Own vs. rent? Any suggestion?

[SoFL_JetBoatWanaB]

OK so when I was in high school, I was very involved with sailing boats and windsurfing. Years gone by, college, family, dogs, work, etc… and about a year ago I decided to get back to boating. First thing… like a good Florida boy, I took the ILearnToBoat.com online course to update my knowledge and refresh my memory on boating rules and to get the official “Florida Boating License” well sort of, not required in Florida but highly recommended. I do recommend the boating course to everyone. When passing the course, my wife said she is getting me (Us? Her?) a gift of 6 hours JetBoat rental on BoatSetter.com (AirBnB of boats…) that has tons of boats including some JetBoats in South Florida. Well… we had an amazing time with this AR210, although my wife prefers the dual captain chairs… So we have rented a few more time and love it - see pictures from our last outing on the amazing Haulover/Bal Harbour sandbar - see the amazing color of the sandbar water… what can I say more, right? I am even getting some of my (old? rusty?) boating skills back, but still need more practicing docking….




OK, here is the million dollar question:
Should we keep on renting or buy a JetBoat?

Was looking at 195S and love the 2023 brown cushions, but everyone is telling me to keep on renting and not to buy. They say that the best two days of having a boat is the day you buy it and the day you sell it… is it?
If I buy, I was looking at getting the boat to the garage and seen the posting to lower the tower and also replace the trailer tires to 205/65R14 to get it into my 80” garage door - How to get your 2016+ AR192 or AR195 in a garage less than 7'.

Also, we are living in a gated HOA that no one (so far) is getting in and out with a boat, although we do have a few jet skis, but a boat on trailer is much larger so may raise some issues…, so I may need to store it somewhere and in South Florida it gets hot in the summer so undercover is a must, indoor preferred… so more $$$

OK I get it that having “your own” is not the same as renting, but with renting, when I bring the boat back exhausted, I just hand it over and go home without the need to get it out of the water, wash it, etc. On the flip of it, I’m very handy so I love fixing things and this can be a good opportunity, especially that we are empty nesters now… Also, when renting, I can’t decide on the spot, need to book at least 24hrs prior and if weather is bad, I need to ask to postpone it and then if the next date also has bad weather, makes is more complicated to keep on pushing the rental…

Any advice folks?

 

[drewkaree]

@adrianp89 says keep renting his boat

Seriously though, I'd keep renting while you hash out what storage would add to your costs - very important for you to determine if you could even do work on the boat where you'd be storing it, some allow it, others do not, and you said you can't sneak it past the HOA, so you'll need to factor in whether you'll be forced to pay someone else for service if your storage won't allow it.

While you're sorting all that out, you'll get more experience on the boat, and see if you're up for the jet boat life. 24 hours isn't that big a deal to sort out your rental, you'd be planning at least 12 hours earlier anyway, in my experience, and you'll be able to see how good you are at checking the weather for a rental, which is a habit that will transfer to ownership. Guys are supposed to get more interested in the weather as they get older anyway, did you miss that memo? Get on it man! LOL

Insurance is another cost to price out, and it's a hidden one. Not sure how much it would run you, but I can tell you that mine has been stable until last year, when it seems every person in the world got hit with a price increase on their insurance - me, I never even made a claim, and yet they socked me for it. Trust me, I looked around, and NOBODY was even at the same price as I paid last year. Add that to your equation.

I'd keep renting if I were in your situation, but let us know when you buy, so we can help empty your wallet with you.

 

[SoFL_JetBoatWanaB]

@adrianp89 says keep renting his boat

Seriously though, I'd keep renting while you hash out what storage would add to your costs - very important for you to determine if you could even do work on the boat where you'd be storing it, some allow it, others do not, and you said you can't sneak it past the HOA, so you'll need to factor in whether you'll be forced to pay someone else for service if your storage won't allow it.

While you're sorting all that out, you'll get more experience on the boat, and see if you're up for the jet boat life. 24 hours isn't that big a deal to sort out your rental, you'd be planning at least 12 hours earlier anyway, in my experience, and you'll be able to see how good you are at checking the weather for a rental, which is a habit that will transfer to ownership. Guys are supposed to get more interested in the weather as they get older anyway, did you miss that memo? Get on it man! LOL

Insurance is another cost to price out, and it's a hidden one. Not sure how much it would run you, but I can tell you that mine has been stable until last year, when it seems every person in the world got hit with a price increase on their insurance - me, I never even made a claim, and yet they socked me for it. Trust me, I looked around, and NOBODY was even at the same price as I paid last year. Add that to your equation.

I'd keep renting if I were in your situation, but let us know when you buy, so we can help empty your wallet with you.

Thanks man! Yes, looked at Progressive, about $900/yr
Is that reasonable?

 

[AZMark]

Storage issues are a big deal. It makes it an extra pain every time you want to use the boat and there may start to be days where you don’t go out because you don’t want to deal with it.
If you own it and can afford to do it right where it’s easy to get on and off the water whenever you want then that will make ownership much more worthwhile than renting.
I pay $500/mo for insurance, but we don’t have hurricanes.

 

[drewkaree]

Thanks man! Yes, looked at Progressive, about $900/yr
Is that reasonable?

No idea on your insurance rates. To me, it sounds high, but we've only got a 4-5 month season up here, so our rates are a bit less than yours for some reason. It really does feel like they should be at least half of what you were quoted, or less, but the insurance companies don't feel that way.

 

[adrianp89]

I say buy my 210 lol

$900 is high, try Geico should be half that.

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

You have to run the numbers yourself and decide what makes sense for how YOU would use the boat. It takes a lot of usage to financially justify buying and maintaining a boat. Not to mention the time commitment.

Seems to me that one advantage of rental is that you can rent different types of boats to do the activities that you wish for that day and then rent something else the next day.

Anyone who tells you that the best two days of boat ownership is when you buy and sell a boat should never buy a boat as the best days of boat ownership happens when one uses their boat.

Jim

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

You left out how much it is costing you to rent that 210 in your pictures.

The following are the questions my friend put to me when I said I wanted to buy a boat.

What are you going to use the boat for?
Where are you going to use the boat?
How often are you going to use the boat? (My friend was trying to get me to just rent a boat when I wanted to go out)
How many people are you expecting to go with you? (Be honest with yourself)

My friend also said to get the smallest boat that will get the job done. When I was looking at the FSH boats my friend was kind of pushing me towards the 19’ version, but I said that I wanted the 21’ to have the flexibility to take a few couples out occasionally AND I wanted the larger amount of storage, and I wanted twin engines. After a year of owning my 210 FSH my friend said he was glad I got the 21’ version.

So here I am with three and a half seasons of boat ownership and roughly 550 hours on the engines, add at least another 1200 hours of trolling motor only time onto that and I’m pushing on 1800 hours minimum that I’ve spent on my boat. I keep my boat in my heated shop during the cold (as low as -25°) winter months and parked in front of my shop during the season, my closest lake is 10 mins away, so storage and use is convenient. So ownership for me was far far less money than renting, not to mention the trips I take to other states with my boat.

As far as your HOA goes, you need to find out whether or not you can bring it in for four hours or whatever to clean it up after use. That’s just one of the down sides of living in a HOA area along with the many pluses. Seems like there are places for folks to wash their boats down and flush at the ramps there in Florida so that’s an option as well. Is moving an option? Since you’re in a boating Mecca there should be options for you and the Missus.

Storing your boat somewhere, and how that facility operates plays into the convenience thing. Member @Judge keeps his 27’ in a dry rack place that does it all and it’s very convenient. If you get a system down with how you pack the tow vehicle for a day on the water so you can just put the cooler and beach bags in the boat for a day it’s really not that inconvenient. If it was me I’d be looking at a storage place that has outlets so you could plug in your onboard charger to keep the batteries charged, @Judge put a solar charger on his boat as well as @lazergeek with great success. There alternatives to the outlet thing as well, you can just get one of those portable power stations (Jackery comes to mind) and leave the onboard charger plugged into that while your hanging out at the sand bar and it will charge the batteries.

I know most things are relative, but when I look at folks saying it’s too cold to go out boating in FLA when it’s 65° air temp and 74° water temp it makes giggle, to me in my situation I’d be boating year round if I had those conditions. See it’s pretty hard to go boating when the water is a solid lol!

In closing I’ll echo what others have said here, buy your second or next boat first. Sounds like you enjoyed the 210 so get the boat that’s going to suit you and the Missus as well as taking the kids and grandkids out as well. Don’t let first world problems like a bit of inconvenience stop you from a boating lifestyle.

 

[kgower]

Why would you need to worry about the HOA. If it fits in the garage, what's the problem. We lived in an HOA with our 21 195s, no issues. It was a 55+ community, and we were the only water vessel in the neighborhood. No one ever mentioned it other than to ask how do you get that in the garage.

 

[SoFL_JetBoatWanaB]

Storage issues are a big deal. It makes it an extra pain every time you want to use the boat and there may start to be days where you don’t go out because you don’t want to deal with it.
If you own it and can afford to do it right where it’s easy to get on and off the water whenever you want then that will make ownership much more worthwhile than renting.
I pay $500/mo for insurance, but we don’t have hurricanes.

Thank you! Yes, I do feel that storing the boat next to me is critical… maybe need to consider moving to a waterfront property with a dock….

 

[SoFL_JetBoatWanaB]

You have to run the numbers yourself and decide what makes sense for how YOU would use the boat. It takes a lot of usage to financially justify buying and maintaining a boat. Not to mention the time commitment.

Seems to me that one advantage of rental is that you can rent different types of boats to do the activities that you wish for that day and then rent something else the next day.

Anyone who tells you that the best two days of boat ownership is when you buy and sell a boat should never buy a boat as the best days of boat ownership happens when one uses their boat.

Jim

Jim thank you! Very good point on the different boats, but I still want only Yamaha… so maybe different Yammies…
We just love the JetBoats.
Agree fully in the best day when using it, I would add when using it during an amazing weather day makes it the best day ever!

 

[SoFL_JetBoatWanaB]

You left out how much it is costing you to rent that 210 in your pictures.

The following are the questions my friend put to me when I said I wanted to buy a boat.

What are you going to use the boat for?
Where are you going to use the boat?
How often are you going to use the boat? (My friend was trying to get me to just rent a boat when I wanted to go out)
How many people are you expecting to go with you? (Be honest with yourself)

My friend also said to get the smallest boat that will get the job done. When I was looking at the FSH boats my friend was kind of pushing me towards the 19’ version, but I said that I wanted the 21’ to have the flexibility to take a few couples out occasionally AND I wanted the larger amount of storage, and I wanted twin engines. After a year of owning my 210 FSH my friend said he was glad I got the 21’ version.

So here I am with three and a half seasons of boat ownership and roughly 550 hours on the engines, add at least another 1200 hours of trolling motor only time onto that and I’m pushing on 1800 hours minimum that I’ve spent on my boat. I keep my boat in my heated shop during the cold (as low as -25°) winter months and parked in front of my shop during the season, my closest lake is 10 mins away, so storage and use is convenient. So ownership for me was far far less money than renting, not to mention the trips I take to other states with my boat.

As far as your HOA goes, you need to find out whether or not you can bring it in for four hours or whatever to clean it up after use. That’s just one of the down sides of living in a HOA area along with the many pluses. Seems like there are places for folks to wash their boats down and flush at the ramps there in Florida so that’s an option as well. Is moving an option? Since you’re in a boating Mecca there should be options for you and the Missus.

Storing your boat somewhere, and how that facility operates plays into the convenience thing. Member @Judge keeps his 27’ in a dry rack place that does it all and it’s very convenient. If you get a system down with how you pack the tow vehicle for a day on the water so you can just put the cooler and beach bags in the boat for a day it’s really not that inconvenient. If it was me I’d be looking at a storage place that has outlets so you could plug in your onboard charger to keep the batteries charged, @Judge put a solar charger on his boat as well as @lazergeek with great success. There alternatives to the outlet thing as well, you can just get one of those portable power stations (Jackery comes to mind) and leave the onboard charger plugged into that while your hanging out at the sand bar and it will charge the batteries.

I know most things are relative, but when I look at folks saying it’s too cold to go out boating in FLA when it’s 65° air temp and 74° water temp it makes giggle, to me in my situation I’d be boating year round if I had those conditions. See it’s pretty hard to go boating when the water is a solid lol!

In closing I’ll echo what others have said here, buy your second or next boat first. Sounds like you enjoyed the 210 so get the boat that’s going to suit you and the Missus as well as taking the kids and grandkids out as well. Don’t let first world problems like a bit of inconvenience stop you from a boating lifestyle.

Thank you so much, great feedback. The rate for the AR210 is about $650 for 8hrs day including gas and insurance for the day from USBoats.
For the questions:
What are you going to use the boat for? —> weekend relaxation + taking care of the boat
Where are you going to use the boat? —> browsing the intercoastal and going to the sandbar for relaxation
How often are you going to use the boat? —> a few weekends a mount, weather permitting
How many people are you expecting to go with you? —> my wife and I.

Wife doesn’t want to move… we have been living here for 21 years now so it gets emotional but we may consider it. We do have great ramps near by with options to wash after and park the car with the trailer from 6am to 8pm, 7 days a week.
Great tips on the storage with power, I appreciate it.

Don’t get me started on the temperature issue… we get below 80degrees and people get their leather jackets , boots , and earmuffs Floridians what do you want… we are used to 98 degrees and 99.9% humidity. I still don’t get it what this white thing you guys call “snow”

Great feedback, thank you!

 

[SoFL_JetBoatWanaB]

Why would you need to worry about the HOA. If it fits in the garage, what's the problem. We lived in an HOA with our 21 195s, no issues. It was a 55+ community, and we were the only water vessel. No ever mentioned it other than how do you get that in the garage.

Indeed… we have a few neighbors with jet skis in their garages here and no one says anything.
I may just dare and try and if something comes up just deal with it… getting the baby to my garage will for sure make it more fun like being able to work on it, clean it, etc during the week.
But… I first need to get ride of 30 years worth of junk in my garage so I can get space for it, tough…

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Thank you so much, great feedback. The rate for the AR210 is about $650 for 8hrs day including gas and insurance for the day from USBoats.
For the questions:
What are you going to use the boat for? —> weekend relaxation + taking care of the boat
Where are you going to use the boat? —> browsing the intercoastal and going to the sandbar for relaxation
How often are you going to use the boat? —> a few weekends a mount, weather permitting
How many people are you expecting to go with you? —> my wife and I.

Wife doesn’t want to move… we have been living here for 21 years now so it gets emotional but we may consider it. We do have great ramps near by with options to wash after and park the car with the trailer from 6am to 8pm, 7 days a week.
Great tips on the storage with power, I appreciate it.

Don’t get me started on the temperature issue… we get below 80degrees and people get their leather jackets , boots , and earmuffs Floridians what do you want… we are used to 98 degrees and 99.9% humidity. I still don’t get it what this white thing you guys call “snow”

Great feedback, thank you!

Thank you so much, great feedback. The rate for the AR210 is about $650 for 8hrs day including gas and insurance for the day from USBoats.
For the questions:
What are you going to use the boat for? —> weekend relaxation + taking care of the boat
Where are you going to use the boat? —> browsing the intercoastal and going to the sandbar for relaxation
How often are you going to use the boat? —> a few weekends a mount, weather permitting
How many people are you expecting to go with you? —> my wife and I.

Wife doesn’t want to move… we have been living here for 21 years now so it gets emotional but we may consider it. We do have great ramps near by with options to wash after and park the car with the trailer from 6am to 8pm, 7 days a week.
Great tips on the storage with power, I appreciate it.

Don’t get me started on the temperature issue… we get below 80degrees and people get their leather jackets , boots , and earmuffs Floridians what do you want… we are used to 98 degrees and 99.9% humidity. I still don’t get it what this white thing you guys call “snow”

Great feedback, thank you!

Leather jackets and boots when it gets in the 70’s? That’s funny but still relative. Here in early spring after ice out it’s in the teens overnight and 30’s during the day, summertime temps are mid 90’s to an occasional 100° day with lows in the 60’s overnight with regular thunderstorms. In the fall it’s a total crap shoot, it could be in the 70’s or 20’s with snow tge next day. First year I was here, on September 5th it was 101°, on September 7th it was 28° and I had 13” of snow in my yard.