Top 5 things not to buy: No. 4 Boats

Cincy Aquaholic

Cincy Aquaholic

Active Member
Mar 15, 2009
1,329
Cincinnati
Boat Info
290 SS - 2016 Ford F250 Powerstroke
Engines
Twin 5.7 with Bravo 1's
Has anyone actually ever rented a cruiser?? Hardly the same as a time share. Expensive yes, but to say you should never buy one because you can rent?? Really? where's the research to support that. Most boating is a lifestyle that can't be "rented". Without it, my life would have a serious gap in it. It makes the work I do worth doing.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10494996/1/five-big-ticket-items-you-shouldnt-buy.html
 
May as well tell to not buy a house, a car, blue jeans... If they considered that it is a luxury home on the water that moves, and always has your stuff on it, they might re-consider. Let's see - 5 people to carry my stuff. 5 star hotel rooms on the water, furnished, stocked... Full time vacation...
 
All work and no play? No thanks. What the hell am I working for anyway? The time on the boat with friends and family is priceless.
 
One rule of thumb I've heard is boats should be less than 1% of a family's net worth. For the most part I agree with the article although we've always owned boats. We enjoy our boat far more than most because it sits at our house from April through the middle of October. I'll be retired in June so it will get even more use than before. We've rented most of the other things they mentioned and had fun doing that. Most of the toys and extra houses are just overhead. We have two great slips so don't pay rent unless we travel which of course we do. Still we have a better cost structure than the person who drives hours, rents slips, etc. The article is really good advice.
 
sbw1 said:
One rule of thumb I've heard is boats should be less than 1% of a family's net worth. For the most part I agree with the article although we've always owned boats. We enjoy our boat far more than most because it sits at our house from April through the middle of October. I'll be retired in June so it will get even more use than before. We've rented most of the other things they mentioned and had fun doing that. Most of the toys and extra houses are just overhead. We have two great slips so don't pay rent unless we travel which of course we do. Still we have a better cost structure than the person who drives hours, rents slips, etc. The article is really good advice.
Click to expand...

So you believe that you need at least a cool million in order to own a $10K boat?:smt017
 
Boats are a waste of money. Costs of ownership should not be significant or interfere with long term goals like paying down a home mortgage, putting children through college so they can graduate without being saddled with huge debts, having reserve funds to pay for emergencies and job loss, and then living in retirement for 30 years without a major lifestyle change. If you plan for all of the high priority life needs, saving the million will not be all that easy. Also, a million dollars will not fund a comfortable retirement when inflation is taken into consideration. A person who is 20 years from retirement will need more.
 
So I currently have made 2 (maybe 3) out 5 of those bad purchases! :wow:
 
sbw1 said:
Boats are a waste of money. Costs of ownership should not be significant or interfere with long term goals like paying down a home mortgage, putting children through college so they can graduate without being saddled with huge debts, having reserve funds to pay for emergencies and job loss, and then living in retirement for 30 years without a major lifestyle change. If you plan for all of the high priority life needs, saving the million will not be all that easy. Also, a million dollars will not fund a comfortable retirement when inflation is taken into consideration. A person who is 20 years from retirement will need more.
Click to expand...
So why do you have a boat?
 
I agree with SBW1 100%

Boating comes out of my Party budget, not retirement savings.
 
I read the article. Many of the points make sense. And I also own three of the five myself.

Jetski's are very much like boats. . . .expensive toys. I may sell ONE this year to reduce the fleet :)

I take exception to the vacation home: Yes. . .vacation homes are tricky. However, unlike boats and jetskis; these are not depreciating assets. Mind you, once you consider taxes, maintenance and insurance, they are not necessarily a good investment; but the right one can make a good diversification of assets. Didn't work out so good for me in the 2008 recession -> but it was comforting to have in the 2003 recession.

I agree about the timeshare. These can be dangerous investments. Last time we vacationed, we "rented" a timeshare. The full week rental was less than the annual maintenance cost for a comparable unit.
 
My point in posting this was to show the absurtidy that blanket statements like this article make. I posted it because we as boaters can relate to the passion that boating is as a life style and not something amenable to renting like the author suggests.

I certainly didn't intend to open up a discussion on everyone's financial wherewithall to read about how secure some of you are. I don't think this is the forum for financial planning and decision making. But since its been mentioned, I personally believe that .1% of net worth comment is quite ridiculous. I couldn't disagree more with the presumption that I would have to have net worth in the $7.5 million range before I ought to consider owning a boat like mine? Really? If I had $7.5 million in net worth the interest alone on that would pay for my entire boat each quarter. I wouldn't have to work, my kids wouldn't have to work and my kids kids probably wouldn't have to work for the life style I'm interested in maintaining.

We all make decisions based on our individual positions, needs, desires and goals. I, for one, will sacrifice living in a million dollar house for my entire life to know that my time on this planet, as short as that is, gets to spend it boating.
 
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