Whether you are getting into boating for the first time, or upgrading to a new (to you) one that replaces a boat that no longer excites you or does what you want it to do for your family and/or friends, this may be a question you ask yourself. We often feel it when we talk to you; there is a hesitation. It is completely natural, and you are not alone. It happens when you are looking at new boats, or used boats in equal amounts. When is the right time to buy a boat?
The best two answers are "never" or "now". Boats are not a necessity, they are a luxury of life that many aspire to and really serve no practical or logical purpose. You may be thinking, why is a business that sells and services boats, telling me this? Well actually, it is because we see ourselves as teachers first. We just happen to be a marine company that has been doing just that (teaching about boats and boating), since 1958.
Let's be honest, no one needs a boat. There inlies the beauty of them. They are a WANT, and because of that, you can choose with less logic, and more love as a guide.
Are we saying to make an unwise or careless boat buying decision? No we aren't at all. Choose your boat and your marine dealer very carefully. What we are saying though is rationalizing the purchase as practical, is pointless. It never will be.
What will it be instead? Life changing. Family and friend bond strengthening. Health improving. Excitement inducing. Relaxing. De-stressing. Making all the work you do worthwhile. See, when we die we will have regrets. What do you think they will be? According to Forbes Magazine, this is the list of the 25 Biggest Regrets in Life - click here.
If you read that article, what you won't find is anything regrets about doing things, or money you spent. It also doesn't list having more money to leave to inherit. What it DOES list though is the things you didn't do. They centre primarily around family, friends, career, and self (the relationships you didn't strengthen, the bonds you didn't build, the risks you didn't take, the things you didn't do).
Interestingly also, happiness is now thought to be the driver of success, instead of what was commonly considered to be the opposite (success = happiness). In his book, The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor shows countless examples of how some of the world's most successful people have started out as "happy" people BEFORE they were truly successful. Play, happiness and fun are what drive your wins, not what is a result of them. Speaking of wins, Shawn has a very on point acronym which sums up this thought. A WIN is "Worth it Now", and a WISH is "Worth it Someday Hopefully". Is your time and your family worth it now, or hopefully someday? If you can do it, why would you wait?
One thing is for 100% certain and it is a simple economic and life law. Every year you wait to get into boating means that there is one less year of your life to use it, and it could be more expensive per year to own it as you will be dividing a likely more expensive purchase by less years of usage.
For you, is boating a WIN or a WISH?
