Considering a Major Downsize and Boating Lifestyle

Stee6043 said:
I can't disagree that it keeps kids out of trouble if they have no alternatives. I just wonder (to your question) if a stronger family is made by actually being together more frequently, even if its doing nothing of particular importance, rather than "being busy more".
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I don't think there's a single correct answer here. Some of the best time that I spend with my kid is the time we spend traveling to/from his baseball games. I grumble about the constant running to and from games in the spring/early summer but the one-on-one time we spend together laughing, talking, etc can't be replaced. In addition, spending time as a family to watch my younger son's band play is priceless. We're not the family who's always on the go...but, kids keep you busy regardless.

I don't see it as "being busy more". I see it as an investment in my kids and family. Forcing my interests on my family isn't exactly quality time either. Again, they like the boat but they don't love it the way I do. Which is fine with all of us.
 
Thanks everyone. Really appreciate all the insight. As I said nothing has been decided but it is on the table. One of the great things is we are a VERY close family. And we have limited it to no sports during the summer. That is where the 9 – 10 weeks of use come in. We eat dinner every night together. At least now in the spring and summer each kid has both parents and siblings at 95% of their games and during the winter all three of them are on the same ski race team so we travel together. So it’s kind of like I’m trying to have a crystal ball to see the future. This mainly comes from friends with kids slightly older. One that note these are great problems to have. I’m stressing over a luxury item.
Some of you mentioned buying a cottage up north. That is also where I am blessed. I have two family cottages up north I could use every weekend of I wanted. One is my grandmother’s, she is 96 and on one of the most beautiful inland lakes in Michigan. Second is my dad’s which is on Lake Michigan. I know…spoiled. I guess this should make my decision easier, right? Thanks again.
 
maybe i can shed a little light on this from a slightly different perspective.....

like most our younger adult lives were centered around our kids and their 'activities'......it was great time and although sometimes very tiring and stressful it was a great way to spend time with the kids....we had very few 'free' weekends to just kick back and relax so something like boating was not even on our radar back then....

then a wonderful thing happened called 'college' and both kids moved out of the house...all of a sudden the Admiral and I found ourselves with an abundance of 'free' weekends to do whatever we pleased.....we still had weekends where they would come home and occasionally we would go see them at school...but we had much more free time then we had ever had up to that point....

then came graduation from college....then eventually they got married and started blessing us with 5 grandchildren.....all this seemed to happen in a few short years....during this time we started noticing our 'free' weekends where starting to diminish....both my kids and their families live about 3 hours drive away from us....so when we decide to get together it takes a full weekend....around this time we decided to 'try out this boating thing'.....our timing was terrible because as mentioned before our free time was dwindling.....

now all of a sudden we are older with ageing parents to take care of, holidays with family, special events with family and friends, we find that we are more busy now than ever on weekends.......so we are struggling to find time to spend boating......

we have no intentions of giving up the boat....we are 'hooked' and really enjoy our time on the water and with dock friends...as time passes some of the time constraints will lighten up.....parents will eventually pass away....the grandkids will grow up and stop celebrating birthdays with parties.....etc.....

my intention in posting this is to show how our 'circle of life' has presented itself......things go in cycles.....so just because you find yourself not having as much time for boating now does not mean that things cannot change in a few short years....

If you really enjoy boating and can afford to keep the boat I would suggest you keep it for a while to see how things develop.....

good luck in your decision....

cliff
 
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I have actually enjoyed reading all of the responses here. My wife and I unfortunately don't have kids but have two close sets of friends who have gone through this. Both had kids as they got older became more active in soccer, wrestling, football, gymnastics, pretty much u name it and they found they weren't using the boats like they had when the kids were younger. One of them would put the boat in just after the 4th and maybe get two - 4 weekends on it before some activity started up. Both came to the realization that at this point in their lives, having the boat wasn't worth the return they were getting on fun. One has completely exited boating, and put a pool in his backyard and I actually think between his kids and their friends winding up at the house after said activities, probably is getting more family/friend time in then he did when he had the boat. The other sold their cruiser and bought a small ski boat they could throw on a trailer and store in the driveway, and recently bought a small house on a lake where they could use the ski-boat. The cabin can be used year round and isn't far from a ski-resort so they will use it year round. Also, since it appreciates in value, he feels its an investment and isn't just throwing his money into a hole in the water. It's definitely a tough call but like my two friends, I'm sure you will find the happy medium that works for all of you.
 
My father owned an 18' Starcraft Holiday spent every Sunday on the Ohio river. He once told me he sold the boat because my brother and I didn't have the time to go any more.Now this was a boat he loved and when I was 6 yrs. old I'm pretty sure I had nothing to do with him buying it. Our oldest was 2 with a second on the way and we went and bought our first boat. Both our boys grow up with boating and loved it and their lives did effect boating there is only so much time in the day. If down sizing better fits your current life style go for it. Once your kids are grown you will have plenty of time for a gilt free life on a larger boat again.
 
It is truly amazing the circle that life takes and this thread is clear evidence of that.

Ours started out on the sailboat side of the world with my Mom and Dad taking the family (myself and my sister) sailing on a 19' Lightning when I was a kid - it was usually a Sunday afternoon sail. When I went away to college, I raced on the college sailboat racing team in Eastern Tennessee. With the college diploma came my bride and we continued to sail on the Lightning that I grew up with. As the family grew, our son and daughter continued to sail with us. I continued to race and my son started crewing and racing with me. We graduated to a big sailboat on Lake Michigan. Among all school practices, activities, trips to nationals, music performance trips to all parts of the country, Canada and Europe, the kids continued to want to spend time on the water - to relax and unwind and my son continued to race with me. The kids went off to college and the Admiral and I crossed over to the power boat world - the Admiral didn't want to work the boat anymore - she wanted to relax and ride. We started out with a 210 CC and then moved up to the boat we have now and through this progression, the kids always wanted to spend available time on the water. Now this includes grandchildren. We see both kids and their families more often in the summer on the boat. As was mentioned earlier by someone else, it is the boat and the water that creates the place and the events for us to be together. I am blessed in that the water and boating have been a common thread that has maintained itself through my life and has become just as important to the Admiral, the kids and now to the grandchildren. My five year old granddaughter is already talking about driving Papa's boat this summer and asking when it going to be in the water.

There were summers when the kids were younger that we didn't boat as often as others, but during these phases, the time we were on the water was just as important and valued. In hindsight, I would have gotten the big boat sooner and can't think of not having a boat - it was important to our family and amidst all the chasing and activities, allowed us to remember who we were as a family and it continues to do so.
 
I had a bigger boat. 29 foot cuddy. Never slept on it, went through transmissions towing it. No room on top for people. Love my big bowrider. It handles a little bit of weather, better for watersports, goes effortlessly to different lakes and is paid for. The water is what's magical to me, not the floating equipment.
 
My story is a bit different in that I boated with my parents and family as a kid. This is where I really bonded with my parent, especially my father. I couldn't get enough of the boat and the boating lifestyle. By the time I was 15, I could take the 31' Chris Craft out to go fishing on summer days when my Dad was at work. This showed responsibility and his acknowledgment that he trusted me which was huge.

After school, work, marriage, kids and running a business didn't afford me the time to get back into boating, I vowed to one day get back on the water I always longed for. After a divorce and kids becoming adults, we took the plunge with our 320DA. I rubbed the magic lamp and she grew into the 410DA we have today! I wonder what will happen if I rub harder???

Now the kids are between 2 and 6 hours away with their own lives, only one having children. We enjoy the boating life so much that I had my wife quit her job so we don't miss our boating time and time with our "boat friends" (along with a mental break from the pressure). She keeps looking at different employment that I tend to shoot down because it interferes with our time together on the water. Real Estate, need weekends with clients. Mortgage loans, need weekend time for closing loans too often. Regular employment, don't get off of work on Friday until 5:00PM but I want to be at the marina about then!

We don't get too much time with our kids but as they have their own kids, we will enjoy taking them out while having the room and comfort we desire. No wrong choices and I could see us one day with a house on a lake for shore with a smaller boat some day down the road. I also see us on The Caribbean on a catamaran too!
 
We have two boys. One is 10 and the other is 12. Both are avid soccer players and play at a competitive level. That being said we have two seasons. Soccer season and boating season.

We are on the boat at least three weekends a month to include when we are in soccer season.

For my family it is a lifestyle. We also have a 23 foot wakeboard boat that we will bring down to the "big " boat so the kids can wakeboard.

My belief is that you can make memories or you can make it excuses. Right now we try to maximize the time with our kids since they still think we are pretty cool.


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Everyone has to do what is best for their time shared with family and friends.
For us, We purchased and slipped a second boat last year, a pontoon.And we also have a Sea Doo that everyone uses.
My wife and I were at the lake most every weekend between Mem. Day and Labor Day.
We stayed on our 320, but rarely took it out. Our Son, Wife, and 2 small Grandkids came down frequently, So taking the pontoon out became easier, and allowed the kids to play on the beach, pull on tubes etc.......but they had the expense of staying at a nearby lodge. So this became our major issue.
So we decided to sell the 320 and build a lake home, so everyone and their friends to come down and enjoy.
We think this is going to work out real well for us.
When the grandkids get involved in other things that keep them from coming to the lake,.then I am sure we will make another decision that might lead into another cruiser.
 
k9medic said:
My belief is that you can make memories or you can make excuses. Right now we try to maximize the time with our kids since they still think we are pretty cool.


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The thing is they come back when they get older, ours are turning around and hanging out with us in their 20's and 30's. They all enjoy boating till around 16 then "were not cool" after school they miss boating and want to come back. So I guess we'll hold on to this boat as my 2 Grandgirls will soon enjoy it too. I can't imagine not boating 2-1/2 years and it will be year round for us.
to each his own...
 
You know HS I think your 500DB is Beautiful! What a nice looking boat, JC
 
Wet Dogggg,

Only you can decide what's best for your family. I grew up around boats, and my parents' last boat was a brand new 86 Sea Ray 340 when I was a teen. Needless to say, I couldn't wait to get my own family hooked on boats.

We have 3 kids ourselves, and with the 3rd still in diapers, we made the plunge. It was a great was to spend time together as a family, and we moved up from 19' to a 37' bridge boat with an 18' Whaler in tow. When the oldest got to high school, which is maybe 3 years away for you guys, we started to lose her to other activies. We would encourage her to bring her friends to the boat, and they did have some great memories with us when they could make it.

Unfortunately, things like band and sports these days are far too competitive and demand almost all of the kids' time. We found that the boat was in competition for the time, and the kids wanted to be with their friends rather than be separated and out boating. It only got worse for us when our 2nd got to high school. I got tired of maintaining the boat as a hobby, only to be able to bring the family on occasion. There were several times I'd take the boat out by myself or with friends to justify its use.

A year ago September, we were approached with an offer from somebody who liked our boat. I sold it, thinking it was a good excuse to go get something bigger. For the next year, we found ourselves in a time crunch like never before, and it was all we could do to get the family out on the Whaler. My wife and I would cruise it during the day, and loved taking friends with us for different lunch stops. As we looked for another boat, we realized that the Whaler was actually serving us quite well for the time we had.

Here it is a year later, and we've found that the extra cashflow of $1,000-$1,500 a month is coming in very handy with all the unexpected expenses with a high school senior and one in college. I'm still looking for the right boat to come along, but for now, the Whaler is a good fit.

As an aside, we're not alone in this equation. My doctor went through the same thing and suggested that I wait 10 years then go find a big houseboat for the grandkids. Another family in our marina just came back to boating after their 10-year break. In fact, there aren't many families to be seen at our marina. There are younger couples and older couples, and some in their 40's without kids, but very few with teens. I still get my boating fix by going out with friends. In late November, for example, I helped move a trawler from Louisville to Mobile.

Good luck, and hope you find the right solution!
 
Thanks everyone...it has definitely an interesting read. Decision has been made to list the boat. If it sells it sells, if not we will enjoy it during the summer. The major deciding factor was not kids sports at all really. It was the house(s) on Lake Michigan up north. Being able to still be on the water as well as save all the money that is associated with a large cruiser. So with the kids wanting to do water sports and also get to spend a lot more time with their grandparents as they get older we decided to list it. We will still be on the water a lot, not giving up boating by any means. Just a different type of boating. Like most have said, it’s not about the stuff…it’s about the memories. We will still be making them but just a little differently. So now we will see if she sells and start looking at day boats.
 
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