Anyone who owns an ocean-going craft can tell you that BOAT is an acronym for Break Out Another Thousand. It is often said that the two best days of boat ownership are when you buy it and when you sell it. I recently visited with Steve. He had just returned from a day on the salt.
CAP’N GREG: How was it?
STEVE: Great day. Flat water. Decent fish. Dolphins, seals, rays. Everything worked. Didn’t sink. What else is there?
CAP’N GREG: So, is owning a boat worth it?
STEVE: Absolutely. On the trailer in my back yard, it costs me nothing at all.
CAP’N GREG: What happens when you put it in the water?
STEVE: As close as I can figure, it eats up a house payment every 10 minutes.
CAP’N GREG: Where do you get your gas?
STEVE: A little taco stand down by Manny’s.
CAP’N GREG: I mean for the boat.
STEVE: Oh. Any PEMEX or the marina. I got a big engine. Costs a few hundred every trip, easy.
CAP’N GREG: What’s else?
STEVE: Let’s see. There’s the launch fee. Snacks, water, cigars and sodas. A least eight bags of ice. Sunscreen, toilet paper, seasick pills, batteries for the backup GPS and VHF radio. And the three B’s.
CAP’N GREG: The three B’s?
STEVE: Bait, beer and bourbon. Those can run more than the fuel.
CAP’N GREG: That’s all??
STEVE: Saltwater eats electronics, the steering, trailer bearings and wiring. Fishing rods go overboard. Reels need maintenance.
CAP’N GREG: But it’s still fun?
STEVE: Oh, yeah. To go out. Before and after, not so much.
CAP’N GREG: What advice would you give someone who wants to buy a boat and enjoy the amazing Sea of Cortez?
STEVE: Find a charter. Pay whatever they ask.
CAP’N GREG: But what if someone really, really wants to own a boat?
STEVE: Mine’s for sale. Make me an offer.
CAP’N GREG: Steve, wiser words have never been spoken.
