New To Boating - How Big is Too Big?

There is no boat to big, only a budget to small.

Save the inevitable "itis" and get the right one first.

I went from 0 ft to a 320DA as my first boat last year. Already thinking about moving to a 38-40' fly bridge. No, it wouldn't be too big as long as you took your time learning it. And practiced.

A tip I learned after buying our first cruiser was look at the simple things for her also. How easy is it for her to make the beds, stow her vast array of girl stuff ( wait that's my wife). Remember the the bed tip though️ Does she like the shower size? Do you have ample space to cook? Look at you current life style and see if it will fit into a boat you like

Thanks again. Im still researching/window shopping while waiting to see if the sale of my business closes...looks like perhaps early next month.

Pretty committed now to a sedan bridge. Trying to figure out if a 480 can be bought somewhere "near" my wife-imposed budget. If not, the 400 db's seem like great boats also.

Have you considered a boat club as a first leap? Leasing is cheaper.

Don't want to rain on your parade, but your 6 year old will be into 12 year old stuff before you know it. Life happens.

dpmulvey said:

Have you considered a boat club as a first leap? Leasing is cheaper.

Don't want to rain on your parade, but your 6 year old will be into 12 year old stuff before you know it. Life happens.

Click to expand...

Thanks for suggesting this. I hadn't researched this option yet.

A boat club might be a good fit from a maintenance perspective, but it appears the closest one is 200 miles away. If we have to get in the airplane to go to the boat, I just don't see it being something we'll do much. Unfortunately I don't live in an area that seems to have a lot of water sport options...the Ohio River is pretty much it, unless one wants to drive 4 hours to a decent-sized lake.

Then there's the type of boats available from a club that seems very limiting. I've been through this with renting airplanes in that if you want one that's capable of meeting your mission, it becomes nearly impossible to find one (and difficult to schedule around other customers and operator/insurance company restrictions). I'm picturing spending a night or two at a time anchored somewhere quiet, and entertaining guests for evening dinner cruises, rather than a frenetic few hours buzzing around.

I just don't see a lot of rental options in my area for 35'-45' cabin cruisers/sedan bridges. I've considered trying to schedule a 3-4 day trip somewhere where I could dry-lease one for 2-3 nights, and I might still try to figure that out when I get back from vacation.

You can always try Boatbound and rent one for a weekend.

Thanks. I've found a handful of potential options there, but I recently learned we have a CSR forum member who has a 480 DB here in Cincinnati. Once I get back to the U.S., I'll contact them to see if they're willing to answer some questions and maybe trade a tour for some beer.