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Talk me into/out of buying a boat

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bluelifer

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I'm thinking of about a 20' pontoon with enough hp to drag a few rugrats around on a tube. Plenty of room for the fam and a Coleman full of cool pops and various lunch meats. Might even be able to talk the helpmate into doing a little "night fishing" from time to time.

I'm on the edge, so here's your chance to push me over or reel me in a bit. Tell my why I should pull the trigger, or get my head out of my anus.
 
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crazyqx83_rivals88013

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bluelifer said:
I'm thinking of about a 20' pontoon with enough hp to drag a few rugrats around on a tube. Plenty of room for the fam and a Coleman full of cool pops and various lunch meats. Might even be able to talk the helpmate into doing a little "night fishing" from time to time.

I'm on the edge, so here's your chance to push me over or reel me in a bit. Tell my why I should pull the trigger, or get my head out of my anus.
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Because said kids will refuse to tube behind a ******* pontoon boat.
 
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We-Todd-Did

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I've owned bass boats, not pontoons, but I can attest the fact that the two days line is pretty accurate.

The upside to a pontoon is that they resell pretty well. If you've already got a tow vehicle I don't think you could get burned on one too bad, if at all. Enjoy.
 
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WayneDougan_rivals170043

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Has to be a factor of how close you are to the body of water where you will be using it and what that body of water is.

I live in Louisville and I wouldn't want to dip a toe in anything downstream of Cincy. But if I lived within 30 min of say Lake Cumberland, then sure, having a boat would be nice.
 
Deeeefense

Deeeefense

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We've had a pontoon for 9 years now and really enjoy it and yes we have used it to tow a tube with kids. It's a 21 foot Sedona with a 90 HP Yamaha 2 stroke and has plenty of speed for this. The engine requires very little maintenance, but it does chug the gas - about 5 gph at cruise. The comfort, space and steady ride are really nice compared to other types of boats. The biggest issue is keeping the mildew off the seat. I have found the Starbrite products very good for this.

I have had several boats, both power and sailing and the 2 best days rule has applied to most all of them except the pontoon.
 
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bluelifer

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We-Todd-Did said:
I've owned bass boats, not pontoons, but I can attest the fact that the two days line is pretty accurate.

The upside to a pontoon is that they resell pretty well. If you've already got a tow vehicle I don't think you could get burned on one too bad, if at all. Enjoy.
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Good to go on the tow vehicle. I've been told the best 2 days line from enough people to know there's some truth to it for a lot of folks. I figure if I get tired of it or end up not using it, I'll just pass it along to the next sucker.

WayneDougan said:
Has to be a factor of how close you are to the body of water where you will be using it and what that body of water is.

I live in Louisville and I wouldn't want to dip a toe in anything downstream of Cincy. But if I lived within 30 min of say Lake Cumberland, then sure, having a boat would be nice.
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Definitely a consideration. I'm less than 1 hr to Malone, Nolin and Rough River, and just over an hr to Barkley. No way I'm doing anything in that nasty *** Ohio River.
 
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RacerX.ksr

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A boat is a hole in the water that you throw money into. As long as your hole isn't too big, and you have enough money to throw some away, you'll be fine.

Get a four stoke motor.
 
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UKGrad93

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My family had boats when I was a kid. Our pontoon was a piece of junk, but fun as hell to load up a bunch of friends and go swimming for the day. Dad bought a place on Lake Beshears.

My brother lives at the lake now and has a pontoon. Great fun. But my dad & brother were mechanics, so when something went wrong, they could fix it.

The next consideration is storage. My brother's boat stays in the lake all summer. He has access to a place where he can launch it. Dad never took the boat out. Hauling a pontoon on a trailer isn't something I'd want to do often.

I would love to have access to a boat, but I have no place to store one (would have to rent storage), and I can't work on them. I'd have to pay someone else.

I think those are some key questions to ask yourself. Also maybe consider your kids summer schedule. My brother & I gave up baseball because the lake was more fun. That might not work for some.
 
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krazykats

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Yes you should, and realize it goes either way. You either love and it's the best decision you made or you hate it. It really all depends on your usage and your main location of usage.

Sadly people go into a boat purchase bright eyed and thinking about all the lakes and all the fun.

If you can think of multiple uses(fishing, family, vacation etc) that you will actually center you and the family around then by all means you will use it enough to make it worth while.

On the flip side if you think it seems cool but really don't have plan other than maybe the family would like a few days at the lake it most likely will end up as a loss for you.

Can't explain why it's like that other than maybe a pool grows into a quicker less hassle option to swim or it becomes a lot of maintenance to take/bring home every time etc etc

I've gone out on a boat twice this year already and my wife's family owns a camper and 1/2 acre at nolin as well as a fish and ski boat and a pontoon. My family(wife and 2 boys with a 3rd on the way) are pressuring me to buy one and I'm holding out. Her parents idea is to trade both boats in on a tri-toon 30' boat.

My master plan is to buy 2 jet skis and hopefully a tri-toon/jet ski combo will get me out of the boat. If not at least I got the fun toys first because I'll never justify them after a boat.
 
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bluelifer

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UKGrad93 said:
The next consideration is storage. My brother's boat stays in the lake all summer. He has access to a place where he can launch it. Dad never took the boat out. Hauling a pontoon on a trailer isn't something I'd want to do often.
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This is probably my main concern so far. I've hauled several things over the years, but a pontoon just looks huge on a trailer. I have plenty of indoor storage at home, but would probably consider renting something on or near the water during the summer.
 
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Levibooty

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The time requirements for a boat that are not fun and entertainment are considerable unless you pay somebody to do all that and then it is still quite a bit. My recommendation is rent a pontoon if you do not have a dock to use for the season. Putting a pontoon in the water is not too bad but taking one out can be a pain in the rear. They do not always load as they should and if people are waiting on you as you repeatedly back down into the water to reposition your boat they can get inpatient.

I enjoy a pontoon boat myself but have never own one. I do not want a dock as they can be a real pain also. I have a fishing boat and can leave my house with everything in my boat I need, in 15 minutes my truck is parked and I am pulling away from the ramp. If I have family gatherings I have rented pontoons and have been very happy with that outcome. Not as plush but just as much fun.

My neighbor has a pontoon and he spends a lot of time keeping it up and asks for my help quite often even though he pays a boat dealer to do most of the maintenance. I simply prefer to spend more of my time doing other things than keeping a boat up.

One last tip---DO NOT buy your fuel at the marina unless you simply have to. It is quite a bit more expensive there. My buddy also has a Sea Ray and I've seen his daughter blow out $400. in gas on one week-end.
 
anthonys735

anthonys735

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Actually I always enjoy boats. Grew up on them pretty often. Enjoy fishing and really like the lake. If you have a good lake close, the money to deal with them and enjoy it... why not?

Lex and Lou are just not convenient for boats.
 
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UKGrad93

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My neighbor rents storage at a local marina. They put the boat in and out of the water for her, she has to call & give them 1/2 hr notice. I don't know what the fee is, but it seems better than hauling a boat around.

If the boat stays out, the sun will wreck the upholstery. Factor new seats into the equation every few years or get a good cover and use it.
 
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dgtatu01

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We had a boat when we first got married. We enjoyed it, but did not get our money's worth. One big piece of advice I would give is to buy one used. Especially a pontoon. Even if the engine has been shoddily taken care of the price of a new motor is less than the haircut on the first 2 years of a new boat. You will use it less than you think, but every weekend we took ours out and spent the day on the lake I did feel like I had been on a short vacation so it was nice. It is also something your friends will actually want to go do with you, so that is nice also.
 
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august-west

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WildcatfaninOhio said:
Never buy a boat. Make friends with someone that already owns a boat.

Same advise applies to backyard swimming pools.
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This man knows of what he speaks. Especially considering you an hour away from most bodies of water on which you want to head out on. Eventually it will be a hassle to load it up, drive an hour, spend 30 minutes getting into the water and out to your destination. Then do it again to head home. Doesn't sound appealing to me but to each their own I guess.
 
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Catman100

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Rented a pontoon on Cave Run Lake last summer for the day for around 3 bills. It was an older one with a top and a slide and not sure how fast it went but we had an absolute blast. No grill on board so we had cold cuts and chips and snacks and it was a great time.

We are also considering buying a boat, but as pointed out by many others in this thread, there are plenty of reasons not to. Living in Lexington I would be hard pressed to store it in my hood, and I am sure that leaving it at any lake would be a nice expense. It comes down to how many times will you actually use it? We are sitting here on the first of June and can't rent another one until mid July due to other family plans. Hard for me to pull the trigger for that little bit of use.

Try renting one this summer every time you are able to get away, and see if it is worth it to spend the cash on a buy.
 
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ukalumni00

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Jun 22, 2005
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If you have kids and live near a body of water and will use ALOT then buying a boat can be great. I bought a new pontoon, rarely used it, but I do not regret buying it. We had fun when we had it but it's a big expense. Sold it very quickly and actually got a good price for it. That said, no longer a fan of pontoons. If I ever buy a boat again I am getting a good deck boat. Has plenty of room to party on but also handles much better on the water. Got sick and tired of the pontoon giving me a concussion every time a boat went by us. Trying to drive it through waves and all was a pain. We had a 115 motor so it moved fast enough to ski and all on, but I would go the route of a deck boat like a Hurricane. Not real expensive if you buy one used, moves much easier on the water, and has enough room to party and fish on.

That all said, if you are not going to use much and/or do not have extra money to spend on a boat, far and away the best route to go is renting one . If you just want to pull the kids around on a tube then a newer jet ski is an option but they get boring fast. 4 cylinder motors are a must these days.

Boats, jet skis, etc are only as good as how much you use them. As long as you do not go bankrupt buying one and can deal with the extra costs of a boat they can be a lot of fun. To each their own.
 
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TriangleUKCat

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Purchased a Triton Bayboat when living in Charleston with little experience operating a boat in general and despite warnings about how ridiculous upkeep can be. Sometimes early on asked why I didn't follow Anth's ubiquitous and accurate quote above about having a friend with a boat but got sucked into the whole lifestyle thing that those friends seemed to enjoy.

Boat held up really well down there considering and I took it out all the time. Even if you avoid a lot of the common problems or dumb **** (ran it up on an oyster bed once, which was terrible), you're still going to drop money all the time on it though. Have to spend the time to really clean the thing or it can go downhill in a hurry.

When we moved to Raleigh, we stored the boat at my wife's family's (****** aka "rustic") cabin at a lake in southern Virginia ~ an hour away. Use it for early morning/evening fishing, going around with family the middle of the day, etc. Boat has become part of what we all do as a family in Spring-Fall and have lots of great memories with it. It's fun but a lot of work.

Just know what you're getting into money/time wise and learn to enjoy the rest of it. Embrace that and you'll love it. If not, you'll ask yourself wtf just happened and it's a nightmare.
 
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80 Proof

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Jan 3, 2003
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My dad has a ranger that we split costs/maintenance on and I have a jonboat we use for river fishing and duck hunting. We've had countless days better than the day either were bought, and neither will be getting sold anytime soon. The day I bought the jonboat actually sucked, it was in bad shape and I drove it to lexington from Shelbyville on two dry rotted tires that were flat when I got to it. The lights on the trailer didn't work and I never got over 45 on the interstate. I've nearly completely refurbished it at this point.

I even really enjoy the couple of days each winter that Dad and I spend working on the ranger getting it ready for the next season.

I'll never not own a boat.
 
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