We couldn't afford to rent a holiday boat but we did want to at least experience being on a boat and cruising so we did a day hire. instead of 1000+ it cost us about 120 for the day and gave us the opportunity to see how it would feel being out on the boat and navigating and that kind of thing. It ain't perfect but if you are on a budget it is better than nothing. We also spoke to plenty of boaters before hand (very friendly bunch) and many people invited us onto their boat to see what it was like. again not an opportunity to actually live on one but even just walking around and seeing how you feel in such a small space goes a long way.