Should you buy a boat?
If you’re reading this post, I assume you are considering buying a boat. Whether it be an 18-foot fishing boat or a 37-foot sail boat I’m guessing you’ve been considering this for a while. Your head is filled with thoughts of fishing trips with your friends or sitting in the cockpit with a drink in hand watching the sun go down on another perfect boating day. I’ve bought (and sold) quite a few boats in my day, and I know how powerful the thoughts can be once the seed is planted. Reality though is a different matter, and I’ll try to provide some perspective in a helpful way before letting you know that you should in fact, with a few limited exceptions, buy the boat.
Let’s make this simple and address a gating issue to boat ownership – your financial situation. People considering buying a boat know (or should know) that it isn’t a good investment. That is just a fact. But, that all depends on what you value. Nonetheless, prospective boat buyers fall into one of three financial categories generally.
The first category is “I can’t afford the boat.” This category constitutes a fairly low percentage of prospective buyers, as most people are aware of their own financial situation. Nonetheless, it can’t be overstated: If you can’t afford the boat, you shouldn’t buy it. By can’t afford it I mean that significant life commitments like food, shelter and/or your children’s education, will be impacted negatively by your purchase. Do not do this. The moments of joy provided by the boat will not outweigh the cost, no matter how frequent those joyful moments are. Also, if you are thinking that you can’t afford the boat in this way, I can assure you that you can’t afford it. The costs of any boat far outweigh the amount you fork over to the dealer or the guy on craiglist.
The other low percentage category of potential boat buyer is the “Money is no object” buyer. Just buy the damn boat. Even if you only use it once a year, it doesn’t matter, you’re out nothing of consequence. And I’m sure you will have a lovely time on your boat. You will enjoy it. Plus, you’ll likely be buying a new boat, and if you never use it and decide to sell it, well hey, more massively-depreciated, lightly-used boats for the rest of us. Or maybe you’ll never sell it and use it or not use it. When money is no object, you win either way. Winning is good.
That brings us to the last category of potential buyer, the one that contains the lion’s share of people considering a boat. I fall into this category as I imagine you do. The “I can afford a boat, but I realize there are many, many, other ways I could perhaps more productively use the money.” We are the people that need help. And the answer is much more convoluted for us. But right out of the gate this group knows that worst-case, buying a boat might be a bad financial decision, but if it doesn’t work out it’s not the end of the world. So a lot of people take the leap without fully understanding what they are getting into.
After owning many different types of boats, I like to think of boat ownership as a colorful spectrum that has Maximum Boat Happiness on one side, and complete Boat Misery on the other. The key is to figure out where you would fall on the spectrum PRIOR to buying the boat, and if the answer is that you fall in the bottom third, towards the Boat Misery end, boat ownership probably isn’t the right call.
But the spectrum has many facets, and people often misjudge where they would fall prior to the boat purchase, realizing only after buying the boat that they are actually in the bottom third. The key is to accurately evaluate pre-purchase where you would fall on the spectrum, and what factors go into each color of the spectrum. The primary colors of the spectrum are:
Cost – often underrated by potential purchasers
Time of use – often overrated
Ease of use – often underrated
Value you place on Boat magic (to be explained below) –
Now where you fall is obviously impacted by each of primary colors of the spectrum, and each color operates independently. For instance, your boat may not be so affordable, but it always works, is easy to use, you use it all the time, and the moments you experience Boat Magic are priceless to you so that overall, you fall pretty high on the spectrum. Owning a boat is worth it to you.
Conversely, you may have a boat that is eminently affordable, but it’s always broken down and you have to prop walk it down your incredibly narrow fairway to your horrible end slip next to a pristine Hinckley with a davit system that protrudes three feet into that narrow fairway which causes you to have recurring nightmares where people are standing around pointing at you and laughing. You are in boat misery and it isn’t worth it. Interestingly, in this situation you might find that the boat is so affordable that you really don’t care about the bad, because if it sunk to the bottom of the lake or ocean, you’d just go have a drink in the bar and a nice lunch. Anyway, the point is, each factor’s importance is independent and personal to the owner, but let’s take a closer look at each of the primary colors and the pitfalls that might drag you into the bottom third.
Cost. This is a big one. Consistently underrated by prospective owners. For most people of sound mind, the more the Cost edges towards the “I can’t afford it” range, the closer they come to the bottom third of the spectrum. And Cost does a funny little dance with Time of Use which can be quite unsettling and not immediately apparent when you are considering Cost alone. If your Cost is high and Time of Use is low, Time of Use starts to tango with Cost to dominate your thoughts and make you feel guilty about Cost. It’s a death spiral. You start to have a bad time at things like grandma’s 80th because, once again, you aren’t using the boat. I’m guessing constant guilt feelings weren’t what you were looking for when you wanted to get into boating.
So what goes into Cost? Well sticker price is the obvious. If the sticker price makes you a bit uncomfortable, if you feel deep down it is a bit of a stretch, you are pretty close to “I can’t afford it.” Why? Because of the ancillaries.
First, you likely have to slip your boat and store your boat. When I kept a sailboat in Sandusky Bay on Lake Erie, the slip cost me about $3,000 a season and winter storage was about $2,500. Every year. You don’t always think about that when thinking about Cost. And then there’s there all the other things: Ground tackle, lifejackets, bedding, bumpers, lines, decorations, cleaning supplies, fishing gear, water toys. Whatever it may be for your boat, it will cost more than you think and it all adds up. We always found a way to spend at least $500 a year on these types of things.
This is all before maintenance. Marina’s know that they have you in an untenable position. They operate in near monopolistic conditions. Unless you are a do it all type of person, which will keep Cost lower and is a very good thing, you will spend quite a bit on engine and other boat maintenance items. And these items can also severely impact Time of Use. Do not overlook maintenance costs. Get a good survey – which by the way will cost several hundred dollars, depending on size of your boat/number of engines. And don’t forget insurance – another several hundred at least, again depending on the type of boat and usage time and area.
Long story short is that sticker price is the first element of Cost, but certainly not the only one. And the other elements are usually due and payable every year. Nonetheless, the lower you are able to keep Cost relative to your situation, the closer you will be to Maximum Boat Happiness. Many people suggest buying a boat that costs 60% of what you can reasonably afford, allowing 40% for the ancillaries.
Time of Use. When you are considering buying a boat, you think you will use it during all your free time. That’s what you’re going to do. Boat people. “We’ll be at the boat every weekend”, you tell yourself. Or I’ll go fishing after work at night. Some people do that. They probably fall pretty high on the spectrum. But, really consider how much free time you have now. How often do you spend the weekend sitting around doing absolutely nothing? Do you have kids? Do they play sports? Go to camps in the summer? Do you have to work some weekends? Are you really going to trailer the boat to the lake on a Wednesday night after working all day? Go to any marina of any size on any given weekend and take a look at how many of the boats are not in use. How will that tango with Cost sit with you if you’re not using the boat very much? Also consider that the times that you do have to use the boat, mother nature may not agree. I remember a Labor Day weekend a few years ago when it was 55 degrees and raining the entire time. It was a marina full of people fairly close to Boat Misery. Some of them were probably on their boat for the first time that summer.
The point is, don’t make the mistake of overestimating Time of Use when considering your purchase. If you don’t have a lot of free time currently, or have very active kids, your Time of Use will be much less than you anticipate, and you will be starting out closer to the Boat Misery side of the spectrum.
Ease of Use. This is another biggie with a lot of elements. But there is one common truth: The easier it is for you to use the boat, the closer you will be to Maximum Boat Happiness.
First, how easy is it for you to physically get yourself to the point where the boat is underway. How far is it from your house? Is it moored out front of your beachfront home? Pretty easy. Is your marina within a half an hour? Not bad. Do you have to trailer it and put it in the water? If so, can you trailer it to an easy to use boat ramp in under a half an hour? Boat ramps can be a really fun place to be if you’re having a picnic lunch and watching other frantic boaters waiting their turn to get in the pressure cooker and launch their boat while 25 boats are circling waiting to come out, but let me tell you right now launchers and retrievers are not having a good time. They’re frustrated that they aren’t in the water or aren’t on their way home. Similarly, if you have to travel much more than a half an hour to get to your marina, boating day starts to feel a little bit more like a project that can wait until tomorrow. In any event, if these conditions sounds like they might apply to your situation, your Time of Use will not be what you imagine it will while you’re sitting in the dealership buying the boat.
Second, who’s idea is this anyway? I’ll probably do another entire post on this subject alone, but is everyone who you envision using the boat with on board with it? Do they like sailing or fishing or skiing and do they have the time to do those things? This doesn’t really fit into Ease of Use specifically, but if you’re thinking of sailing your family around each weekend and all the great times you’ll have, you should make sure they are fully behind the idea. I’ve seen too many spouses dragged to boats for the weekend who are actively miserable on the boat. Ease of Use is the least of your problems if your husband, wife or kids really don’t enjoy the boat and are less than enthusiastic about being on it. Ask me how I know.
Now, you’re in the boat and ready to go. Can you operate it easily? You might be able to afford the 50-foot Azimut slipped in the marina across the street from your house, but can you back it out of the slip and into the 40-foot fairway without having a coronary and screaming at your spouse? Here is where Ease of Use and Cost join hands. Technology like joystick drives, bow and stern thrusters and GPS have made boats easier and easier to operate, but generally with significantly increased Cost. But this is a stone-cold fact: If you are apprehensive about your ability to handle the boat, Time of Use will go down. And when you do use it, your enjoyment will be limited by fear and worry. If you actually want to use the boat, make sure you are comfortable handling it. I have met more people than I can count who sit at the dock on their boats rather than take them out because they fear docking or operating the boat. They would have been better off putting the money into a lakeside condo. I’ve handled all manner of power and sail boats from 8 to 43 feet in length. Outboards, twin engines, and single diesel-powered sailboats. By far the boat that made me the most nervous around the dock was not the 43-foot single engine sailboat, but the 26-foot single-engine cuddy cabin that I bought without thinking twice about handling because the boat was “small.” It was a nightmare trying to get that boat to do anything with even the slightest amount of wind or current. It was not easy to use to say the least and I often found excuses not to use it. I can tell you I hadn’t planned on experiencing that conundrum when I bought it. If you are new to boating or to a particular type of boat, factor in some Cost to get some training so that you are comfortable.
Finally, Boat Magic. All of the dancing above has painted a pretty negative picture. That was not my intent. Because for me, Boat Magic just about trumps all of the above and is why I have purchased so many boats and will certainly do so again. Boat Magic is what happens when you are on your boat and the moments you envisioned when you were thinking about buying the boat are actually happening. Having dinner and drinks while the kids cannonball off the boat and into Put in Bay, all the while the sun setting into the lake and music from town echoing over the mooring field. Sailing with friends to Kelly’s Island and having coffee on deck watching the sunrise. Landing on the Chat n’ Chill sandbar in the Bahamas and having fresh conch salad and more than a few Kaliks. Cooking burgers on the boat grill in Leverick Bay in the British Virgin Islands while everyone sits in the cockpit talking. Watching my kids jump off the Willie T. My brother’s smile as he reels in a six-pound smallmouth. Seeing the joy on my mother’s face as she takes the helm of a large sailboat for the first time in her life. Watching my friend rise from the water on a single canoe paddle. Listening to my kids reminisce about experiences we had in boats long gone by like they were old friends. These moments are priceless to me and have made boat ownership worth it, even though I have been in and out of the boating game as the colors of the spectrum have danced their dances. I’ve never reached Maximum Boat Happiness, and have experienced significant Boat Misery, but I don’t regret a single minute.
So, if you’re in the “I can afford a boat, but I realize there are many, many, other ways I could perhaps more productively use the money” category, I say it’s just money, buy the boat. Worst case scenario you end up in Boat Misery and eventually sell, and you’re out some money. You’ll make more. But I’ll bet you’ll have had some Boat Magic and incredible memories along the way, and hopefully you’ll find those memories as priceless as I do. And you’ll be that much closer to Maximum Boat Happiness if you decide down the road to do it all again, like a lot of people do. Best case scenario you make a lifetime of irreplaceable memories. You can buy me a beer or punch me in the face later.
