A Hole in the Water

This Friday morning I took the kayak down to the ocean near Sebastian Inlet. I did a little fishing while the sun rose. I was amazed at the number of fishing and pleasure boats flowing out of the inlet for a day's fishing on a weekday. Sebastian Inlet is no Ft. Lauderdale. It has a remoteness not consistent with the vision of the Florida coast with its condos and hotels.

There is no question that if you own a boat, you must really like boating or fishing, because boat ownership is not for the frugal. Here are some financial observations:

1. With rising costs of gas, I have heard some fishermen talk about spending near $150 to go fishing offshore. If you think your truck or van guzzles gas, just watch it run out of your boat. Five miles to the gallon in a motorboat would make most boat owners happy. Right away, for a day of fishing or boating on anything but the smallest of crafts, it is safe to say you are about $100 lighter. If a fisherman brings in ten pounds of fish fillets (a good day), thats $10 a pound paid for the privilege of catching them.

2. Get ready for a strong capital outlay to purchase a boat. Statistics from the National Marine Manufacturers Assoction show that the average unit cost for a boat with an outboard motor in 2003 was $13,244, almost double of what it was in 1997. The statistics also show that the participation in boating had a significant decline from 1997 to 2001 with a leveling into 2003. So demand goes down but prices go up. Something funny going on here. I would also guess, though the figures are not available that boating participation is rising; I was almost ran over this morning!

3. Don't forget about maintenance and storage. Most homeowner's associations will not allow a boat to be parked where it can be seen so marina storage is probably necessary. I've heard anywhere from $50 a month for a pad of dirt to rest your trailered boat to several hundred if you want it in the water ready to go.

Boating and boating expenses usually follow a convention I call "luxury soaking". The providers of services surrounding items which are mainly perceived to be luxury or pleasure items usually price their products and services with higher margins of profit. Among other reasons, this is because there is probably less moral constraint in soaking someone who is spending disposable income as opposed to buying groceries. This might explain the NMMA's statistics of boat prices and boating popularity. Also, the markets for pleasure items are more risky being based on whimsy. If you own a Lexus and you've ever had to go to the mechanic, I think you know what I mean.

So if you are going to own a boat, be prepared to get soaked, but hey, some people enjoy it!