Owning a boat vs charter

Also factor you’ll get (at least some) money back when (If) you sell the boat

Also consider the non-monetary aggravation of dealing with all maintenance yourself. Got a weird wiring problem that's unexplainable? Prepare to spend two weeks on the internet trying to figure it out before finally hauling it out of the slip, then letting it sit at the repair shop for a month, watching everyone else post pictures of their fun boats on the internet.

My rule is if it's a small boat, like a jonboat, own it all day, I own two!

If it's a big boat, rent/charter/make friends until I retire and have nothing better to do except own a boat and live on the coast/lake where I would use it more than once a week.

Let the downvotes rain down upon me.

You're definitely not considering getting your principle (or close to it) back if you decide to sell it down the road. I've owned 3 boats over the past decade and have sold all above my original investment. Now you have to do your research and wait on the right rig to come available that gets you the most value for your money for that to work. You can't just go to a dealer, pay a premium, and get upside down.

I've own/owned several boats. We have 4 at the camp now. One mud boat, a jon boat, a pontoon, and a deep v. Every single one has something "wrong" with it. None are major issues to keep them from running, but nonetheless it's a pain in the arse. Boats in general are a pain in the arse unless you can run them often enough to keep everything fresh. I just sold a 17' cc because I got tired of dealing with the finicky two stroke. The guy that bought it lives on the river and runs it daily with zero issues. If you can run them regularly they tend to stay in better operating condition - IMO anyway.

I say all that, but nothing better than being on the water in your own boat with your own rules.

I have three boats.and I want another one. The problem I have now is that i'm out of room at house for my boats. love to fish and I have two girls 16 and 14. They love to fish also. One good thing about owning your own. You can go when and where you want, and leave when you want. They do have maintenance but not as bad as you think, A lot of people talk sh-t about the expense of owning a boat. they probably don't even have one.

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If it's a big boat, rent/charter/make friends until I retire and have nothing better to do except own a boat and live on the coast/lake where I would use it more than once a week.

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Retirement on the bay and that's what I'm planning on doing. Get a nice affordable house with a small pool, get an old Jeep, get a truck to haul a boat to the ramp, and spend a few days a week fishing and take the kids and grandkids out all summer.

It never makes sense to own a boat, just like it’s cheaper to go buy some fish out the case at rouses by the time you get home from a charter. You pick your hobbies and I enjoy boats and fishing so I spend more of my money on those things than most would think is reasonable.

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Gas+bait for a day: $150

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- Low by half

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Annual maintenance: ~$2k/yr+

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- Probably high by $1500' depending on the boat though.

The slip rent is probably low also but again it all has to do with location.

If you enjoy the charter experience there is no comparison from a cost stand point....it take a lot of charters to pay for a boat alone.....but the timing is the thing....hard to go on a charter at a moments notice or go for a few hours when you have the opportunity....plus, the difference in satisfaction of doing it yourself is the draw for me...I will do charters but I generally stay away from them because I can catch just as many fish and do so on my own knowledge and experience...the only time I do any charters now is offshore because I do not have access to an area which would make sense for me to own an offshore boat but, if I was in a decent part of the world instead of the panhandle of British Columbia (Washington State) and there was anything offshore here worth catching other than Salmon and Halibut (to be fair there is some Tuna to be caught but billfish are unheard of) I would own an offshore boat....If I were less than 8 hours from the gulf or the gulf stream I would own an offshore boat and would not think about it for more time than it took to find the right one and get it ready for fishing. I don't care for chartering....

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I have three boats.and I want another one. The problem I have now is that i'm out of room at house for my boats. love to fish and I have two girls 16 and 14. They love to fish also. One good thing about owning your own. You can go when and where you want, and leave when you want. They do have maintenance but not as bad as you think, A lot of people talk sh-t about the expense of owning a boat. they probably don't even have one.

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3 here also...there ain't no perfect boat....none of them get used as much as I would like but I like when I do use them. Being a "sport" or a client is just not for me...I will say up front that I have never been on a charter where I did not think I could catch as many fish as the expert with the boat...I have been on some where the expert definitely knew what they were doing and their local knowledge was a HUGE difference but I have also been on so many where I was supposed to be on one boat that suddenly changed to another at the last minute or a boat had mechanical issues or the mate was new or the captain was new that I just do not have many great charter moments to speak of...and I have been on a bunch.

I can't recount the times I have shown a mate how to rig a bait and started catching fish....I can't recall the number of times a captain failed to make bait and I have suggested areas where bait could be made, was made and fish caught. I taught a captain in Fort Lauderdale how to kite fish once and paid him $1200 a day for 3 ($3600) days for the for the privilege ...unless you are a regular, repeat customer most do not put in the time and effort required to catch fish consistently. Many aren't in the business full time and are only taking the charters they get handed down from the guy you thought you were going to be fishing with. That'd be fine if they told you up front but they wait until the morning before you get on the boat. Its happened to me numerous times. Just because they have access to a boat and have fished some does not mean they have a clue as to what they are doing...they will have glowing reviews on their website because the guy with the website knows what he is doing....but if you aren't booked out years in advance or been fishing with him for years you ain't going with him unless its an off peak time to go...

I am no expert by any stretch...volumes could be written about the stuff I do not know about offshore fishing....but with access to a sea worthy boat and some basic equipment I can catch fish offshore anywhere in the SE, the Caribbean, the Mid Atlantic and Mexico....I may not raise 20 sails a day in South Florida but I can usually manage 2 or 3, year around, and have had double digit days.....damn a charter...if it is your goal to reel in fish that someone else has actually caught they are great but if you want to actually catch the fish yourself you gotta have your own boat or at least have a friend with a boat....