Blame it on my day job, but this got me thinking as I pondered the benefits of boat ownership compared to other investments that aren’t nearly as rewarding. We all have coulda-shoulda-woulda stories about money and investing. You know, that red-hot stock you never saw coming. Or your brother-in-law’s stupid business venture you lost a bundle on. Or that now-valuable collectible you tossed out years ago. Some financial flubs are easily shrugged off. But others can’t be forgotten quickly, because the dollar amounts end in way too many zeroes.
For me, the one surefire investment that has paid off tenfold is my venture into boating years ago. Our boat has grown with our family and like many of you, our first pontoon was quite basic with just enough horsepower to get us to the sandbar (and on a good day, back to the launch ramp).
Looking back now as we’ve traded up to keep pace with our kids and their activities over the years, I continue to see a great return on our investment. The advantages, benefits and just pure joy boating has brought my family outweigh the costs by a country mile. I’d like to think my wife and I are raising the next generation of boaters, but if nothing else, we’re getting the most of our time together with our young family as we unfortunately won’t be in this stage of life forever. As my teenage kids continue to grow, it’s getting harder and harder to find something we can all do together and more importantly something we all actually enjoy doing together; that’s why boating makes so much sense.
My kids love the water and look forward to our times on the boat and I must confess I really enjoy the “super cool dad” status I reach in the summer months as the neighborhood kids suddenly become a lot friendlier to me.
The biggest financial hurdle to boat ownership is of course buying and then maintaining it. Once you’ve found a reasonable payment plan that works for you and your budget the next step is just to enjoy it. The current price of gas may influence how far you venture out, but the cost is minimal if any, to take extra kids or entire families with you when you’re already planning on going.
During the summer months we go out boating as often as we can and on the majority of those outings we have someone else with us. My kids love taking turns inviting friends and we love introducing the boating lifestyle to them. We used to take one particular family with us a lot, but we no longer do. The reason? They had so much fun they bought their own boat and we see them at the lake making their own memories with their children and making their own investment count. To the group of investors who understandably regret paying $5K for Twinkies, all I can say is, that would have made a better down payment on a pontoon. Just say’n.
