[terryjoe]

I am not sure who you are trying to convince that owning a boat is expensive. It is! I believe your figuring might somewhat skewed though.

Just like a purchase of anything with a motor in it I have always asked questions about future maintenance and costs prior to saying "I'll take it"! I tried to convince my daughters not to buy the used BMW they had their eyes set on because of the expence of parts and maintenance. They found out the hard way when it didn't pass emmisions. The parts needed to fix it cost as much as the car cost. I found used parts at a junk yard that were affordable. They saw afterwards how expensive it was to own the car.

My point is that I was aware that my boat was going to cost me more then I expected at the begining no matter how much research I did before buying it. All of people I have met have told me it was just a hole in the water that I would throw money into. However, I feel it makes it all worthwhile when I am out on the boat and see a fantastic sunset or make new friends. I don't even think of how much I have spent to make our 33 year old boat comfortable, reliable, and enjoyable. I like being able to have the boat ready to go out without having to haul everything to the boat and not have to worry about being back at a certain time because that is how long it has been rented for. If I want to stay out an extra day I can because it's mine. If you think it's too expensive that is fine. Sell you boat and rent someone else's.