Why people buy yachts

Great find Milow

This article is perfectly written down to the last word.

What would the world be without boats .

Perfect and my hubby did start as an accountant but he's been long ago corrupted. We love the water. Simple. We lived on a lake and yet there was something that took us to another world of euphoria in just getting in our boat and going out. We live on water now but still there is nothing like actually being out on it. Ecstasy. Euphoria. It's all that to us. And if you need it explained to you, if you don't have that same feeling, then it's not for you. It's one of those things that if it needs an explanation it's not real. We had a neighbor shocked that we'd spend so much on a boat. Well, we asked how much his suites that the company he owned had at Dolphins, Marlins, Panthers, and Heat games cost per year. We didn't tell him that was dumb. Just simply to a boater, would you rather spend it locked up in a building with a bunch of other people, often many drunks, watching a game you can see better on your tv at home or would you rather spend it out on the water where everything is better. Maybe he's never had sex with the man or woman he loves 30 miles off shore on the bridge under the stars and moon and nothing else in sight, the salt breezes fanning you as you do.

I would still take this article with a grain of salt. "Sex on the yacht"? Must be the most expensive sex if you ask me.

From what I gathered, there are 2 major reasons people buy things as expensive and quickly depreciating as yachts:

1. They truly love boating and everything about it (tropics, fishing, watersports, etc.)
2. They do it for status.

I had a very rich friend who would love to drive German cars and would go a buy a new model of BMW or Mercedes AMG every once in a while. Every time I drive with him, he follows the speed limit and never really enjoyed the power and speed thay are capable of. When I asked him why then he buys these type of cars. He tells me that he wants to look good and present his family name in a good way.

Yet, the same guy still owns an old 1970s 20' or so cabin cruiser given to him by his grandfather. The boat is just a relic, worth nothing and spends most of its time in the covered storage in the Great Lakes. I can see that the guy really loves boating and will probably buy a good yacht when he makes up his mind.

You're so right and the status part is the one part that actually bothers us about buying things like cars and boats. We don't like the appearance it gives. Sometimes I feel guilty about it. I buy cause I like and want and can but the whole status stuff is not my kind of thing. I never understood on the lake the fancy boats that sat unused and I sure don't get it with all the yachts. That's why I don't even like the word. They're boats. We get boats because we like the water and cars (well except for amphibians and I wouldn't mind having one of those) won't go on the water. If all we could afford was a 16' outboard then we'd have it and use the heck out of it.

When we worked more than we do now, some days were stressful. But if we could get in our boat and head out into the lake, the wind and air took it all away. It's a feeling. I don't know why that feeling is so strong for some people and not others but glad we both love it equally.

Why does the eagle fly ? Because he can !!! Unless for trading or living (like fisherman), boating is superfluous like most other hobbies.

But a hobby is what makes us different from species that only live for one purpose, to survive to be able to reproduce.

Life is to be lived and that means balancing work with play. I know so many who never do. Either they never find hobbies or they work so hard and such long hours they have no time and energy left for anything including family. I was that guy until I met Belle. I loved boating but I didn't make time for it. There was always more work to be done so I stayed in the office doing it.

The water can be the quiet serenity you need. But it also is just the best recreation for family and friends and socializing and spending quality time. I just finished a book by someone who retired early and the couple moved on their boat. One comment was about loving all the time together and realizing how little time they'd had together before. Work, kids activities, and then tired and just sitting in front of the tv. We share other loves, especially music, but none gives us the pleasure of the water.

The bolded part had me laughing...priceless.

That's it, as simple as that. Excellent article, I would only add that being floating on an ocean or sea is what produces those feelings of being cut-off from everyday problems, more than in places inland.

Well said!

Passion is what we ought to live for. Perhaps the goal of life is to die with the least regret. If a person wishes he were doing something else instead, he had failed already, regardless of what the society thinks.

That said, many successful people got to where they were because their work is their passion.

You hit my fave word, "Passion." People just think of it in the romantic or sexual sense but we need passion for life and the things we do in our life. My hubby and I were both lucky that we had it toward our jobs. Also toward the charities we're involved with. And toward the water and boating. You may have passion in many areas.

You mention successful people and "work is their passion." If it becomes their sole passion, that's sad I think. But it should be a passion of theirs. That's why Captains are cool people, because most of them have passion for their work.

It is better to have more than one passion. However, too many people have no passion whatever. They live just to survive and they work because they were expected to.

Anyway, some people buy yachts to make a statement. This is different from using the boat as a status symbol. Especially for custom builds, every choice and decision is manifested as a part of the master design. Perhaps the new owner can discover a thing or two about himself through the process.

I didn't even grasp what passion was until October 13, 2000. I never saw it in my family growing up. That's why now I feel so strongly about people finding their way to happiness, whatever that takes. Until that date, I just existed, survived. Since then I've lived.

Now, I really loved the water before. And it was an escape. But to say I felt passionate about it wouldn't be true. Just better than other places and that's not enough. And I'd say for those considering yachting, if it's just to escape from land and day-to-day, that's ok, but the frustrations and difficulties will chase you away eventually. You have to love it enough to take the bad days, rough seas, break downs, and the rest as just bumps along the way. It hopefully makes you joyous in a way few things do.

I have allway's thought he who has the most toy's is the winner LOL

TRAVLER

If you love the water and being around boats that that is the goal.
I can least afford my commitment but enjoy caring for and using:
18' Gloucester dory now in for her 4 year refit
37' cruiser/racer sailboat now in winter storage getting updates
45' F/B sport cruiser now in West Palm for the winter
7' fatty knees on the back of above

There is no boat I can't enjoy, just some more than others. We once bought some $88 sailboats that a dealer had to promote his business (business name on sail). They were made of Styrofoam but on Sunday afternoons we'd often just use them near our dock rather than fight all the maniacs on the lake. Then as everyone else went home, we'd get in our boat and go for a cruise.

7' fatty knees?

Fatty Knees Dinghy Design: A solid dinghy that's fun to sail

Looks like a fun boat.

“A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking.” Andy Warhol