Minimum use requirements to buy a boat?
After seeing how miserable I've been this year without a boat, in addition to the fact that I haven't done particularly well off the shore, my wife gave me the green light to get a boat for next spring. When I think about
1. our short season,
2. the fact that the boat will be 85 miles from my house (in Southeast CT),
3. the fact that saltwater boating is so weather-dependent
it really limits the amount of time I can spend on a boat. From a financial perspective, it probably isn't worth the cost. But with all the moping I've done since becoming boat-less, the question is not "what is the cost of owning a boat". Rather, the question is, "what is the cost of NOT owning a boat". And the cost, I think, is too high. I think I must have one, that's all there is to it.
So, to get back to my original question, how often do YOU think you need to use your boat in order to justify having one. For me, the usage requirements are not that high, because when I had a boat, even when I wasn't using it, I derived a lot of pleasure out of it. If it was too windy to go out, I'd just wax her up or whatever.
It's my only hobby which I feel is a part of me, even when I'm not doing it. For example, I also love skiing, but only when I'm actually doing it. But boating/fishing, I feel like it's a part of me, even when I'm at work. Whether I'm thinking about it, or participating in a board like this one, or telling fish stories over a beer, I feel like saltwater boating and fishing is a permanent part of my make-up. That's what my wife says, anyway...
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