Boatless...but don't plan on going anywhere!

[Lucky's]

Well, for the first time in many, many years, I'm boatless. We accepted an offer yesterday and the new owner plans on taking possession on Monday. I will likely be boatless for a year or so, but would love to remain active here if that's ok? Here's a little update on our situation. Heather and I put out a lot of cash making our move and I have a lot of student loan debt from making my career switch. Our next boat is going to be a 1999-2004 400-440DA with diesels and, although we can comfortably afford the boat now, we would strain with owning/maintaining costs and when we make this purchase, we want to be able to do a lot of cruising with it. So, we're going to buckle down over this next year and pay off my car, as well as our student loans (and a couple credit cards) off, so we can be debt free when we make this next purchase. I don't want to just own a nice boat...I want to use it. This sacrifice will make that a whole lot easier. In the meantime, we have our best friends who moved down from Michigan here, who have a nice 30' Regal that we'll be on a lot. For those who don't know, I've also joined the Palm Beach County Fire Rescue as a part time fire boat operator. They're sending me to the Chapman's boating school so that will occupy a lot of my time as well. I'm hoping the time will go fast, but it will all be worth it in the end. Thanks everyone and I look forward to sharing my boating stories again with you all soon!

 

[LTD.330]

Congrats on the sale of your boat and it sure sounds like you are making great financial decisions.

Looking forward to hearing your stories about Chapman's school and skippering a fireboat.

 

[Lucky's]

Congrats on the sale of your boat and it sure sounds like you are making great financial decisions.

Looking forward to hearing your stories about Chapman's school and skippering a fireboat.

Thanks! I've been "working" the fire boat every Saturday. We have 2 of them; a 32' Contender with twin 300 Merc Verados and a 24' Pursuit. They like to patrol every weekend to provide a presence in the area, so I'll certainly still be on the water a lot.

 

[Gofirstclass]

You're absolutely doing it right. It bothers me when I read or hear of people who buy their boat then start asking questions about things to do to help pay for the boat or the usage.

Congrats on two things....the sale of your boat and being able to captain the fire boat on a part time basis. I think that'd be a great job, though it might be boring just cruising around looking at beautiful boats, big tugs, work boats, babes in bikinis.....wait! What the hell and I thinking?!?!?!? Sounds like a great job!

 

[sdarc]

Excellent life choice. I think running the Fire boat would be a hoot. Best wishes Shaun. And stick around... I'm boatless (for now) but there is still a lot to learn from tis great site.

 

[Havana Shamrock]

Great decisions in my opinion. This way you'll enjoy life and the new boat a lot better.
Nice to see young(er) people making wise choices. Best of "LUCK" to you both

 

[Lucky's]

Great decisions in my opinion. This way you'll enjoy life and the new boat a lot better.
Nice to see young(er) people making wise choices. Best of "LUCK" to you both

Thanks, Joe. The right decisions are usually not the easy ones. This is no exception. I want to purchase the boat now, really bad. But I know waiting and getting a few things taken care of will make it much more enjoyable in the long run.

 

[mwph]

+10 to all of the above Shaun. It all sounds like a great plan to me.

 

[Quint4]

You interested in trading lives?

 

[Lucky's]

You interested in trading lives?

hmmmmmmmm........... From what I see, your's isn't too shabby, either!

 

[AMFM3]

Wow Shaun...that was fast! We talked a lot about the next boat when we got together a couple of weeks ago. I think you are making the right decisions to achieve your goal. Good thinking!

I'm just happy we made it to Florida before the offer came in on the boat. Thanks for the great cruise, lunch and tour of where you live. Your friends' boat and the volunteer position will keep you going. The fun part will be shopping over the next year as I know you'll be online and in Boat Trader all the time!

Mark

 

[Lucky's]

Wow Shaun...that was fast! We talked a lot about the next boat when we got together a couple of weeks ago. I think you are making the right decisions to achieve your goal. Good thinking!

I'm just happy we made it to Florida before the offer came in on the boat. Thanks for the great cruise, lunch and tour of where you live. Your friends' boat and the volunteer position will keep you going. The fun part will be shopping over the next year as I know you'll be online and in Boat Trader all the time!

Mark

Non-stop, Mark! Already am!! Lol. You guys are welcome here anytime!! The pleasure was truly ours.

 

[Woody]

The wait will be over before you know it and you'll be cruising your new boat. Congrats in advance.

 

[MonacoMike]

Isn't all this why they call you "Lucky"? Congrats on selling the Laguna and the solid plans to move forward, though I'm disappointed I didn't get to take a run in it. Book me on the first cruise on the next one, LOL

MM

Isn't it funny that many of us here are called "lucky" for our boating lifestyle by folks that do not have a plan???

 

[Zorba]

Good decision. We did the same thing 4 years ago. Got rid of the 260 and buckled down for a year so we could buy the boat that would make us happy with a growing family. While it was a looooong year and some change, going into basically a second home without debts was and is the best decision we made. No student loans, no car payments, and most importantly zero credit card debt after that year. Good luck with the next boat!

 

[IanBat]

Well done Shaun.

You've also got the Funeral Viking, but I guess that would be a bit of a 'Dead Boring' cruise! Sorry, but I guess you wouldn't want to be Dead Centre of a raft up,all the time.....

On a serious note Shaun, how do your student loans work over there, just interested in comparing it to,our system here, where our daughter is racking hers up


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[boltman]

It's refreshing see a man with a plan, we too paid off many bills and still budget though we don't have any monthly Bills at all. No house payment , no car payments no nothing you will always be welcome to rap with us on CSR don't let anyone tell you any different . Congrats on selling that , but you should consider a bridge boat too.


Boltman

 

[Chris Nowell]

My hat's off to you Shaun; for pricing your boat at market value, for changing carreers mid life, and for setting a goal and making a plan to achieve it. You should be a motivational speaker. I'll be waitin' to see pics of yer new boat:grin: Until then,,, a 30 Regal will still get you out there, even if ya ain't the skipper. All the best.

 

[Lucky's]

Well done Shaun.

You've also got the Funeral Viking, but I guess that would be a bit of a 'Dead Boring' cruise! Sorry, but I guess you wouldn't want to be Dead Centre of a raft up,all the time.....

On a serious note Shaun, how do your student loans work over there, just interested in comparing it to,our system here, where our daughter is racking hers up


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Thanks. The student loans are accrued while you're attending school, but no payments are made until 6 month after you graduate. Depending on income, some don't accrue interest during that time. Unfortunately, mine did accrue interest but at a low rate. They make it fairly easy to afford, but it's still a payment I don't want!

 

[Lucky's]

It's refreshing see a man with a plan, we too paid off many bills and still budget though we don't have any monthly Bills at all. No house payment , no car payments no nothing you will always be welcome to rap with us on CSR don't let anyone tell you any different . Congrats on selling that , but you should consider a bridge boat too.


Boltman

We've always been a Sundancer fan as we like the lower, long and lean looks of that style. The other major advantage is with all the drawbridges down here, a DA can make it under most. A DB won't make it under any, so it takes a lot more time and planning to go somewhere. However, we have considered and discussed it a bit as the salon space would be very nice.