Why some people bad mouth boating....

[Mark42]

Sometimes when talking about boating at the office, someone will chime in and express their dislike for boating. They had a boat, spent more time fixing it then using it, etc.

I found that people who got into boating then got out in total disgust usually had a bad experience. When questioned about their experience I usually find a common thread...

1) Buys big boat can't really afford on high rate loan from boat dealer, but has never been on the water before.

2) Does not take a boating course.

3) Lack of knowledge causes error after error after error, causing damage on a regular basis and the obligatory high dollar repair bills.

4) Never bothered to learn about water, the bay, the ocean. Didn't plan trips ahead of time based on weather forcast.

5) Improper or missing accessories on boat. Simple tools like a boat hook, proper anchor, simple tool kit, etc make the trip so much easier.

6) Doesn't know how to anchor, doesn't know how to dock and tie up, doesn't know how to wash, wax, check for water leaks, etc.

7) Never read the manuals.

So every boating experience these folks have is very painful and expensive. So they end up selling the boat just to "get rid of it" and blame their negative experience on the assumption that boating is a wast of time and money designed to frustrate Joe average.

These folks should never have been able to buy a boat in the first place.

Maybe dealers should be required to give buyers a test to see if they are knowledgeable enough to own a boat?

 

[roscoe]

Re: Why some people bad mouth boating....

These folks should never have been able to buy a boat in the first place.

Maybe dealers should be required to give buyers a test to see if they are knowledgeable enough to own a boat?

No. Lets have the gubment handle this. They do such a fine job of everything else.


These people were just plain ignorant. They are probably just as ignorant when it comes to autos, and lawn equipment.

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Why some people bad mouth boating....

Same thing happens with RVs, same thing happens with Motorcycles, same thing happens with Snowmobles, etc. I worked for one motorcycle dealership in Madison with a good reputation that sold a bike to someone that the dealership with the worst reputation in town wouldn't (nor would any dealer in his hometown of Milwaukee apparently). A lawyer going through a midlife crisis wanted a fully dressed 850 Suzuki, never owned a motorcycle in his life. But he had cash and a learner's permit. So the owner of the dealership (not just some salesman) had a mechanic (not me) drop everything, uncrate one and install all the bells and whistles.

The lawyer made it all the way from Madison to Milwaukee, but lost it on the off-ramp. Luckily it was only him on the bike and no other vehicles were involved. The bike was totalled with seventy-some miles on it and the lawyer was hospitalized and in rehab for several months. Fortunately for the owner of the dealership, the lawyer felt a fool and never sued. He sure could've, and the dealership could've gone bankrupt over the foolishness.

 

[RubberFrog]

Re: Why some people bad mouth boating....

My buddy (who I take on my boat quite frequently) always tells me how expensive boating is, and how boats break down to much, and are too hard to maintain.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Why some people bad mouth boating....

Yea, my buddies complain about the speed.

 

[freddyray21]

Re: Why some people bad mouth boating....

I think some too buy boats like we all have. Older boats that need a few things done to them, but they expect to launch and go. We have had our current boat almost two seasons now and are just now getting to the point were we feel it's fixed. (all little things) However, I do the maintenance that is needed instead of waiting for something to fail before fixing it.

 

[Firestar]

Re: Why some people bad mouth boating....

All really good points and I love the stories. I gave an 18 ft Sylvan Profisherman to my girlfriends 34yr old son to use as long as he took care of it.For 2 yrs. he did fine. Then, he blew up the 115hp engine cavitating it in a sharp turn at top speed. Now he doesn't boat anymore and I'm waiting for him to repair it. I'll never let him use another thing of mine as long as I live.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Why some people bad mouth boating....

If it wasn't for ingornance, marine mechanics wouldn't be so busy.

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: Why some people bad mouth boating....

Frankly, the more people that bad mouth boating, the better it is. Can you imagine the waterways if everybody loved boating - more rudeness, more jet fleas, more rubbish, more everything that makes boating unpleasant. The fewer the better as far as I'm concerned.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Why some people bad mouth boating....

From people that I have spoken to that badmouth boating, they are the ones that are not prepared for the routine maintenance that must be performed. They are also the ones that are basically ignorant of the safety aspect for themselves out there and toward other users of the waterways. They expect their boats to handle like their car and do absolutely no homework of the waterway they use. Running aground, hitting submerged objects and getting lost in the middle of the lake are just a few of their issues.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Why some people bad mouth boating....

It is so simple to get information today that there is no excuse for people getting behind the helm without knowing the basics of boating.

I'm the type who likes to research stuff, IE look at the projects I did to my MFG. Spent hours looking at CG regs, manufactures products, etc until I decided what will work and is safe. Then I ordered what I needed and installed it all.

Boating is a activity that has a wealth of info on the web, if you have the gumption to look.

Why someone would buy a boat and no idea about basics just shows how some people go through life without taking the time to research what they want to do, even though mistakes can cost them their live.

All they think about are those nice brochure pictures of a handsome family with the wind in their hair running at WOT to God knows where. That is the image they have, and that is what they want.

Amazing.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Why some people bad mouth boating....

8) They bought an Old Bilgeliner,+ can't understand Why it Doesn't Run,+ Sank at the Dock.........

8a) They also want to know What this "Plug" is for.................

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Why some people bad mouth boating....

8) They bought an Old Bilgeliner,+ can't understand Why it Doesn't Run,+ Sank at the Dock.........

8a) They also want to know What this "Plug" is for.................

A guy pulls into the yard one day several years back. Just bought a 26' speedboat with a bigblock in it and a Bravo on the back. Bought it off the side of the road with cash that day. He was on his way to a very small shallow rocky lake where he'd rented a cottage. He was dangling the plug and asked "What's this thing and where does it go?"

 

[KnottyBuoyz]

Re: Why some people bad mouth boating....

I love those "frustrated" motivated sellers! Scored a deal on the last boat that way. Sure it needed some work but that's no biggie! Never could have afforded a decent boat any other way! Keep 'em comin'!

 

[woodrat]

Re: Why some people bad mouth boating....

Frankly, the more people that bad mouth boating, the better it is. Can you imagine the waterways if everybody loved boating - more rudeness, more jet fleas, more rubbish, more everything that makes boating unpleasant. The fewer the better as far as I'm concerned.

my feelings exactly.

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: Why some people bad mouth boating....

Maybe dealers should be required to give buyers a test to see if they are knowledgeable enough to own a boat?

Well then that same test should be given to people at the voting booth, so as to eliminate the idiots who simply vote to vote, with no knowledge of who they are voting for.

It pisses me off that my educated vote based on hundreds of hours of research can be canceled out by Joe Buddy who was told to vote for a candidate by his neighbor.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Why some people bad mouth boating....

I know someone who tied his boat up (without any fenders) to a concrete peer with steel 2" diameter posts sticking out and then complained that after he parked his truck the boat was all scratched up.

Duh....

I know most of the members here boat on fresh water. Don't know too much about fresh water except for the few lakes in NJ I visited. Now I stay away from lakes because (around here) they are small, full of rocks, full of idiots, and I get real board very fast driving around a bath tub. Now I boat almost all the time on salt water. The wide open vast space of salt water. The bautiful beaches, the clams, the crabs, the fishing, Sea Grass, bluffs, sand dunes ...

The tide, the winds the buoys, etc pose a real challenge. I need to know what a bouy with red at the top vs green at the top means. One means you are OK, the other means you are on a shoal.

I really enjoy learning the ways of the salt water boating. It is fun, the bottom changes with every storm, the beaches are fun.

I feel a real sense of accomplishment when I go out to waters I never visited before with just a nautical chart and come home without any problems because I was able to read and understand the markings. Sometimes I give the chart to the wife and kids to look at. I point to a bouy on the chart, then tell them to find it on the horizon. Its fun for them and helps me out.

I don't understand how some folks don't take boating as a serious business. A very, very, fun but serious business.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: Why some people bad mouth boating....

Frankly, the more people that bad mouth boating, the better it is. Can you imagine the waterways if everybody loved boating - more rudeness, more jet fleas, more rubbish, more everything that makes boating unpleasant. The fewer the better as far as I'm concerned.

amen.
jbjennings

 

[i386]

Re: Why some people bad mouth boating....

Quoting someone I know... "There's two good days with a boat. The day you get it and the day you get rid of it."

 

[dhath]

Re: Why some people bad mouth boating....

It is so simple to get information today that there is no excuse for people getting behind the helm without knowing the basics of boating.

I'm the type who likes to research stuff, IE look at the projects I did to my MFG. Spent hours looking at CG regs, manufactures products, etc until I decided what will work and is safe. Then I ordered what I needed and installed it all.

Boating is a activity that has a wealth of info on the web, if you have the gumption to look.

When I bought mine I researched everything I could find on it. I think that was how I actually found this forum. When I am working on it I also reesearch the web. I figured out my electric fuel pump was wired per Coast Guard Regulations. So now it is fixed and one less thing I have to worry about. Yes I have done some damage to my boat in the learning process, but I knew I would. Mostly learning how to "drive on solid ice". That was how driving a boat was explained to me along time ago.

My boat is the one thing that I can actually forget work and just have fun. Just bought a Hybrid travel trailer and will be using both quite often. Just another learning experience.