Posted on 02/24/2012 5:23:36 AM PST by ImProudToBeAnAmerican
Weekly FR Boating Thread ~ Vol. 5 ~ Feb. 24, 2012 ~ Effects of the Economy on Boating
If the boating market is a barometer of the economy - perhaps we are currently in the eye of the storm..
When the economy heads south, boating is one of the first things people stop doing, and one of the last things people start doing again when the economy warms up.
If you listed things from need to not need; food, water, clothing, shelter would be at the beginning the list, and boating would be second to last, right before owning property on the Moon, perhaps.
This duly noted, not much beats a day on the water, regardless of the current state of the turmoil on land.
As pResident Fail is apparently hell bent on running the economy aground while gleefully giggling as the cost of fuel skyrockets - I ask you, which does he despise more – our country or boaters?
While working at a boating dot com back in the day, we could not figure out why we would get tons of orders one day, and almost none the next. Up, down, up, down – not regional, weather or news related – we finally figured out our orders (mostly online) marched lockstep to the stock market – almost to the hour. When the market ticked up, people checked their investment account balance – the ‘up’ was their boat money to spend. When their account balanced dipped – no boat money.
Apparently a rising tide lifts...the boating market.
While whole fleets of boats bought on the bubble have been repo'd and marinas have more empty slips than they prefer, people are still buying and enjoying their boats.
How is the economy influencing your boating adventures?
"Twenty years from now you will be more disppointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~ Mark Twain
Launching ~ Weekly FR Boating Thread ~ Vol. 1 ~ Jan. 27, 2012
Weekly FR Boating Thread ~ Vol. 2 ~ Feb 3, 2012 ~ “Off Season”
Weekly FR Boating Thread ~ Vol. 3 ~ Feb. 10, 2012 ~ Boat Transportation
Weekly FR Boating Thread ~ Vol. 4 ~ Feb. 17, 2012 ~ Spring Projects
Please let me know how I can help you with your boating adventures, and if you would like to be added to the Weekly FR Boating Thread.
birdseye boatyard pic from atop a Burger 68’
[IMG]http://i1260.photobucket.com/albums/ii567/brilliantyachts/DSCN1670.jpg[/IMG]
I recently had an exchange with a man on twitter that said his solution to being a prepper was that he bought a boat and was living full time on it. Off the grid. I guess that is a different take on why to buy a boat.
A nice morning on the boat dock sounds like a good idea.
Weekly FR Boating thread - effect of the economy on boating.
Ping!!
Yes - as the market dipped down insurance flipped up.
Slip fees bounced way up, and are slowly coming down in some places. A full marina (with a waiting list) is a momentary monopoly - not good for boaters.
If you are not using your boat at least once a month - sell it! You can get your boat fix via charter or excursion boats.
When things get brighter, you can always buy another boat.
(Selling boats is hard, buying them is easy.)
At 3 different times I have brought my friend's 45' Cabo, twin 800 hp Manns up from Florida or the Bahamas to Boston.
One trip I remember we fueled up in the Bahamsas, $2,000+,and refueled in St Augustine, Southport, Carolina again at Atlantic city NJ, and finally in Boston.
The fuel was averaging about 2.60/gal. It cost $8,700 for that trip. At today's prices a trip like that would be around $17,000.
When I got home from that trip I took my pickup truck to the gas station and filled it up . It came to $26. What a culture shock. - Tom
Living on the boat has been my fall-back position for some time. If things go south I can retreat to the boat and live there. If that happens I do need to get it hauled from my current water because I'm land-locked for the next few years.
Regarding boating and the economy, that is absolutely true. As gas prices have gone up the number of boaters has gone down. On one hand, I hate paying so much for gas, but on the other, I like the water better when it's less crowded. We have two boats, a 22 and 50 footer. The big one uses a lot more fuel, but can also be enjoyed thoroughly in the slip. Of course, my marina is a lot like a state park, and not just 4000' of dock with a parking lot. If only the water didn't freeze it would be perfect.
For you boaters...
Google Boat+LPG or Boat+Propane or Boat+CNG...
You will find in Europe firm in the business of converting pleasure boats to these cheaper fuels. Yes availability is a problem.
However, if we can ever vote this socialist out of office, their is no telling what technological advances will not be still born or will advance without the threat of even bigger government messing with their business plans...
I unloaded my 21’ SeaFox about five years ago. I could no longer afford the marina fees and the gas for it. Plus, we were getting tired of sitting off shore, broiling in the Florida sun and pulling in nothing but junk fish. We were lucky to get as much for it as we did.
Wonder how many private blue water sailors there really are?
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