How long do you stay on the water a day?
We are newbies and trying to decide between buying an SX195 or joining a boat club.
The boat club sounds great to me except for the times you can have a boat. During summer you can have a boat out from 8am-130pm or 230pm-8pm (5 1/2 hours at a time).
My question is, is this long enough? As in by this time we would be so tired we would come in if we owned the boat also. Is this enough time or would we regret the club idea? Though, they do say it is very possible if the boat is not reserved for the next time slot you just can keep it for the next or if there is another boat open you can just move over to it.
Please advise...
Is this on a river, a lake...? Are there areas to visit, lunch, dinner, drinks, or would this just be tooling around, possibly hanging out on a sandbar, other potential escapades?
If I were to take off from my own personal pier, head over to watch an air show, and come back...that's 2+ hours just boating there and back, leaving 3 hours to watch the show, eat, visit, whatever, so 5 1/2 hours would have me feeling pressed for time, or possibly having to leave a good time to have the boat back.
If I were to head up the river, depending on just how far up the river, it's a minimum of 45 minutes, and likely a lot more. Double that for travel time, again, from my pier and back to the same location. For river trips, there's no way 5 1/2 hours is enough time if we go with good friends and the weather is good.
If I were to head to the sandbar, that's 5 minutes from my pier. 5 1/2 hours is feasible, but if we decide to head up river or across the lake for dinner, then I'd be having to cut the enjoyment short. If it's the Sandbar Bash, no chance 5 1/2 hours is enough. 4th of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day - I'll bet you'll have a hard time getting a boat for those days - that may be a welcome failure for a newbie, considering all the people who will be out, but it may be a huge bummer.
The biggest question I have for you - is that area the area you will be typically boating around if you bought the boat? If it IS, then I'd consider the boat club, to get your feet under you as far as experiencing the area, and learning the boat. The conditions for "rental" aren't optimal, to me, but that's a darn fine way to see if the boating life is gonna be for you.
@BigAbe75 hit the heart of the matter - if you end up making some great friends, I'll bet you end up wanting to buy. If you're wanting to explore the water, you may find yourself wanting more freedom than the boat club option will offer, but there's no way to know that right out of the box, if you haven't had a boat before.
I feel like we outlast
@WiskyDan on the water, but he's also most definitely on the water way earlier than we are too. He's always welcome to stick around if the mood is right and he can adjust his plans, while I have our place close by and have far more options than he does - nothing wrong with that, but realize that the feeling of having to get the boat back at a certain time can be a bit of a drag. If you've got a jackass friend like me, I guarantee he'll work on you for having to pack up early. I think there's a law that says you have to do so. Stay away from people like
me those jerks
