Working class/middle class DLers: have you ever owned a boat?

They are money pits and time sinks, and unless you have a dock you're unlikely to use it as much as you'd think.

Join a club first and see how you like it.

My parents had a Grand Banks for years and loved it, but it was a lot of work every year and expensive to run.

I grew up on Staten Island - near the marina - lots of working / middle class boat owners — sail boats & cabin cruisers. A few of my parents friends had boats. They are a TON of work and will take up all your free time during the warmer part of the year. If you really like being on the water to the exclusion of most everything else you may love it - just research and be aware of what what you’re getting into both in terms of effort and cost.

My dad had a boat when I was in middle school. It was cool for about 2 weeks... then got old. The problem is, owning a boat is so expensive and so much work, you end up feeling obliged to make use of it at every possible opportunity as a result. You end up completely enslaved by it.

From what I've read, even rich people suffer from this problem. They buy a yacht, and unless they're literally billionaires, get completely sucked into feeling like they have to use it for literally EVERYTHING. Every single party. Trip from New York to Miami? Use the yacht... even if it turns what was supposed to be a 2 day trip into a week-long affair & leaves you trying to work for 5 days in semi-isolation with a shitty, unreliable internet connection as you crawl through the Intracoastal Waterway, with every single daily activity turning into a major ordeal. In some ways, Intracoastal trips are WORSE than offshore trips... with an offshore trip, you KNOW you have to be self-sufficient and prepared. Through the Intracoastal, there's this perception (at least, before you've done it a few times) that you can always just dock and run to a nearby mall or grocery store. Yeah, you might be cruising NEAR malls and grocery stores, but actually docking and GOING to one is kind of like trying to park a car in Manhattan... neither cheap nor easy to do at random, unplanned locations, EVEN IF you're familiar with the area.

I neglected to mention that I am lazy and unlikely to change, so I will forego this ambition and maybe rent a boat from time to time.

I do not know anything about boats as I have missed them all my life.

OP? Get a kayak.

My family had two boats, one speed boat for water skiing and tubing, and one small aluminum boat for fishing. We were middle class, (maybe slightly upper middle class) and had a lake front summer cottage. Having a boat wasn't all that uncommon for families like mine as I grew up only a couple of hours from one of the many areas in Canada with a lot of lakes.

There are boats and there are boats (size!). Any large boat large enough to be capable of cruising is pretty much out of reach on a working or middle class income- both purchasing and maintaining.

Well, I thought about buying a kayak, but my favorite paddling river has kayaks for rent for $10/hr. Since the equivalent kayak costs $800 and up, I figured that by the time I spend $800 on kayak rentals I'd be too old and arthritic for the sport. And with the rentals, I don't have to worry about storage or lifting the thing onto the roof of the car.

Am considering a folding kayak, though.

Oh god, DON’T do it. My dad was obsessed with boats and tried all sizes. They are just nothing but work. Up north, they have to be stored properly in the winter (and not used of course) and DON’T get me started on the spiders! Down south they have to be rinsed rinsed rinsed to get the saltwater out of everything and out in the ocean, it’s much harder to do certain things like waterski. Expensive too: gas, renting a slip or other storage, insurance, licensing, supplies, repairs, etc. Just ugh. We went from small to large back to small. My dad’s last solution was to move us to Florida where he bought a house on the water with a sea wall. It had two pulleys On arms that swung out that he could use to winch the boat up and lay it on the grass, where, of course, we had to wash everything. Do yourself a favor, find a fun freshwater, vacation lake and just rent a small outboard. They’re not hard to drive and they’re more fun because you can waterski as well as swim and fish off of them. Take some coast guard courses while you’re at it - they’ll help with things like safety and laws you should know, etc.

l forgot to mention... navigating a boat from New York to Florida through the Intracoastal is strictly a daylight exercise unless you have an actual crew, night-vision goggles, and a hefty insurance policy. It weaves all over the place, and the markers aren't entirely trustworthy because Congress hasn't allocated the funds to fully maintain it to spec in DECADES.

Also, not all drawbridges are manned overnight. Get to one that isn't opening until dawn, and your trip is OVER for the evening. Hopefully, you can find somewhere safe & legal to anchor & have enough gas to run the generator overnight so you can have A/C & electricity.

Seriously, though, some stretches of the ICW are like getting detoured from a freeway onto a winding, narrow mountainside road... complete with switchbacks. It's kind of like driving from Chicago to Florida down US-41 back in the 1930s would have been.

The stretch through South Florida gives lots of people a VERY warped idea of what it's like further north. Up north, it's kind of like a freeway that got built, then semi-abandoned & allowed to fall apart over the years through neglect after it went from "major commercial shipping route" to "playground for recreational boaters".

I sure would love this one! Anyone got 1/2 million to spare?

The second-happiest day of your life is the day you buy your boat

The happiest day of your life is the day you sell your boat.

No, but I’ve worked with people who do, and it really is a HUGE commitment and a possible money pit, depending on your sea legs (experience) or your watercraft.

Also, there are many different types of boats, and lakes, rivers, and oceans. Price varies depending on where you want to use that boat, what kind you buy, and what condition it’s in when you buy it, as well as where you plan on keeping it.

Unless you’re going to put it to regular use, I don’t see how renting a boat isn’t a better option.

It's true: a boat is a hole in the water surrounded by wood (or now, fiberglass) into which you throw money.

If I had enough money laying around on top of the dresser to afford one, this is the one I'd want.

We had boats. OP, I suggest you join a boat club where you rent according to whatever rules they have. Try that for at least a season.

You should take a class or read the manual so you know the basics. Most people take boating too lightly, and some wind up in trouble because of that, or from combining it with alcohol. They take that more serious than they used to. Boats can be dangerous because when a wave comes in, the boat will rise with it, and people get crushed between boats and piers or other things, all the time. Or, misgauge the weather. Or don’t know what they are doing, or have toxic masculinity and are afraid to let you know that they fucked up and now you’re all going to drown.

When I heard my deplorable brother in law and sister were renting boats to cross Long Island Sound, I knew he was going to get everybody killed. Exactly what almost happened. They crossed. The weather changed, like it does on hot summer days - thundershowers roll in. So, he couldn’t stay overnight, he had to get the boat back. So they decided to “try to cross”. ITS OVER AN HOUR! It’s almost “open ocean” at that point, too. So, they risked their own lives and the lives of any potential Coast Guard rescue-men, and they aren’t good swimmers in the first place. They almost didn’t make it. My sister grew up with boats and should have known better, but she’s an idiot. I literally said a prayer when I heard that asshole husband of hers was going to be making decisions, not knowing when to ask for help.

This is why I won’t even ride in a car driven by these people.

R16, here’s one for $1,100,000 for something that simply does not look that grand.

A lot depends where you live, how long the boating season is there, how often you can reasonably expect to use it, and the type of boat you want. A good friend in Chicago had a boat and he shared with me the math. The winter dry-dock storage, usual maintenance plus city harbor fees and state license for his 30 foot sailboat came to approx $25,000 for the year. The last year he owned it Chicago had an unusually cold, wet summer. Between his work schedule and the poor weather, he only used the boat 8 times. Prorating the costs over the times he used it, it was a little over $3000 each time he got to use it.

I know a guy who has a lake boat (the kind that you can hitch onto the back of your truck), and it seems like a complete waste of money and pain in the ass. He uses the boat like maybe 4 times a year and the rest of the time it sits in his driveway. Each time he wants use the boat, he has to hitch it to his truck, and drive it through town and then drive about 15 miles outside of town to get to the lake. Then he has to go to the lake ramp to get it into the lake which is another pain in the ass, and use the lake ramp again to pull it out when he’s done for the day.

Not worth the trouble if you only use it a few times a year.

The boat-hitch is where you lose a finger, too. I still have all mine and used the boat a lot, but I made a lot of mistakes.

I had a boat on Lake Geneva docked in Lausanne. It was fabulous, but that was a lake not the open sea where I wouldn't trust my skills. and salt water is harder on a boat than fresh water

Yes, it was very expensive, but so much fun. In the summer my friends and I were on it every weekend Nothing like a boat full of drunken queens driving by. It was wonderful.

However, i think the suggestion to join a boating club is a good one. You'll become skilled and you won't have the expenses of ownership. Often those clubs are repugnantly str8 tho.

Did you boat down to the wild nude beach at Villeneuve, R22? That place was fun.

We've had several but it's just too much upkeep and I didn't see the need to keep crew on the payroll when I was only using them about 15 times a year.

Now I just hire one when I want to get out for a few days or weeks. I can go up or down in scale depending on the number of guests I have and the length I want to be out. The crews are more seasoned this way, too, and that feels better when we're out for a week or more and in open water. I've been caught in unexpected rough weather and I'd rather have a better captain than I calling the shots. I tried sailing but it's not for me - too much work, and it never ends.

I LOVE visiting places from a seaside approach. It's a unique feeling. And this way I don't have to feel limited to environs.

If it floats, flies, or fucks...rent it.

R24 well smell you! Do I know you from Port Vauban Antibes?

I never understood what WORKING CLASS means. Does it mean POOR or working POOR?

R27, it means to be an hourly worker, including tradesmen, down to, but not to include the working poor or minimum wage.

I should probably add that a friend in Geneva fell off his sailboat somehow and disappeared into Lake Geneva and he'd been sailing since he was a kid. . To this day his body hasn't been found. The lake basin is over 1000 feet and the temp is cold AF . So, yeah, lakes are not be taken lightly either

So then, it wouldn't include those who keep crew on the payroll year round. On their superyachts.

I’ve owned boats on SF bay for 30 years. When I moved back into the country after living abroad , my place was still leased out, so I lived aboard my boat in Sausalito for four years...heaven! Living aboard is a different story than being a weekend warrior, so I would definitely encourage you to get one. I have a 45’ twin turbo diesel with three staterooms and two full heads with showers and tubs, galley, dining room on three decks. Do NOT buy a wooden hulled boat no matter how good a deal it is, because it isn’t. Decide whether you want a sailboat or power boat. Do not buy any boat with an out drive, because they’re nothing but trouble. If you get a sailboat, make sure it has a Diesel engine and not gas. For your first boat, if you want to keep your expenses down, buy like a 24-28’ boat you can keep on a trailer, if you have something to tow it with. You can get something bigger later. I’d join your local yacht club (you don’t have to own a boat) and start crewing on different types of boats so you can make an informed decision when you buy your own. They’re expensive not only to buy but to maintain. And with a power boat it’s not uncommon to use 10 or more gallons of fuel an hour per engine, so do the math. Just do your homework before you do it. Just don’t be like 90% of boat owners and sit at the dock all year Have fun

Have any of you be fucked doggystyle on a boat? Like leaning over the edge with your head over the water while a guy fucks you? And was there a nice breeze while you were being fucked?

Watch a few episodes of Below Deck on Bravo. It’ll be cheaper and you can just walk away if you don’t like it.

I'm sorry. I didn't read the "working class/middle class" part right. My family were blue-collar and farm people, but I've had good fortune.

Sorry.

[quote] They crossed. The weather changed, like it does on hot summer days - thundershowers roll in

Long Island Sound is dangerous in summer. Storms sweep down from CT, they sweep East from NY & sometimes come up from the south. And sometimes they just get born on the hot water. The Sound doesn’t have a cooling breeze like the ocean has. Being on a boat can be like sitting in a broiler. CT and western NY are the mainland US and get that rough weather in summer that comes all the way up and over from Tornado fucking Alley.

A friend of mine owned a boat and her response is, "The best day ever is when you buy a boat and when you finally sell it."

My dad bought a small sailing boat when I was 14 and we raced together into my 20s. It was a Snipe, like the one in the photo below. Two-three sails (sometimes used a spinnaker), two crew members. Every Sunday during sailing season we'd compete with other Snipes. Snipes are not expensive and they don't have motors.

In the photo they're heeling, hanging off the side to level the boat when the wind is strong. That was my favorite part.

Other family members had motor boats and water skied. That's a whole other story. I loved sailing, still do but don't get to do it that often.

Boats are for the very rich or, the cheap tacky ones are for The Poors

In high school, my best friends father bought a houseboat. They would live on the boat all summer. I stayed with them days at a time and it was a lot of fun. They docked it at a boat club that had a clubhouse with a formal restaurant, grill, Olympic size swimming pool, and men’s and women’s locker rooms. It was so relaxing sleeping on that boat. It would just rock you to sleep. The only drawback was the houseboat had a head that rarely worked! If you ever needed the bathroom you would have to walk about 200 yards to the locker room and use the bathroom there.

In the winter time they took it to a boat storage place along the river to have it stored and “bubbled“ so the water did not freeze around the bottom of the boat.

They sold the boat after about four years. It was a very expensive hobby!

I love Chris-Craft boats R40! That one is cute and a perfect size!

We'll sell you one!

We have a boat but we live on a lake. I wouldn't have one if I had to trailer to the lake and put in and take out each time, no way. It is nice to be able to just jump in take a ride. We are odd, of course, in that our boat is electric, we don't get to go fast but there is NO matinance just plug it in to recharge the battery. And it is very quiet.

R40 You'd never leave the dock in a Chris-Craft like that. Even in fresh water, the amount of work required to maintain varnished mahogany is never-ending. If you take it out for an hour, it takes two hours to clean it up before you put the cover back on it. In salt water it's twice as difficult.

There's a reason station wagons aren't made of wood anymore: who wants to sand and varnish your car annually? Same thing with boats like that: gorgeous, but you'll spend more time maintaining it than using it.

We had a place on the lake & loved to watch & hear the Chris*Crafts roaring around. The engines just sounded perfect! When they were pulling skiers it was more perfection. There was one Italian family from the City that had one, & I had a crush on all the males, so tan & beautiful in their swimwear! It seemed so glamorous at the time to a child!

Alas, that world seems to be fading . . . but, we've actually been considering retirement up at the lake :)

I would love one day to say : “let’s go out on my yacht this weekend!“

A three hour tour, what could go wrong.

R16 I really like that boat! Just the perfect size for running around and fishing! Buy it for me?

Never own a boat but always keep a friend who does. 😎

My parents had one. Besides all the comments above about it being expensive and a huge time investment, you also become an unpaid workhorse for anyone who hears you have a boat. They all want to come out - but, hardly anyone ever brings food or helps to pay for the gas.

The fuel is REALLY expensive.

Last item - one thing no one talks about much is that you don't really go very far in your boat (unless you have a large yacht). You go out of the harbor and take either a left or a right. You see 2-3 hours worth of the same coastline and shit in either direction over and over - and remember, you have to account for the 2-3 hours it will take you to get back.

I thought it was boring as hell.

R50 it depends where you live. I think owning a boat in Southern California would be boring because there’s only really Catalina Island & the Channel Islands to go to. Going down to Mexico seems pretty far. Hawaii even the impossible. I think it would be more fun to be on a lake or By New York or the Great Lakes. South Florida could be fun. With all the waterways off of Miami Beach. You could even go down to Key West. Or on a river that would be good too.

> You could even go down to Key West.

Beware of the gaps between the islands. The Overseas Highway concentrates tidal action into them, and Florida Bay REALLY gets rough as you pass nearby. One second, it's like a bathtub. Cross into the tidal stream, and it's like suddenly being 5 miles offshore into the Atlantic, and a STRONG current pulling you out or pushing you in.

My parents had a picnic boat; loads of fun. But I grew up in the Caribbean; so, no worries. We just dry docked when a storm was coming; otherwise, it was moored just off shore. We could see it from the house.

My parents had money and when I was younger I had a Hobie cat that I raced in the Los Angeles marina. My parents had a larger sailboat they kept at the Cal. Yacht Club. It was very expensive, and my parents bickered a lot when we took out to sea. One time the mast fell off and we had to be towed in. A lot of work, or you need the money to pay others to take care of it.

I now have a high end ultralight inflatable kayak that weighs 25 lbs. Easy to transport and inflate and deflate. Perfect for calm rivers in the Hudson Valley where I live.

Do not get a boat. Rent for now.

So you want to hear from working class/middle class Dlers? OK we had a Chris-Craft and a Huon Pine dinghy at our camp on St. Regis Lake.

Nice R55! R54, how does the mast just fall off a sailboat?

R56

It went down like this:

R57 here. It's called dismasting and high winds which created excess pressure on the mast caused it. The broken mast was acting like an anchor and the boat was unable to move even with the engine, hence the need for towing. Not a fun experience.

[quote] I think owning a boat in Southern California would be boring because there’s only really Catalina Island & the Channel Islands to go to. Going down to Mexico seems pretty far. Hawaii even the impossible.

Spot on.

Love those boats R55! I think renting a boat would be the smartest option. They are way too much work and expense! living on one could be cool though but it would have to be pretty big. I wouldn’t mind living in the marina in Marina Del Rey. Seems like that could be a cool life!

I want a boat so bad. My mom lives near the Gulf of Mexico, and I visit her about once a month. I want to move closer and I would love to have a boat. Something about being out on the water really de-stresses me.

Whatever floats your boat....

A good friend of mine bought a 29'(?) sailboat and loved it, spent every weekend he could down at the marina. Down at the mouth of the river was a shallow, no-man's-land of brackish water, and he supposed that he could drop anchor there, row in a small inflatable dingy to shore, and drive away with everything in his trunk. He did that for a while. Then some major hurricane or another made landfall near... the lower Outer Banks.

He had the news on at his house, a several-hours' drive away, and the cameraman had set up on the boardwalk to film his boat bobbing up and down in the rough water. After the hurricane, the boat was gone. He was contacted by the insurance company months later when somebody located it in a tree.

May I recommend a nice paddleboat, OP?

no . .

Ask David Geffen about his yacht

I think I would like one like this. You can fish and sleep on it. And it has a head. I think it’s called a trawler.

It’s worse than having kids.

Don’t.

they push houseboats as expensive alternatives to condos in Seattle. Your shitting in an RV toilet. They have more money than God and look trashy.

they push houseboats as expensive alternatives to condos in Seattle. Your shitting in an RV toilet. They have more money than God and look trashy.

You are

Doesn’t Drew Carey have one of those houseboats in Seattle?