Another old adage: Power boaters aren’t sailors, they’re drivers on the water. Put them in a sailboat without a motor and they go nowhere fast.Chris109 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 04, 2022 6:49 pm Never been a blow-boater.
"Blow boaters are only friendly when they want to borrow some Grey Poupon."
Always preferred the cruiser.
Old adage1: Best 2 days for a boater are: the day he buys it, and the day he sells it.
Old adage2: Boats are just a hole in the water that you just keep throwing money into.
Seriously, I have both sailed and cruised for about 30 years, and I think the biggest mistake people make is in assuming how much they will use the boat given the circumstances. By circumstances, I mean how easy and quick it is to get on the water. If you have to hitch up the trailer and drive two hours to the boat ramp then you will use it less than if it’s slipped in the water a few minutes away. That’s why my wife and I made the decision to buy a small condo on a marina in Alamitos Bay, Long Beach back in the 90’s.
We knew we wanted to be on (and in) the water (she did Masters Swimming early this morning) so we prioritized it ahead of everything else. We have no yard or garage or even a third bedroom. It’s a pretty small place that most families would not choose, but we can walk downstairs and go for a paddle on one of our kayaks, or take the dinghy to lunch as several local places have guest docks. It’s mostly my son and I who actually sail together now, but we have also had so many great times over the years with friends “dock sailing” as we call socializing aboard in the slip. On occasion other neighbors are doing the same, and sometimes we go out on each other’s boats.
We pay more to live in a very small place on a marina than for a much bigger place inland. We also pay for a slip rather than keeping it on a trailer in a driveway for free. However, I honestly think that if you do the math on what we spend versus how much more we use our various watercraft, it’s not even close. Very few weekends go by where someone in the family doesn’t do something with them (Southern California weather helps). A friend of mine from work who lives inland has two jet skis which he uses MAYBE 6-8 times a year, versus my family at 40-50+, sometimes more than once in a week.
It’s funny this topic came up because my son and a college buddy went for a paddle together yesterday afternoon, and my wife and I just got back from a very late breakfast at a local restaurant via our inflatable. Nobody even left Alamitos Bay but it’s just wonderful to be out on the water and see all the activity.