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Talk to me about boats and boating

guitardeac said:
I live in Lake Norman and I HATE MY BOAT. I grew up on this lake and grew up boating here and there is nothing I hate more than my boat. I’ve hated every boat I’ve owned. Here’s why: The kids and their friends or just your own friends want to go out on the boat Saturday. So that means YOU have to get the boat ready, loaded, are sure it’s good to go, gas it up, take the damn top off, carry all the shit down the dock to the boat such as coolers and drinks and food etc. All of which YOU paid for. Including the damn boat. Then everyone shows up 30 seconds before it’s time to head out on the lake. You’re seating your ass off from all you just did to get out there.

You spend all day out there burning a million dollars in gas, trying not to get everyone killed from the idiot boaters out here, working your ass off with the anchor and ropes and making sure everyone is having a great time. They all have a great time except YOU, and you head back to the dock. As soon as you dock it, everyone takes off and you’re left cleaning the boat, unloading crap, and snapping that fucking top back on until your fingers bleed.

I’m literally doing all of the above TODAY. And I’m pissed. As one might be able to surmise.

People say the two best days with a boat are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. I disagree. I HATED the day I bought every boat I’ve ever owned.
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You're doing it all wrong.
 
Regarding Guitar Deacs point on the snap covers.... I have one and it is a huge pain in the ass. Mine is getting pretty worn out and I have been thinking about a replacement. Anybody have any recs for covers that aren't a huge pain. Pretty much any I have ever used have been a hassle.
 
guitardeac said:
I live in Lake Norman and I HATE MY BOAT. I grew up on this lake and grew up boating here and there is nothing I hate more than my boat. I’ve hated every boat I’ve owned. Here’s why: The kids and their friends or just your own friends want to go out on the boat Saturday. So that means YOU have to get the boat ready, loaded, are sure it’s good to go, gas it up, take the damn top off, carry all the shit down the dock to the boat such as coolers and drinks and food etc. All of which YOU paid for. Including the damn boat. Then everyone shows up 30 seconds before it’s time to head out on the lake. You’re seating your ass off from all you just did to get out there.

You spend all day out there burning a million dollars in gas, trying not to get everyone killed from the idiot boaters out here, working your ass off with the anchor and ropes and making sure everyone is having a great time. They all have a great time except YOU, and you head back to the dock. As soon as you dock it, everyone takes off and you’re left cleaning the boat, unloading crap, and snapping that fucking top back on until your fingers bleed.

I’m literally doing all of the above TODAY. And I’m pissed. As one might be able to surmise.

People say the two best days with a boat are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. I disagree. I HATED the day I bought every boat I’ve ever owned.
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This is hilarious! And I have definitely witnessed this type of behavior. Having being around boats a lot I understand so if I am spending time on a friends boat I try to be a good guest - buying gas, helping clean up, bringing stuff to eat/drink, etc... A lot of people seem to be pretty clueless...
 
WFcatamount22 said:
Regarding Guitar Deacs point on the snap covers.... I have one and it is a huge pain in the ass. Mine is getting pretty worn out and I have been thinking about a replacement. Anybody have any recs for covers that aren't a huge pain. Pretty much any I have ever used have been a hassle.
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I think just get a new snap cover. I had one that was about 12 years old and then last winter I got a a guy who makes custom covers to make me a new one. Not only does it now actually keep out the water after the old one was so worn that it barely held anything back, but honestly just the new snaps make putting it on and off so much easier and I'm not tearing up my fingers. I think I've resigned myself to getting a new cover every 5-6 years at this point, definitely worth the cost.
 
my snap cover disintegrated after only 2.5 years. Costco sells a generic cover that is elastic/drawstring based and I think we're going to try that next. Currently the boat is covered by a couple of tarps tied down with bungee cords, which even for Badin Lake is a little more redneck than I want to look.
 
I mean clearly I exaggerate - it's not EVERYONE that behaves this way. And it was worse when my kids were younger and they were too little - along with their friends - to do much more than just have fun. But I swear it happens like that sometimes - where I feel like I did all the work, spent all the money, and didn't have any of the fun. I am boat-averse right now, clearly. Admittedly, I am one of those guys that people tend to take advantage of even though they may not be consciously doing it. I am not good at the word "no". My wife, however, seems to have it quite downpat.
 
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Deacon923 said:
my snap cover disintegrated after only 2.5 years. Costco sells a generic cover that is elastic/drawstring based and I think we're going to try that next. Currently the boat is covered by a couple of tarps tied down with bungee cords, which even for Badin Lake is a little more redneck than I want to look.
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Post back on how the Costco one goes. I have a tower and shit so I feel like I need to have a custom one made, but maybe the generic quality covers have gotten better.

Do you usually keep your boat covered, or is it exposed in your slip?
 
A couple of boating updates:
First, the costco cover works just OK. It's really a trailering cover and not meant to be used as a mooring cover. We are making it work with bungee cords and throwing our water carpet thing on top of it in the boat to hold it down. But it keeps the birds off the seats and was a heck of a lot cheaper than a custom cover.

Second, I will never order anything from Overton's again. I ordered some straight dock bumpers to put on my dock posts, and they sent corner bumpers which are useless to me. This morning I have been on the phone for nearly an hour trying to process a return, and their online chat doesn't work because no agents are available. Finally posted something on their Facebook which got an instant response and an agent picked up the phone... now I'm on hold again while she types stuff into her computer I guess. Their website calls this process "easy returns."
 
Also, I don't understand why Overton's, or any company, thinks that "we are experiencing a high call volume" is an excuse for crappy service. Hire more reps idiots. Have you seen the unemployment rate in this country? Seems like a lot of companies have made "we are experience a high call volume" just a standard part of their customer service recording.
 
My parents just sold their small lake house on Kerr Lake and ski boat in April as they make plans to retire in the next 5 years or so. Great fucking timing. Fortunately they are looking at buying a 35-40’ weekender as part of the retirement plan.
 
Was in Charleston last week at my daughter's - her and her husband just bought a nice used 18' Tidewater. We took it out to a beach and hung out all day one day. We were in a popular spot and near an inlet. During the course of the day I saw more gorgeous, expensive boats cruise by than you can ever imagine. Plus all of the ones we saw on the way out and the way back in. The boat culture in Charleston and the surrounding islands in amazing the amount of money people spend on boats is incredible. $250k boats are just run-of-the-mill. You don't get excited until you see the ones that are 7 figures and up...
 
Deacon923 said:
Also, I don't understand why Overton's, or any company, thinks that "we are experiencing a high call volume" is an excuse for crappy service. Hire more reps idiots. Have you seen the unemployment rate in this country? Seems like a lot of companies have made "we are experience a high call volume" just a standard part of their customer service recording.
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The two best days of hiring a CSR: the day you hire them and the day you fire them
 
scooter84 said:
Was in Charleston last week at my daughter's - her and her husband just bought a nice used 18' Tidewater. We took it out to a beach and hung out all day one day. We were in a popular spot and near an inlet. During the course of the day I saw more gorgeous, expensive boats cruise by than you can ever imagine. Plus all of the ones we saw on the way out and the way back in. The boat culture in Charleston and the surrounding islands in amazing the amount of money people spend on boats is incredible. $250k boats are just run-of-the-mill. You don't get excited until you see the ones that are 7 figures and up...
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I think a part of this is due to the fact that boats hold there value significantly better than let’s say a car would. So it’s not uncommon for people to take 20 year loans on them. All of the sudden with the right financing a 150K+ boat becomes a lot more affordable. Plus if you can sell it 5 years later for only a small loss you really aren’t doing that bad on it.

Still a really bad idea but it starts explaining why there is so many boats like that on the water.
 
WFcatamount22 said:
I think a part of this is due to the fact that boats hold there value significantly better than let’s say a car would. So it’s not uncommon for people to take 20 year loans on them. All of the sudden with the right financing a 150K+ boat becomes a lot more affordable. Plus if you can sell it 5 years later for only a small loss you really aren’t doing that bad on it.

Still a really bad idea but it starts explaining why there is so many boats like that on the water.
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Yeah there are plenty of boats built in the 80s that are still in the water, still perform well and still look good if well taken care of. A typical boat gets a tiny fraction of the hours of operation of a typical car. My lake neighbor has an 80s speed boat that still kicks ass.
 
I’ve got an ‘87 Catalina 22. We bought it 5 years ago. We used to keep in moored on a lake in Alabama and would sail at least once a month all year round. It now lives on a trailer in my yard in Florida. I need to find some gator free water to sail in but it also needs some repairs and upgrades that I’ll hopefully work on in the next few months.

I grew up sailing in NY. I had an Opti in the late 80s and then graduated to a Laser and 420s. I was a sailing instructor for a couple summers in high school. I miss sailing little dinghies like that as opposed to the 22ft swing keel, life was simpler back then.

Anyway, just introducing my self to the boating thread.
 
My parents had a 30+ year old ski boat that was great and well maintained.
 
My friend called me to tell me about huge waves in Newport Beach yesterday afternoon/early evening. Some reports were 6-8'. Others say as high as 12-15'. Roads were flooded, a couple of cars were flushed away and a few boats were pulled from their moorings.
 
guitardeac said:
I live in Lake Norman and I HATE MY BOAT. I grew up on this lake and grew up boating here and there is nothing I hate more than my boat. I’ve hated every boat I’ve owned. Here’s why: The kids and their friends or just your own friends want to go out on the boat Saturday. So that means YOU have to get the boat ready, loaded, are sure it’s good to go, gas it up, take the damn top off, carry all the shit down the dock to the boat such as coolers and drinks and food etc. All of which YOU paid for. Including the damn boat. Then everyone shows up 30 seconds before it’s time to head out on the lake. You’re seating your ass off from all you just did to get out there.

You spend all day out there burning a million dollars in gas, trying not to get everyone killed from the idiot boaters out here, working your ass off with the anchor and ropes and making sure everyone is having a great time. They all have a great time except YOU, and you head back to the dock. As soon as you dock it, everyone takes off and you’re left cleaning the boat, unloading crap, and snapping that fucking top back on until your fingers bleed.

I’m literally doing all of the above TODAY. And I’m pissed. As one might be able to surmise.

People say the two best days with a boat are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. I disagree. I HATED the day I bought every boat I’ve ever owned.
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There are two different scenarios here. The scenario with your kids and their friends - This is reality and you are being an all star dad. The scenario with your friends - They need to pull their own weight i.e. pay you for gas and bring coolers.
 
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