Gunrunner72

I see the same thing happen with younger friends of mine, as well as with the kids of friends of mine. BUT, wanting a go-fast and OWNING one are miles apart. When those "youngsters" you mentioned get married (have to get clearance from the OL to buy), start having kids, buying homes, and start contemplating the expense of this hobby, many of them will end up on a pontoon with a 90 horse merc still listening to the music of big block v8's from a distance.

Gunrunner72

I've actually thought about buying an old jet boat just to have SOMETHING to go out on for this year and maybe buy what I want next season. Just not sure my balls can handle the beating on a rough day.lol

Nate5.0

Yup.

I grew up in drag racing and big HP cars. I love them and still go to the 1/4 to watch but I NEVER want to own one. I can enjoy it by seeing and hearing but owning is never in the plan. The same can be said for a lot of these boats too.

TBAG

Doesn't sound like much fun on any weekend @ Cumberland.

Champs3

I'm only 23 and lucky enough to have a good job (well at least what I consider a good job) and I have been working other jobs since I was 16 never taking handouts from my dad to buy things, trying to find what I could to fix and make money on anyway I could. I grew up on small fishing boats 16' to 18' boats my dad would take us out fishing on and that was about it but I always loved being on the water and always wanted a speed boat. When I was 17 I bought my first 21' checkmate, sold that bought a blown up 24' Baja fixed it and drove that around the lake for a couple years. Just like everyone else I wanted to go bigger and faster so last summer I sold the boat with the intentions of buying a boat over the winter, well the boat turned into buying a house instead. Still in the market for a boat for this summer I really wanted to go twins and preferably 90's or newer but its just not possible with my budget so back to looking at single engines but whatever it takes to get on the water. My friends love going out on the boat but I don't think I've ever heard one of them actually talking about buying one for themselves. A few people my ages I made friends with threw boating no longer boat because of the cost and most lost their a$$ selling the boat too.

Its tough up in Central, NY to boat anyways. You get two good months (July, August) and a couple decent months (June, Sept.) other then that, that's about it. So to spend that kind of money to boat 6 or 7 good weekends if you are lucky enough, that makes it even harder to buy a boat but the price of snowmobiles is going up and up too. Its hard for younger generation to get out and enjoy any sport that involves a motor. Then you need an expensive truck to tow it with. The price of insurance is one of the biggest issues especially for the younger generation. Then you have cops out there writing tickets for every little small thing that isn't right. It all adds up really fast for us who haven't been finically stable for 5-10 years and never knowing if everything is going to tank again doesn't help.

My problem is I enjoy anything with a motor that goes fast. From motorcycles to snowmobiles to cars to boats, so I have a hard time only having one expensive toy and usually buy used toys. So now that I'm looking to buy a boat I've also been looking at getting a car and I am leaning more towards getting a car something I can use more often then a boat it'll be a hard decision but if I don't find a good deal on a boat within the next few weeks I will be a proud owner of a M3 (A ten year old M3 that is). Hopefully I can keep some of the young generation into speed boats in this area though I certainly don't want to see it go away.

BlackJack58

These days, it’s not so easy to enjoy high performance boating as a hobby unless you have either a) a high enough discretionary income that will allow you to buy and operate a new/newer boat; or b) the knowledge, mechanical skill and time needed to restore and maintain an older one.

The only thing sadder than not having a boat at all is having one sit in your driveway that needs work, needs gas, or needs a free weekend so you can head out to the lake. Rather than deal with that, a lot of people are finding other ways to enjoy being on or by the water, or spend their summer months.

It will always be a great pastime, but if you’re serious about it, it truly becomes a “lifestyle” – and it can get pretty expensive. It may also be hard to justify if you’re on the water just every-other weekend, or participating in just one poker run a year. A lot of folks might actually be better with a smaller runabout, or yes – even a pontoon – if they are commonly boating on a smaller lake. Whichever way you go, it’s important to be realistic about the time, money and enthusiasm you are willing to invest, and what kind of experiences you are looking for.

Of course, what would work for a lot of people is not a big, fast boat – but a good friend with a big fast boat.

That’s why my admiration (and admitted envy) is set aside for the members of our boating press (and others who cover this hobby) who do such a great job telling us and showing us how exciting and fun performance boating can be. I know most have owned or currently have their own boats, so they can certainly understand—but still, it must be nice to have “lots of friends with big fast boats” that you can ride on, photograph and write about.

As long as they can keep it up the great work, there’s still hope!

tommymonza

For me in Florida the problem with a performance boat is no Shade. Tough to make a performance boat look cool with a Bimini much less run 80 with it.

Arches and T-tops with extendable Biminis look and work nicely on Performance CCs.

Marginmn

It's suppose to be good up to 75 but anything over 50 and I'm wondering what it would feel like to be impaled by a chrome pole. I've actually toyed around with the idea of a having permanently mounted top fabricated but I worry that it would hurt the resale value.


That's a Jay photo by the way.

Nate5.0

Works great but doesn't look great IMO.

Marginmn

Actually doesn't work that great because I don't feel comfortable running the boat at top speed, but it does do a good job of keeping the sun off at 50 and under. I'm with Tommy on the sun however, I can't imagine boating all the time in Florida without a top and baking in the sun.