On May 2, 9:10�am, "Duke" wrote:
"JimH" wrote in message

...







wrote in message
oups.com...
Just wondering if any of you larger boat guys are contemplating
downgrading your boat, or giving up time on the water this year due to
the high costs? I would think it would pretty much suck to have to
give up amenetities you have been accustomed to for so long. If so,
what do you have, what will you consider as an alternative?

If we still had our 32 footer we would not be planning the Lake Erie
cruises we normally took, including our Canada trip. *We would also limit
our trips to the islands. *Filling a 186 tank @ $4~$5 gallon is a killer.

I said it before and I will say it again.........we sold that boat and
replaced it with a 20 footer at the right time...and we are having a blast
with it.

My son will be taking the boat out this year with his friends.........he
is boating safety (in class) certified and was out with me (1 on 1) many
times last year learning the boat and how to maneuver it, especially in
tight places.. *As he is leaving for the US Marine boot camp in September
the keys are his whenever he wants them this summer. *;-)

(BTW: *He knows that no alcohol is permitted on board when he uses the
boat and has promised me to obey that rule)

"BTW: *He knows that no alcohol is permitted on board when he uses the boat
*and has promised me to obey that rule"

Well that's no fun !!!

j/k *

Duke- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

It may be no fun, but who ever heard of any kid promising to behave in
a certain way and then doing whatever the heck they felt like once out
of sight?
Personally, I couldn't begin to imagine it.

Jim's right to educate his kids that drinking at the helm is a no-no.
But especially as they get older you can only do what you can do, and
then you have to accept that they are going to screw up, make
mistakes, or even be downright defiant. Probably been that way in
every generation past and will likely be the same for every generation
in the future.

Jim most likely does not have this problem, but the parents with
almost no hope of teaching their kids not to drink and drive or drink
and boat are those who haven't set the example. I was asked to be a
judge in a family boating photo contest at a recent boat show, and
there were a couple of entries showing a family underway on a boat and
an open beer bottle in the cup holder next to the skipper. The parents
in those families could preach against drinking at the helm until they
run out of breath, but the kids are going to do what they have seen
the parents do much more readily than they are going to follow rules
that the parents routinely ignore.