Keep or move on?

[BlkGS]

I bought my 07 s 230 a few years ago and have loved it. At the time we lived in a smaller town near a nice lake. We paid just over 100 a month to dry store it at a marina, and it was great. Fast forward, we moved to Florida for my work, and our new home won't let us store the boat cuz hoa. Marinas here are wicked expensive and very offshore boat centric.

So we are at a crossroads. The wife thinks we won't use it due to needing to trailer and salt flush after every use. In addition, we are looking at starting a family and so she likely won't want to go out with a baby or while pregnant. It also will need some work, a new Bimini top, a gps for the larger waterways, seats being redone... Etc. To top it all off, the trailer needs rebuilt, as the axles and springs are kinda rusty and need brakes installed. I'd guess 4 to 5k in total.

Our storage is good till the end of the year, but my truck will need replacing soon. If we decide to sell, I can get a sport sedan, VS an suv if we don't. I think it'd be nice to have it here, trips to the keys etc would be awesome, but the wife is right it will be more a pain to use it, and we need some upgrades.

So what do yall think? Try to capitalize on the Covid market and sell? Fix it up and bring it down and see how it goes? It has low hours(50ish), but needs sanded and polished, and the seats redone and a new Bimini. What would be a reasonable asking price? Any sage advice?

 

[HangOutdoors]

If it was me in your situation, I would sell it off, get the premium price while you can. Sooner or later the premium prices for boats is going to come down, and I feel substantially.

Focus on starting your family and other things. When the time is right, you will know when to purchase another boat or not, when it is right for you. Lots of other things you can do in Florida to keep you occupied, plus new additions to the family will definitely consume your time.

 

[anmut]

Yep, sell high while you can and when you're family is ready use that cash for a nice down payment on something new. First year with an infant is pretty intense - you won't see much boating time. But by the time they're 3-4 years old, they'll enjoy a new boat!

 

[swatski]

I hate to say it, I really do but.... yeah, I would sell while it's in (relatively) good shape and the used market is hot.
Nothing kills older boats faster than lack of use.

--

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

IMHO,

Keep it.

Your boat is paid for. All you would be paying in the near term is storage.

Your boat has 50 hours on it?!!! Pretty much a new boat hours wise. From your description you can rebuild things that need it, and upgrade your electronics for roughly 1/10th the cost of a new boat.

You can easily rig up a tank, perhaps 50 gallons-$100, and 12V pump-$50, with enough water in it to flush your engine that would sit in the bed of a truck. You could fill it at the house before leaving and after flushing and washing the boat down would be easy to take out of the truck and set aside.

On another note, you cannot store your boat at your new house, but why couldn’t you just bring the boat there after an outing, flush it, wash it, throw the cover on it and take it back to storage. Perhaps not ideal, but you’d have your boat and all the good times that go with it for a pittance of what a new boat would cost in the future.

So yeah, keep it. Investigate your options more thoroughly and Im sure you will come up with a routine that is not that much of a pain. Do your fixing up and upgrades a bit at a time and enjoy your paid for boat. Sounds like there are plenty of new adventures to be had!

 

[BlkGS]

That's likely what I would do (as my neighbors do). Bring home, clean up, then trailer back to storage. You also reminded me, I need a new trailering cover for it too.

I could definitely fix it for less than I'd spend on a new boat, and honestly, I don't really like the new ones as much. They almost all have dual captains chairs, and I don't like that, I'm a big fan of the lounger.

I've given thought to keeping it in NC and just taking it out on trips to NC to see family. But, I do really want to take it down to the keys and maybe the Bahamas, that was a big reason I got it, and haven't done so yet, lol.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

That's likely what I would do (as my neighbors do). Bring home, clean up, then trailer back to storage. You also reminded me, I need a new trailering cover for it too.

I could definitely fix it for less than I'd spend on a new boat, and honestly, I don't really like the new ones as much. They almost all have dual captains chairs, and I don't like that, I'm a big fan of the lounger.

I've given thought to keeping it in NC and just taking it out on trips to NC to see family. But, I do really want to take it down to the keys and maybe the Bahamas, that was a big reason I got it, and haven't done so yet, lol.

There you go! When in Rome do as the Romans do! Maybe chat it up with a couple of your neighbors who are boaters in your situation?

May I humbly suggest that you go fetch your boat and go and use it as soon as possible... go out and enjoy yourself! You live in one of the best boating locations in the US.

 

[Babin Farms]

I bought my 07 s 230 a few years ago and have loved it. At the time we lived in a smaller town near a nice lake. We paid just over 100 a month to dry store it at a marina, and it was great. Fast forward, we moved to Florida for my work, and our new home won't let us store the boat cuz hoa. Marinas here are wicked expensive and very offshore boat centric.

So we are at a crossroads. The wife thinks we won't use it due to needing to trailer and salt flush after every use. In addition, we are looking at starting a family and so she likely won't want to go out with a baby or while pregnant. It also will need some work, a new Bimini top, a gps for the larger waterways, seats being redone... Etc. To top it all off, the trailer needs rebuilt, as the axles and springs are kinda rusty and need brakes installed. I'd guess 4 to 5k in total.

Our storage is good till the end of the year, but my truck will need replacing soon. If we decide to sell, I can get a sport sedan, VS an suv if we don't. I think it'd be nice to have it here, trips to the keys etc would be awesome, but the wife is right it will be more a pain to use it, and we need some upgrades.

So what do yall think? Try to capitalize on the Covid market and sell? Fix it up and bring it down and see how it goes? It has low hours(50ish), but needs sanded and polished, and the seats redone and a new Bimini. What would be a reasonable asking price? Any sage advice?

Reading through the post I believe you have your mind made up already and might not know it.
My thought is if you really enjoy boating and can make it as easy as possible to flush/clean after a use, find somewhere reasonable for storage and slowly start to put money into it then keep it, but if you want to do everything at once then you are going to be on the ragged edge with $$ due to baby and vehicle upgrade.

 

[Scottintexas]

Have you read your boat hours with a YDS ? it's the only way I would trust,

what we don't know and what is really important is your financial position, I would guess since money is even being brought into the equation it's a heavy part of the equation,

Are you ok with $15K (boat value) sitting in a lot with you paying monthly storage for a year without use, then a year or two from now you're going to have to fix the seats, another $4k, then the trailer, insurance, then whatever happens because it's been sitting and not to forget your tow vehicle that your not even using to tow, that's a lot of outlay/investment for something and more importantly your wife is already thinking of selling,

If money is not tight I would keep it, it's hard to find a good boat your happy with and no telling in three years what a similar one will cost on the other side, kids are expensive and you can't gamble your families happiness/well being on having a boat, financial issues are a great contributor to family strife,

I would sell and I think you're already past the prime market, get settled in for a year or two with the new baby, rent a boat for a day if you want to out that bad and see where you're at in 3 years,








.

 

[HangOutdoors]

Sometimes we hold on to things just in case or beyond what we should because you have a notion or a feeling or hope something will be the way that you think it will, when you already see that it probably won't. I have a whole lot of things in my garage as well as other toys that do not get used much or at all, just because. Should of broomed them a while ago.

 

[BlkGS]

The money isn't a huge concern. Obviously I wouldn't mind not having the expense, but I don't think it's going to be an issue, even with a possible baby. It would suck to have it tied up in something that is going to get worse due to non use, but it's not the driving factor.

What is the bigger issue is the replacement for my truck. I think that my truck may have damaged the lifters and cam, it's still running ok... But it makes some not healthy noises. Plus it's not big enough for a car seat. So it needs replaced either way. The question is with what, if I kee the boat, that puts me in something like a jeep srt, possibly Durango srt or rt, or Mercedes ml63 or gl63. If I sell it, a charger scat pack, subaru sti, etc. The sedans are better dynamically, and slightly better on gas, but lose the towing ability and some space.

I'm torn. The wife doesn't think we will use it, but I dunno. We would definitely use it differently, before we had a 5 to 10 minute jaunt to the sandbar where we would just park and chill, it wouldn't be like that here, we would likely have much longer trips to sand bars and such. And probably do some fishing. But we have also stayed very busy down here without having the boat, so she could be right, not that I'll ever admit to that.

 

[Babin Farms]

The wife doesn't think we will use it, but I dunno. We would definitely use it differently, before we had a 5 to 10 minute jaunt to the sandbar where we would just park and chill, it wouldn't be like that here, we would likely have much longer trips to sand bars and such. And probably do some fishing. But we have also stayed very busy down here without having the boat, so she could be right, not that I'll ever admit to that.

Good chance to prove your wife wrong ? ?

 

[WildCatFan54]

I'm torn. The wife doesn't think we will use it, but I dunno. We would definitely use it differently, before we had a 5 to 10 minute jaunt to the sandbar where we would just park and chill, it wouldn't be like that here, we would likely have much longer trips to sand bars and such. And probably do some fishing. But we have also stayed very busy down here without having the boat, so she could be right, not that I'll ever admit to that.
[/QUOTE]

Rule #1 : The wife is ALWAYS right !! ??
Rule #2 : When the wife is wrong , see rule #1.

 

[14SX190]

OP where did you move too.
I'm in Miami and have run into every situation you have described

I'll take you and wife out and remind her why you need Your boat. its Paid, it works, just needs some TLC
As long as you can do part of maintenance, I can give you a hand.
I have upholster, trailer repair guy, and live on half acre with out HOA we can work on it.

I have WRX but not comfy with kids in back who are giants or you are tall and take space for person in back.

If your like me and only drive manuals with AWD then Jeep is way to go, Sedan wise A4 or BMW.
I was considering Tacoma if manual is available to replace my underpowered 2000 jeep wrangler

They have dry storage lots all over but would need to trailer to ramp if it not an inconvenient. But being at marina here is 400 to 500 a month. It would save a car payment though???

Your small invest will payoff a new boat over and over unless your more keen to take a season or two off and get back into a newer used or go new

I am not a fan of all that electronics. I prefer mechanical everything.

Also, depending where your boating , you'll never need a chart plotter. Just be ready for trip to Bimini

 

[BlkGS]

OP where did you move too.
I'm in Miami and have run into every situation you have described

I'll take you and wife out and remind her why you need Your boat. its Paid, it works, just needs some TLC
As long as you can do part of maintenance, I can give you a hand.
I have upholster, trailer repair guy, and live on half acre with out HOA we can work on it.

I have WRX but not comfy with kids in back who are giants or you are tall and take space for person in back.

If your like me and only drive manuals with AWD then Jeep is way to go, Sedan wise A4 or BMW.
I was considering Tacoma if manual is available to replace my underpowered 2000 jeep wrangler

They have dry storage lots all over but would need to trailer to ramp if it not an inconvenient. But being at marina here is 400 to 500 a month. It would save a car payment though???

Your small invest will payoff a new boat over and over unless your more keen to take a season or two off and get back into a newer used or go new

I am not a fan of all that electronics. I prefer mechanical everything.

Also, depending where your boating , you'll never need a chart plotter. Just be ready for trip to Bimini

I appreciate the offer. We are up in Melbourne near the Indian River lagoon.. Lots of great aquatic adventures to be had, and not too far from the keys and a hop off point to Bimini.

The more I think about it, the less likely it feels like I would really drive a sedan long term with a family. At that point, really no reason not to just keep the boat, and bring it down here.

 

[14SX190]

I appreciate the offer. We are up in Melbourne near the Indian River lagoon.. Lots of great aquatic adventures to be had, and not too far from the keys and a hop off point to Bimini.

The more I think about it, the less likely it feels like I would really drive a sedan long term with a family. At that point, really no reason not to just keep the boat, and bring it down here.

No and Yes.
Your further north of me ~2hrs. So it will take you longer if you went past Islamorada or marathon.
If you launch from John Llyod you can leave Port Everglades and go South to Haulover and I'll take you around.
Or next time I go North we can meet at the park. and hang out on Wiskey Creek
I launch in Key largo and go South and come back North to avoid traffic leaving and time it takes in car to go South on US1

Definitely have better approach leaving East to Bimini vs leaving from Miami. Moat least in Ft lauderdale.

Aren't you a two car household anyways? You become everyones friend in a truck. A good family hauler is like the Dodge you mentioned.
I like the Jeep Grand Cherokee since its 4x4 but I'm sure top of the line Dodge SRT is AWD? I hate that it doesn't come in manuals.

 

[Dave burke]

I’m with you. Sedans and families don’t mix well. I’ve had SUVs for the last 20 years (well one van but I don’t count that!) and will never go without again unless I get a truck.

 

[OCMD]

Money is not a concern for me, ever. But I would sell the boat. Clean it up real nice, and you should get top dollar since the market (has been don't know if it is now) hot. You won't use it with an infant. Unload it, and in 3 or 4 years take your time looking for another, as the market will be flooded with folks who bought in the pandemic at top dollar, and find they do not use them. With a deep recession on the horizon, it will be a buyer's market for sure 2-3 years. I wish I could get my boss to order the sale of mine, I think we went out twice this season and I could fetch more than I paid for it years ago.

 

[2kwik4u]

I would keep it. It's paid for and the cost to maintain it isn't terribly high in terms of cash or time.

Keep in mind perfect is the enemy of good enough. You don't have to fix all the things at once. Make a list, then work through them as time and money allow. Lots and Lots and Lots of people go out every day on boats that aren't perfect, and they continue to have a great time. There are a TON of amazing boats on this site, and that (for me at least) has led me to lose focus on the task at hand; getting on the water. I might not have the best stereo, the cleanest boat, or the best of the best of this that or the other thing, but our boat gets us on the water, and we have a good time. Boat needs to be seaworthy, but beyond that it's all details and luxuries.

Don't let the baby deter you from using it. They make infant life vests to keep them safe, you need a decent bimini top, and a 12V fan to keep them shaded and cool. Then it's like any other outing with them. Both of my boys have bee non the water since they were ~6wks old. You have the normal "take all the things" with you the first few seasons, and you do more sitting and floating than watersports, but as they turn the corner into/past toddler they're FAR more tolerant and portable. Mine have learned to LOVE the water and the time on the boat. The biggest issue here is you have BOTH want to do it, as it's a bit more work than say, going to the park.

We kept our boat offsite for the first kid. We even lived in a condo at the time. We would get home from a LONG Saturday late in the evening, and I would cover the boat and park it beside the building. Go in and get some sleep, then get right back on it first thing in the morning. Never had a problem with the HOA aside from once or twice, and it was easy to deal with. If you're taking care of the boat, then she will be handling the kiddo (or vice versa). Neither of you can resent that time (couple hours a trip out) to make it work. Open and honest communication here is key. Don't force it.

As to your vehicle replacement.......I'm a big fan of the Dodge Durango's. You can get the new R/T with the 5.7 and the "Tow and Go" package. Big brakes, better exhaust, additional cooling, and seating for 6. Should run plenty fast for you, be sporty to drive, and still drag the boat around no problem.

Just some thoughts. These thoughts and $5 will get you a cup of coffee, so take them for what they're worth. You gotta do what's right for you.

 

[Julian]

Seems like the wife is telling you to sell it.

Personally I'd keep it....and get boating before the baby comes along. We boated with an infant no problem. But if you are hankering for something newer....then sell and buy a boat when you are ready to start again.