love: "The only thing that's always working on an old boat...

is the owner!"

 

[pullin]

I kept a careful record of all boat expenditures for mine. I added up the year's costs and divided by the hours on the meter...

Then I gathered up all the calculations and threw them in the fireplace. I never want to know THAT number again.

Attached is a Google image of my current one (sister ship, I'm not that good at photography).