Jaxashby wrote:

1985 was the high point in boat ownership in terms of units in the US
of A.
kids, now in their early 40's at the top side, are not taking up
sailing/boating. One yacht club I know of has just two members under
50.


*********

You may have confused boat ownership with boat sales. A lot more people
now *own* boats than did in 1985, but there may be some reason that
1985 was a "boom" year for unit sales.

The nature of boating is changing. I agree that sailing is pretty well
on its butt, new boat sales wise.There are plenty of good used
sailboats out there, and a very slowly diminshing but still significant
number of people enjoying them. Kayaks are booming, and you have to
consider a kayak a boat. Fewer people buy a boat just to get out on the
lake and buzz around in a circle than may have in the past, and unless
one buys a big SUV or diesel pickup, (with payments that then make boat
ownership almost impossible on many middle class incomes), there are
few vehicles sold that are suitable tow rigs for a trailerable boat.

More people today buy a boat to enhance another aspect of their
lifestyle. They may buy a boat for fishing, for skiing or tubing, for
camping and exploring, etc.

You are correct that we need to get younger people into boating, but
that will be a challenge with much of generation X. A lot of these
"kids" are in their mid 30's, with little desire to own anything that
will tie them down, little desire to marry or start a
family.....(average age of first marriages is now close to 30 YO,
compared to early 20's a generation ago)....and many of them
don't have enough disposable income to contemplate spending the
$1000/month and more it usually takes to own, insure, maintain, and
operate even a modest boat. These kids have done the jet-ski thing and
crossed "boating" off the list of things to do, or are eating tofu
snacks on a remote island with a kayak beached nearby.

Again, very well said Gould.

I could not agree with you more. It appears that a good portion of the
comments in this newsgroup are political bantering and childish debates.
When someone mentions this they are often given the standard options/reasons
that they have a choice to read OT topics and debates.

I wonder if I was to go to a politcal newsgroup how would I be received if I
insisted on posting boating concerns.

I have received some very good replies to my questions and I thank those
that have helped me.. Jim

On 19 Jan 2005 07:43:23 -0800, wrote:

Jaxashby wrote:

1985 was the high point in boat ownership in terms of units in the US
of A.
kids, now in their early 40's at the top side, are not taking up
sailing/boating. One yacht club I know of has just two members under
50.



You are correct that we need to get younger people into boating, but
that will be a challenge with much of generation X. A lot of these
"kids" are in their mid 30's, with little desire to own anything that
will tie them down, little desire to marry or start a
family.....(average age of first marriages is now close to 30 YO,
compared to early 20's a generation ago)....and many of them
don't have enough disposable income to contemplate spending the
$1000/month and more it usually takes to own, insure, maintain, and
operate even a modest boat. These kids have done the jet-ski thing and
crossed "boating" off the list of things to do, or are eating tofu
snacks on a remote island with a kayak beached nearby.

I'm not so sure I want to see boating further promoted. Many of the
places where I go have become so crowded that I have opted to take
days off during the week to go boating so as to avoid the mob at the
ramps on the weekend. Weekend camping/ boating trips have now turned
into Wed-Sat trips.

It's also safer on the water when you have fewer moving targets to
track at any one time. If the amount of stress exceeds the pleasure,
then you're not having fun anymore....

Just my two cents on the issue.

Dave

wrote:

..and many of them don't have enough disposable income to contemplate
spending the
$1000/month and more it usually takes to own, insure, maintain, and
operate even a modest boat.

I think that depends on your definition of a "modest boat". $1000 per
month over 5 years is $60,000. I would figure that would be at least a
$30,000 boat, certainly a bit more than "modest".
Remember, it's a boat, not a yacht. There are a lot of sub-$30K boats,
the problem is that they are not go-fast boats, nor are they high-end
cruisers.