Chapter 1

Basic Considerations

 

Most people would agree that it doesn’t make much sense to spend tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a boat only to find out the hard way that boat ownership and boating is not for you.

Unfortunately, thousands of people every year do just that, only to find that owing a boat was a lot more than they bargained for; that boating was not all fun-in-the-sun and chasing mermaids along palm studded beaches.

Therefore, in this opening chapter we start out by taking a hard look at what boat ownership is all about by examining the benefits, the risks and the liabilities of being a boat owner.

The Benefits

The benefits of boat ownership are pretty obvious, namely that it’s yours and you can use it and go whenever and wherever you wish.

It affords not only a recreation for singles and families, but can also serve as an excellent social venue for mixing business and pleasure, or simply pleasure alone. It meets the needs of the socialite and the loner with equal ease.

Another advantage for people who are seriously into boating is the weekend and vacation retreat that can be mobile or stationary, the proverbial floating condo.

But for many, boating becomes an avocation and a way of life, much as others take to golf, tennis or skiing.

More than merely a means of waterborne transportation, it’s a seagoing abode that is vastly more versatile than a motor home, which is severely limited as to where it can go and park.

With a boat you can go just about anywhere the water is deep and protected enough to throw out an anchor and create your own “RV park” without paying fees and being crammed together with everyone else’s undisciplined, screaming kids!

The foregoing barely scratches the possibilities. However, the would-be boat owner should be made aware that with all that freedom comes a rather hefty price.

The remainder of this chapter is devoted to discussing those unpublished price tags.