Talk To Me About Boats

[Egg Shen]

I got a river flowing right through my town which I could follow all the way into the North Sea.

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I often thought about getting some kind of small nutshell, I wouldn't even need a license
for anything up to a 15HP outboard. Something with a sail would be really nice.
It just seems like a lot of work and money and how many days a year will I be out with it? I don't know.
But thinking about it sure is fun.

And because it is a lot of $ some guys feel obligated to drive to the lake to use it every single weekend which to me looks like just another obligation as opposed to true leisure. But these guys had pretty expensive boats, 30-40 footers. If you live on the beautiful body of water pictured, you should probably have a boat, even if just kayaks or a pontoon.

 

[Paul lec]

I have an 18’ Deck Boat, fits all my kids and grandkids,I mostly use it for fishing and diving for scallops and lobsters. The best thing is that I keep it at a marina in dry storage, just a phone call and it’s in the water, fueled up and cleaned, worth every penny.

 

[JOHN72]

I love boats and the world of the sea. But I have to make do with my rubber ducky, when it sails in my bathtub, through the fog and foam. The worst is when I get excited, drink rum and sing the, ho,ho,hoooooooo. It's a pathetic moment.

 

[Paul lec]

That second pic was a mistake. Me and grandson doing a crab boil

 

[bullet08]

They generally float.

 

[Chaukisch]

But these guys had pretty expensive boats, 30-40 footers. If you live on the beautiful body of water pictured, you should probably have a boat, even if just kayaks or a pontoon.

One day I'll get something, because you're right I really should. It'd be a shame to miss out on it when I can basically carry it out to the water on my back.
But a 30-40 footer... If I had that kind of vessel I'd probably live on it.

 

[ChonkyTonks]

I worked for West Marine while attending university. The thing I learned there is the following:

1. The people who spend the most money, oddly, are usually the ones who are the nicest and most patient.
2. Flares are not fireworks. Imagine being out of stock of all flares the week before 4th of July and knowing how many tickets will be written on Lake Union that night.
3. Any boat with a propeller, note down the pitch, diameter, spline count, rotation, gearcase, etc. for what is on your boat. Do that when you get the boat, not when the prop is sitting on the bottom of the lake.
4. Everything on a boat costs more than what it would cost anywhere else in life. If a screw costs $5, there is a reason it costs that much. Chances are, the same size/shape/etc at Home Depot will rust and fall apart. It is assumed that you knew how much money you would be spending on the boat when you bought it.
5. Every new boat owner is obligated to get a pair of these:

6. Enjoy it for what it is. When everything works, there is no better feeling than being on the water.

 

[Hillcrest]

Occasionally I feel like the cat in this meme;

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I live on a lake, have many lakes within driving distance, and I think my kids would get a kick out of it. On the other hand, I've heard that 'boat' stands for "bust out another thousand". I'd be looking at getting something like this for a few grand.

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Has anyone gone the boat route and loved it? Hated it?

Start small and within budget

 

[Streeper541]

I had a Ranger bass boat for a couple years. It sat more than it got used so I sold it. I don't have time for a boat. But that is just my .02

 

[kcghost]

You could look into getting a pontoon boat. If you are just going fishing or leisure cruising. they are fine. No good on open water, though.

 

[mso489]

I grew up around really small boats. Sure, I got aboard larger boats, sailboats, ferry boats, lake mail boats, etc. But what we owned were small. My dad built a nifty "pram" sail boat with a bright blue hull and a bright red sail, and we spent years sailing and rowing it. In my own right, I owned a handsomely designed Old Town Penobscot canoe for years, and enjoyed paddling the lakes and rivers in N.C. So I love boats and boating. The downside is, even small boats need regular attention and maintenance.

For years, I had a garage that stored the canoe easily, but later moved to a house where it had to be stored outside, and pine resin on the hull became a problem. My dad's little sailboat finally got stoved by careless parking of a car in the garage. (I'm glad to say, it wasn't me.)

Living on or near a lake or other body of water is ideal, to factor out travel time, especially if the boat can be securely stored on the water for easy quick use. I've never had that luxury. Larger boats require serious discretionary spending, so it is not only a matter of budget, but of family agreement on wanting to go boating and enjoying the experience.

So my suggestion would be, start with something modest, see how the boat fits into your schedule and family life, and keep an eye on opportunities to sell the boat if it becomes little used or too much of a burden. I finally sold my canoe for a church auction. I was glad to have owned it, and it was a relief to sell it for a good cause.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Have had small boats in the past- inflatable kayak, pontoon boat, canoe, sail boat, runabout. Own nothing nautical now except hats and West Marine boat shoes.


Yesterday my bro-in-law, son and I rented an 18' inboard-outboard on Lake Tahoe. None of the instruments were reliable; it had been used and abused for years. But we had a blast. The dock man assessing whether we could run the boat o.k., had no idea of propeller rotation! It was as usual, a right hand rotation.

 

[petes03]

Stick to something with an outboard under 150 hp with an aluminum or fiberglass hull and minimal electronics and you’ll be fine.

 

[maker]

I was thinking of getting a small inflatable boat with an electric motor for cheap to explore some islands in florida. Then I found out any boat with any motor has to be licensed in Florida.

 

[edger]

When we were kids, my brothers and I raced our Sunfish every weekend of the summer on Long Island Sound. My older brother still has it on his lake in Wisconsin. Great memories! How did I wind up in Arizona?

 

[maker]

When we were kids, my brothers and I raced our Sunfish every weekend of the summer on Long Island Sound. My older brother still has it on his lake in Wisconsin. Great memories! How did I wind up in Arizona?

We used to houseboat on lake havasu in Arizona when I was a kid good times.

 

[tbradsim1]

Had a lot of different kinds of boats in my life. You gonna go on the water, learn about the weather, it’s not your friend, it can kill you in a New York second. The crap about a small outboard is just that, the biggest one you can hang on your transom, that way you can outrun a bad storm. Learn first aid, I’ve had to do a lot of it on people to dumb to drive a car but here they are in a boat. It’s fun but it’s also serious outing, shrimped in my 24 ft Wellcraft, inboard outbord, did a lot of cast netting in my 18 ft open fisherman with my wife, she could throw a 6 ft cast net better than a man, I threw an 8 ft. It’s not a sport for an old man, so here I am, boatless, but I’ve had my share!

 

[scloyd]

Mike, how old are your kids? I know they're young. When we only had two kids and they were young they sat on the bottom of our canoe and my wife and I would paddle. Usually small lakes in state parks. They ALWAYS wore flotation vests. When my son became a teenager, him and his friends would take the canoe to fish. Canoes can last a lifetime if you take care of it.

I've always thought those Jet skis look like fun. Like a snowmobile for water.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I am anti jet skis: Not the crafts themselves, but the morons who frequently operate them.
Yes, they are fun, but my jet ski days are most likely over.

 

[huntertrw]

Talk to Me About Boats

O.k., let's start with the Seawolf class:



No, wait. Never mind