Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
A relative of mine recently sent me an email that included photos of a 47-foot boat he and his wife where considering buying. While they live close to the water and spend a lot of time on it, they’ve never owned anything longer than a 24-foot outboard. Obviously this would be a major step up for them in both boat ownership and, as I was quick to point out to them, boat maintenance. In the email they asked me what I thought about them buying this boat that needed “some work” but was being sold at a very attractive price.
Before seeing the online listing for the boat, my family members had no intention of buying another boat. Apparently one of them just stumbled upon the classified ad and decided it could be a deal too good to pass up. Knowing that they both work a lot, don’t have much free time and, like the rest of us, don’t exactly have money to burn, I gave them a quick call to find out what exactly they had in mind for the boat. “Oh, we’ll tie it up at some cheap marina, tinker around with fixing it up and hopefully get out fishing or cruising every few weekends.”
I kind’a-sort’a figured that was going to be their response, as it seems to be the standard “romanticized” notion of what owning a boat is all about – nothing but fun-in-the-sun where even the sanding, painting, varnishing, and fiberglassing kind of work is as enjoyable as it is relaxing. Oh yeah – RIGHT! The thing is, those family members of mine don’t really know anyone besides me who owns a big boat and can clue them in on what it’s all about. They just know what they see while strolling the docks at happy-hour each evening – happy boaters relaxing at the dock, grilling burgers and drinking margaritas.
Those of us who have owned large boats before know better. We know how much time, effort and money it takes to keep a boat safe, reliable, running and looking good. At times the requirements involved with maintaining a boat can be staggering and boatyards and backyards are full of virtually abandoned vessels whose owners finally gave up on them after being overwhelmed by the task.
Anyone contemplating buying a big boat needs to first take a hard and realistic look at their own situation and decide if they have the time and skills to maintain their own vessel or a lot of money to pay someone else to do it for them. Folks also have to consider how often they’ll really be using their boat. Probably 50% of the boats that fill our local marinas stay tied up 95% of the time because, even though they might start each new season with hopes and dreams of fishing every weekend, when the summer finally comes to an end most boaters will look back and discover that due to bad weather and other unforeseen circumstances they seldom got to fish or go out on the water as much as they had hoped.
Practically speaking, unless they really fish a lot, like 3-4 days every week, most folks would be financially way ahead if they didn’t own a boat of their own, but just went ahead and chartered one whenever they wanted to go fishing or cruising. Think about it; a charter boat is always rigged, ready and professionally crewed by a captain and mate who’s job is to make their client’s time on the water both fun and enjoyable. Those who go out on charter boats don’t have to worry about fishing licenses, ice, bait, tackle or where to go. If there’s a malfunction, it’s not their responsibility to get it fixed, and at the end of the day there’s no fuel bill to pay or boat to clean, and charter boat clients never have to worry about monthly boat payments, slip fees or insurance premiums – now that’s what I call “pleasure boating!”
Having said all that, I should also point out that to a lot of boat owners, actually “using” their boat is secondary to just “owning” it. A lot of folks simply like having a boat they can call their own, they enjoy rigging it, cleaning it, tinkering with it, and just hanging-out on it even if it’s usually tied up in its slip. And all that is certainly OK as long as the owner can afford such a luxury. Then again, spending a few hundred grand on a boat that’s just going to stay at the dock all the time doesn’t seem to make much sense either. So when my relatives asked for suggestions about them buying the boat I responded with one word – “run!”
Captain Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and captain of the charter boat “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
