I feel like I’m leaning dangerously over a bottomless well. Maybe someone could either push me in, or pull me out.
First a little background, so as to better give answers appropriate to our situation.
For the past few years, my wife and I have been enjoying the use of our old 25’ camping trailer, which we’d haul to different dive locations and stay anywhere from 2 days to 14 days, enjoying the camping and diving. We’ve gone to the Puget Sound area a lot, Monterey CA a couple of times, and other nice diving locations. We’ve stayed at RV resorts, campgrounds, simple pullouts, and even the Wal-Mart parking lots. We really love getting away, and I love being right at the diving locations. Of course, the diving has been limited to shore or charter or friend’s boats.
The trailer has seen it’s best days, so recently I sold it and bought an HID light (nice trade, uh?).
Our plan was to buy a little nicer trailer in the spring. However, out of the blue, my wife says to me, why not buy a boat? You know, something we could haul around, but still big enough to stay overnight in (sometimes up to 10 days) instead of a camping trailer. We could park it at marinas and take it out diving during the day. We’re always by the water anyway, so why not?
I told her the “hole in the water” thing. I told her, boats cost so much more that we couldn’t get anything good on the money we’ll have to spend. I told her, the maintenance takes too much time and money. I told her, I’ve never had a boat and don’t know anything about them (I think she at least believed this last part).
So she went on the internet and started looking at used cruisers. She started showing me pictures and prices. Our budget is only $7000.00 (no financing). But some of the older boats in that price range looked pretty good. Even though I don’t know the first thing about hull construction or engines, or saltwater verses freshwater boats, I started to get excited about the idea that this might work. I could see us happily cruising the San Juan Islands, slipping into peaceful coves at night and diving by day. BBQing fresh caught fish off the deck and cozy-ing down into the V-birth at night watching DVDs on the laptop. Waking up to the smell of the salt water and fresh coffee and a perfect sunrise on the flat sea.
Then I woke up! At the money we have budgeted, we end up with a piece of junk. We’re lost at sea, the engine won’t start, the boat’s taking on water, the wind and rain has come up, my wife is puking over the side, the electrical has shorted out…
So the question is, would seven grand get us this dream (the good one)? Is a boat we could stay in doable at this price range? Could a landlubber like me make something like this work?
Or should we just get the camping trailer and hope for the occasional mercy-dive off of Uncle Pug?
First a little background, so as to better give answers appropriate to our situation.
For the past few years, my wife and I have been enjoying the use of our old 25’ camping trailer, which we’d haul to different dive locations and stay anywhere from 2 days to 14 days, enjoying the camping and diving. We’ve gone to the Puget Sound area a lot, Monterey CA a couple of times, and other nice diving locations. We’ve stayed at RV resorts, campgrounds, simple pullouts, and even the Wal-Mart parking lots. We really love getting away, and I love being right at the diving locations. Of course, the diving has been limited to shore or charter or friend’s boats.
The trailer has seen it’s best days, so recently I sold it and bought an HID light (nice trade, uh?).
Our plan was to buy a little nicer trailer in the spring. However, out of the blue, my wife says to me, why not buy a boat? You know, something we could haul around, but still big enough to stay overnight in (sometimes up to 10 days) instead of a camping trailer. We could park it at marinas and take it out diving during the day. We’re always by the water anyway, so why not?
I told her the “hole in the water” thing. I told her, boats cost so much more that we couldn’t get anything good on the money we’ll have to spend. I told her, the maintenance takes too much time and money. I told her, I’ve never had a boat and don’t know anything about them (I think she at least believed this last part).
So she went on the internet and started looking at used cruisers. She started showing me pictures and prices. Our budget is only $7000.00 (no financing). But some of the older boats in that price range looked pretty good. Even though I don’t know the first thing about hull construction or engines, or saltwater verses freshwater boats, I started to get excited about the idea that this might work. I could see us happily cruising the San Juan Islands, slipping into peaceful coves at night and diving by day. BBQing fresh caught fish off the deck and cozy-ing down into the V-birth at night watching DVDs on the laptop. Waking up to the smell of the salt water and fresh coffee and a perfect sunrise on the flat sea.
Then I woke up! At the money we have budgeted, we end up with a piece of junk. We’re lost at sea, the engine won’t start, the boat’s taking on water, the wind and rain has come up, my wife is puking over the side, the electrical has shorted out…
So the question is, would seven grand get us this dream (the good one)? Is a boat we could stay in doable at this price range? Could a landlubber like me make something like this work?
Or should we just get the camping trailer and hope for the occasional mercy-dive off of Uncle Pug?
I prefer to tie up in a slip overnight if I stay more than three days. 
