I like boat project's almost, maybe as much as, maybe even more than, boating

[Pirate Lady]

How long is your drive? During boating season we drive 3 hrs after work to get to the boat, stay the weekend and then drive 3 hrs back home on Sunday evening. It is a lot of driving, but we enjoy being on the boat so much...even if it's raining. I'm sure at some point we'll get to a point where we don't want to make the effort, but we're not there yet.

I cannot imagine. You are diehard boater. I am 8 miles/15 minutes from the boat. No way would I ever go that far. Juice \ squeeze = oh hell no. I went to marina twice today and its barely past noon.

 

[Maybe A Dancer]

i'm spoiled

privileged

boat is behind the house..... but still one hour to the gulf...................

makes repairs/maint/the whole experience more worthwhile

BEST !

RWS

 

[Crushin It]

I wholeheartedly agree with the original post. I always thought of it like this: I enjoy all aspects of boating, not just what most people consider to be the fun stuff. I like the freedom of being on the water, anchoring out with friends or just wife and I, waking up and putting a pot of coffee on and enjoying the morning on the water or at the dock, hanging out in the marina with friends or someone i just met be it on the hard or at the dock and being around boats, but also, the washing, waxing, fixing things, troubleshooting, adding things (i.e. boat projects), sewing canvas, fixing friends' canvas, pride of ownership, compliments on the condition of my boat, winterizing and springizing, even bottom painting (mostly the feeling of accomplishment when done and i have cleaned all the paint splatters off my face with paint thinner).

I like it all. That is why i been a boat owner since 1988.

I would have to agree 100% with everything you wrote. I feel the same way. Also, I learned that Skin So Soft takes bottom paint right off your skin effortlessly and is much easier than Scotchbrite pads..

 

[highslice]

The drive is about one and a half hours on a good day. It's a stressful drive though, along i-95, lots of traffic, lots of road construction, lots of road rage, road warriors, etc With traffic it can easily be two to three hours each way. And I'm going by myself cuz she doesn't really enjoy tinkering with the boat like I do.

She does like to cleaning the boat though, which I get a kick out of, she's not into going to the boat unless we're going somewhere for the weekend with it though.

We are 3.5 - 4 hours from our boat. High traffic drive with TONS of 18 wheelers (most of the truck drivers are A holes or just stupid - I used to own a trucking company, so I know of what I speak) clogging things up running side by side at 55 MPH for miles. But it is all worth it when I get to the lake.

 

[bbwhitejr]

After owning SRs for 15 years or so, I got out. Starting with a 260DA, then a 44DB, and finally a 420DA. Previously owned 12'-Carolina boat, various bass boats, and a cuddy cabin...loved tinkering and making the SRs better. It was like an addiction. If it was on the boat it had to work no matter what it was. The bilge on the 420DA was much more "user friendly" than the bilge on the 44DB. Finally, last summer, was perfect. All systems functioned perfectly. Then when we got into last fall/winter, both vacuflushes started acting up and the systems monitor died. Coupled with the fact that the dock had gotten "louder" than ever, and slip pricing had increased almost 20% in 2 years, we decided to hang up the big boats. I have a Robalo 226 Cayman with a Yamaha 250SHO and am enjoying fishing again. The best part is to take it out on the lake, put it on the trailer, wipe it down, and park it at the storage facility 2 miles from home. Cover it up and done. Take it out next time and everything works. 5 minutes from home and 5 minutes to the lake makes all work.

Would not take $1,000,000 for our experiences from buying and moving them to the good times we had on them. I guess I am just getting older and it was time for a change.

Bennett

 

[Pirate Lady]

We are 3.5 - 4 hours from our boat.

 

[mrsrobinson]

After owning SRs for 15 years or so, I got out. Starting with a 260DA, then a 44DB, and finally a 420DA. Previously owned 12'-Carolina boat, various bass boats, and a cuddy cabin...loved tinkering and making the SRs better. It was like an addiction. If it was on the boat it had to work no matter what it was. The bilge on the 420DA was much more "user friendly" than the bilge on the 44DB. Finally, last summer, was perfect. All systems functioned perfectly. Then when we got into last fall/winter, both vacuflushes started acting up and the systems monitor died. Coupled with the fact that the dock had gotten "louder" than ever, and slip pricing had increased almost 20% in 2 years, we decided to hang up the big boats. I have a Robalo 226 Cayman with a Yamaha 250SHO and am enjoying fishing again. The best part is to take it out on the lake, put it on the trailer, wipe it down, and park it at the storage facility 2 miles from home. Cover it up and done. Take it out next time and everything works.

Would not take $1,000,000 for our experiences from buying and moving them to the good times we had on them. I guess I am just getting older and it was time for a change.

Bennett

I've been thinking about this, purchasing a small waterfront cottage with a dock, and getting a smaller boat to play with. Then I could fix up the cottage, the land, the dock, and even twiddle with the boat.

 

[John E3]

I cannot imagine. You are diehard boater. I am 8 miles/15 minutes from the boat. No way would I ever go that far. Juice \ squeeze = oh hell no. I went to marina twice today and its barely past noon.

I've made as many as 6 trips in 1 day, possibly several times, when rebuilding an engine and installing a replacement (used) genset this past winter/spring. Thankfully it's only 11 minutes each way.
I live for projects and DIY. Short of roofing and underground piping, I can do, or figure out, pretty much how to do anything. Oh, a new 2 story brick chimney was out too. We gutted, rewired, replumbed and renovated 2 homes alone the way.
And fun things like building a bronze casting furnace for CBMM in St Micheals a number of years ago. It's still in use, as far as I know. I'd never melted more than solder or brazing rod till then. Research is key to the process.
I did give up on our wooden cruiser, however. It needs a new bottom, but I need a building to work on it right, and have a building neatly stacked next to it, but time/life have precluded getting it done. Part of that is a few 100ft trees, and MD's Critical Area regulations. We bought the Sea Ray instead, then it went to hell just before launch and I spent almost as much time on that as I would have putting up that building! But we were back on the water sooner!

 

[OllieC]

I have a very mixed feelings on this concept right now. I think how happy I am doing a project is inversely proportional to the thermometer. Doing literally anything in the bilge sucks when the heat index is over 105.

Me being selfish, enjoys your posts and pics when working in the bilge on your beautiful 260….

 

[Stray Current]

i'm spoiled

privileged

boat is behind the house..... but still one hour to the gulf...................

makes repairs/maint/the whole experience more worthwhile

BEST !

RWS

Cape Coral?

 

[mrsrobinson]

The amount of projects I do in my head is not directly proportional to the amount of projects that actually get done either. And I'm the type that once I start a project I have to finish it, it drives me nuts until I finish it.

 

[Maybe A Dancer]

Cape Coral?

Punta Gorda

 

[Stray Current]

Punta Gorda

That will be on the list when we take our next shot at buying on the water

 

[Maybe A Dancer]

not to sidetrack this thread but while we're on the subject.....

www.puntagordaboatparade.com

for some unknown reason the link is in 2 pieces

I tried to fix it but no joy, must be a site issue

just copy it into your browser

BEST !

RWS

 

[Stray Current]

not to sidetrack this thread but while we're on the subject.....

www.puntagordaboatparade.com

for some unknown reason the link is in 2 pieces

I tried to fix it but no joy, must be a site issue

just copy it into your browser

BEST !

RWS

Maybe. If memory serves from the time we ran up to alligator creek, that’s about 2.5/3 hours each way. I’m in Cape up the Caloosahatchee