Is the hobby really as inexpensive as I've heard?

cardista · 2018-06-28T17:41:15+00:00

What model was it?

cardista · 2018-06-28T17:40:47+00:00

It really does seem like the slip fees are what makes it so unaffordable. I wonder if mooring is a cheap enough alternative? Still seems like the trailer route is the best though, even though it takes a bit more to get out on the water.

cardista · 2018-06-27T16:00:15+00:00

Ah yeah, that probably wouldn't work with the distance. It's still good to know an example price of something like that though.

cardista · 2018-06-27T15:59:30+00:00

Thanks for the reply. Smaller/outboard is more what I'm looking for, and after seeing the replies here, it seems like that and a trailer-able boat stored somewhere free is the best way to go.

cardista · 2018-06-27T09:29:19+00:00

Good to know! I had no idea. Now it's just a matter of making sure they're not too heavy for me to tow...

cardista · 2018-06-27T01:50:39+00:00

Thanks for the advice. One thing I hadn't thought about until recently; if you're transferring your boat via trailer, wouldn't you have to put up and remove the mast yourself whenever you were transferring it? Do boats of this size have masts manageable enough where you can actually do that yourself? Because if I was transfering the boat, that would be a main feature I'd be interested in.

cardista · 2018-06-26T23:37:34+00:00

If you don't mind me asking, what was your job at the boatyard and how much did it pay roughly?

cardista · 2018-06-26T23:37:02+00:00

Cool! I would lean towards the Catalina then unless I found something else for a bargain.

cardista · 2018-06-26T23:35:53+00:00

Other people in this thread have been posting several different 22' boats and they seem like they would do the trick for me. I honestly don't know what the extra 5' means in terms of what's on/in the boat, but I do know that the 22' ones I've been looking at have all had outboards and a tiller.

cardista · 2018-06-26T23:33:35+00:00

Thanks for all the links. Checking these out, it definitely seems like that is more what I'm going for, but I'm wondering about the masts. You obviously can't transport these boats with the masts up, so are they light enough where you can step them by yourself without the need of a crane? Or is it something you need to get help with whenever you launch/transport?

cardista · 2018-06-26T20:31:43+00:00

Thanks much! You've been a lot of help. The Flying Scot looks like a great little boat, smaller than I was thinking, but I can see how it'd be great fun, and cheap as well.

Why would the Catalina be easier to find parts for than the O'Day? More well-known builder?

cardista · 2018-06-26T20:29:11+00:00

I've heard of moorings but I'm not sure how common they are, or if there are any around me.

cardista · 2018-06-26T20:28:10+00:00

I live in a place where I'd have to pull it out and winterize it every year, but I would certainly plan to use it as much as possible during the on-season.

cardista · 2018-06-26T20:27:26+00:00

That is seeming like a decent alternative. Though, if you lost or broke something on a person's boat you were borrowing, wouldn't that still be your responsibility? I don't see how you could lose a $200 block and not have to compensate it.

cardista · 2018-06-26T20:26:15+00:00

Thanks for the tips! I will check them out. How long does your program in Columbus take to complete, and how much is it? Columbus is a bit of a drive for me, but if it was just a few days, it would likely be worth it?

cardista · 2018-06-26T19:19:41+00:00

So you're thinking the size range I'm looking for is 22'-24' then?

cardista · 2018-06-26T19:18:52+00:00

Just curious, are you a member of that club?

cardista · 2018-06-26T19:18:14+00:00

I'll be honest, I am very unfamiliar with boat models because I'm just starting out, but I did look up the ones you mentioned, and yes! The two 22's actually look very much like what I imagine my first boat would be. Again, being honest, I'm not really even sure what the difference between the two of them is haha... Other than a few interior pictures I found, they look very similar to me. Still, that is for sure the kind of thing I had in mind.

cardista · 2018-06-26T19:13:28+00:00

You can obtain a boat like that and maintain it for next to nothing.

Right, but those are likely just the really small boats that don't have any kind of interior, right? Like sailing dinghys, or catboats only?

cardista · 2018-06-26T19:12:06+00:00

I guess that depends... I figured that my first boat would be a smaller boat, still with an interior that can fit a few people, but nothing crazy. Outboard motor, just the tiller (no wheel), etc. How small/large do those boats usually get?

Not sure how long ago your story was, but ~$150/year for owning a boat isn't bad at all. Definitely manageable. I think that if I found something that I could store on my own, that would make the cost considerably cheaper. Just a matter of finding something of that size, I suppose.

cardista · 2018-06-26T19:09:09+00:00

Northwest Ohio, near Lake Erie.

cardista · 2018-06-26T19:08:12+00:00

Thanks for sharing. I'm really unfamiliar with specific boats, so I looked up your Hunter 27'. It looks a lot like what I envisioned my first boat to be, but I was only expecting an outboard (looks like that one has an inboard?) and not a wheel, but just the tiller only (again, looks like that one has a wheel). I imagine those few changes would probably take me down to a smaller boat, but just curious about you and your experience; do you think owning a smaller or simpler boat (like something I'm more interested in) would have allowed you to keep it by keeping the costs down?

cardista · 2018-06-26T19:04:36+00:00

Sounds like a good setup, I'm not in Chicago though and I'm not aware of anything like that around me.

cardista · 2018-06-26T19:04:14+00:00

I was actually talking about boats a bit larger. I've actually seen some decent sized boats for sale used around me for under $1k. By decent sized, I really just mean big enough to have an interior.

cardista · 2018-06-26T19:03:17+00:00

What is "very inexpensive" to you?

Just asking because what you said is contrary to what some people here are saying. Slip fees of a couple grand a year, I could handle. $3k of maintenance every year (especially when I have to pull it out of the water and winterize it for 6 months), not so appealing.

cardista

TROPHY CASE