Zrmakk first post many more questions to come !!!

[Zrmakk]

Thanks JDCAVE for your input. We appreciate you positive comments. You have reassured us that our dream is totally doable to what our lifestyle can accommodate.

[kthoennes]

Originally Posted by Zrmakk

Thanks for your reply kthoennes. You stated when you charter a boat it is 10%, so looking at the cost to charter a 31' Ranger is about $650 per night so a 10 day charter is $6500.00 plus insurance. So am I correct in assuming your yearly budget to run your boat is $65000.00 a year ?

Oh no, nowhere near that much. We do split our charters with another couple so that makes a big difference, but then you do have to know at least one pair of friends whose company you like well enough to live on a boat with them for a week. For example, last season we chartered the Belle Serena, a 50-footer, with Nanaimo Yacht Charters. If you check their website right now, it's about $4,000 for the week. Split two ways, cost us about $2k, but then we splurged on that one and chartered a bigger, nicer boat than usual, and far more boat than we would ever be able to reasonably afford to buy outright. Really stretches our sailing skills and experience though. Meanwhile back home to buy, feed, house, and send our own boat to an ivy league college costs us about $16k per year, although half that is payments on the purchase price (for now). We did finance a fraction of the purchase for a relatively short time.

[OldDan1943]

Folks, here's a thought for you to consider.
You can write off the interest of a boat loan on your taxes IF it has at least one bedroom, bathroom and a kitchen. It is considered your "second home."
In my case, my condo, in Atlanta, is paid for but my boat, in FL, is not.

Their rules, play by the rules.
Just don't draw attention to yourself. It's between you and your CPA or accountant.

[Sidney]

Zrmakk,

What most folks on this forum aren't getting is you're probably a farmer or in construction and have a fleet of diesel ton pickups, semi's,...etc. Owning a machine shed full of toys is the norm in the Midwest and I'm sure other rural areas in Canada! I have friends with 4 place snowmobile trailers loaded with new $15,000 Ski Doos that they use once a year. (Central Illinois doesn't get much snow!) Others who have $60K Sea Rays that get used 5 or 6 weekends in the summer.

I like the previous idea of a twin outboard. Walk around Grady Whites, Pro-lines, Boston Whaler Conquest, or maybe a Mainship Pilot Rumrunner.

Do it and post the photos!

Sidney

[Zrmakk]

Well Sidney you hit the nail right on the head. (Three place with Polaris sleds and Honda quads lol) Thanks for the suggested boats, this is what were looking for.

[Sidney]

New 2014 Cutwater 30, Naples, Fl - 34113 - BoatTrader.com

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/20...ess-103108338/

[Sidney]

Used 2007 Mainship Pilot 30, Cape Haze, Fl - 33946 - BoatTrader.com

There's a couple that are less than 10.5 beam width.

Sidney

[Hawgwash]

Originally Posted by Sidney;

What most folks on this forum aren't getting...

No one has said don’t buy the tug or don’t trailer it.
Jim and Lisa Favors travelled all over the US, Canada and the Bahamas in a R27 and R29; using it as a motorhome between launch sites. They’ve had a blast and an envious time.

The folks JDCave mentioned, with the 26 Commander, had the right idea and a good west coast boat to do it with. Dump it in the north coast, cruise the summer and take it back home, to another year round boating haven.

Same with RCook who mastered the trailering drill.

It’s the geography and logistics that I have a hard time with on a commuting basis as is indicated here;

Quote…would like to have the option of putting it in the water at different locations along the coast.”

2-3 days, up and down over the Rockies, $700 ferries, limited summertime ramp and parking space. Schedule and miss a lift date and get put back a month, out of spite.

Splash it in May, moor it, Westjet it and take it home in Sept.

As for other boats, NT26 and Aspen C90 are also options.

The good news is, he’s got three years to sort it all out.

BTW, no boat loan write offs in Canada.

[kthoennes]

Originally Posted by Hawgwash

...BTW, no boat loan write offs in Canada.

And even if there were, it's peanuts. The annual value of our write-off wouldn't even fill the fuel tank once. And the value of the deduction declines and then disappears as you pay it off.