how much longer can we afford to fish

there is nothing wrong with fishing out of a 4 or 5 year old boat or even a little older. i have a 98 skeeter and couldnt be more happy it runs just as good as all the other boats, and if your good enough you should beable to fish in an aluminum boat and win a tournament you can get a new one of them for half the price of a new fiberglass boat
if you are one of the people complaining about the cost of boats cuase you want a new one GO GET ANOTHER JOB! work 2 jobs for a while so you can afford it.
STOP COMPLAING AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
oh and if your life the disable guy.....the way i see it if you can fish you can work. you can do some type of work. maybe not the best job in the world but you do not have to stay on disability!

True story I won a Local Fishing Club Tournament being drawn out with a guy who owned a 10' john boat with a 7 hp outboard motor on it.... Fished the Main river in front of Oil Creek in the middle of July...caught 3 keepers and a 7.7 lb. drum in the process...So anything can happen, just goes to show, it only takes a little effort on your part to get it done..... I did and with the winning of the Tournament I became the Clubs 1st ever Angler of the Year as a NON-Boater.

Okay, I think I have figured out how to fish as much as I want without it costing an arm and a leg. This is going to take some help from all of you though! Each month for the coming year, I need 0ne person to adopt me. We will list it under the "Take a Kid Fishing" clause. ( I promice to act childish to keep this in order.) I will leave my job, move in with you and go fishing as often as you want. I will fill out any necessary paperwork for tax deduction purposes. Those interested just let me know and I will forward to you a grocery list of likeable foods, (Don't want to make the move any harder on me than it has to be.), life jacket size and so on. And another bonus is that I carry my own health ins. Food for thought!!

I was told at the show that the cost of boats has gone up 400 to 500% in the last 4 years. Does that seem right?

Rick

I think the quality of boats needs to be considered when you talk of how much more expensive bass boats are now. Today's boats are made of some extraordinary composites, foam, etc., as opposed to the old days of wood and fiberglass. Even the motors have come a long way! Technological advances don't come cheap!

i thaught boats were still made out of fiberglass with foam put inside the hull so it will float or something. but still the main structure is fiberglass i thaught

"Fiberglass" is an all inclusive term.........there's so many different variations, mixtures, types, and so on and so forth - it's the same way with the word "foam". The resins, the laminates, and the many different processes in which boats are made today far exceeds that of the way boats were made when you could get a brand new one around $20,000. Sure, new boats of today may cost more, but the lifespan of one should be much longer than boats made with older technology.

The boat itself isn't the problem, boats are much cheaper than the engines...What about the technological advances in the newer motors..higher price...LESS dependable, alot less life expectancy on motors? The motors are less dependable than in the past and so are most automobiles.
Tim
bassmater

Bassmaster,

You must have had a run of bad luck with engines. Todays hi-tech outboards are more reliable than at any time in the history of combustion engines. Same for automobiles. And Matt Plapp I agree with you.

Quite to the contrary. I'm running a 1994 Mercury XR6 and no problems, before that a 1990 XR4--zero problems...What caused Johnson & OMC to go out of business? Can you say FICHT? I can take you to a boat dealer who has had 3 E-tecs in the last 2 months that are blown, one of them was used very little. Know of 2 Optimax's blown last summer. I know personally several guys that have blown engines as we speak (2-5 year old motors). I personally know of one guy who has blown two new motors in the last 5 years. And these are just the one's I know of...I also know that there are newer motors that end up being great motors with little or no maintenance problems.
I guess I'm old school and that's me. I know I've owned several new vehicles in my lifetime and seemed like I had less problems with them years ago than I do now. Just my two cents worth...not uncommon to get 2-300,00 miles on an older vehicle motor but not heard of that much this day and time...Fact is they don't make 'em like they used to (TOO LAST WITH MINIMAL MAINTENANCE PROBLEMS). I'm no mechanic and know very little about motors but they use less oil now and to me I would think you would want the boat to use more oil like mine does as well as most motors 10-20 years old and older(not to rich because it would build carbon on piston wall).
Just one man's opinion and I'm sure some will agree and well as disagree with me. You're not gonna change my mind as well as I'm not gonna change yours and I'm not gonna hurt Plapp's business or anyone else's by stating my opinion. I have a friend that own's a boat dealership and that's the way he makes his living. I'm just speaking from a poor man's perspective. If you've got the money to burn no problem just stating what's best for me and knock on wood, my boat motors have been great with only 1 minor maintenance problem (prop shaft seal).
See ya'll on the water,
Tim
bassmaster

[QUOTE=artcarney_agr;286169]I think kids get more and more expensive........that's why I don't have any.....and also why I have a great boat and truck! :)[/QUOTE]
I would not trade every boat and truck in the world for the joy that my children bring me.Besides when you are 75 and need your diaper changed that boat and truck is not going to cut it!LOL

[quote=mrobertson;286376]
STOP COMPLAING AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
oh and if your life the disable guy.....the way i see it if you can fish you can work. you can do some type of work. maybe not the best job in the world but you do not have to stay on disability![/quote]

I have two questions for you, mrobertson - HOW and WHY?
HOW can you make such a remark about me when you know nothing about me or the circumstances of my disability? It took me a long time to get it, but when all the pieces were in place and my case went to court, there was no hesitation on the part of the judge - I was awarded total disability on the spot. My attorney, whose specialty is disability, said it was the first time he had ever seen it happen like that. WHY is it that you feel you are in a position to pass judgment on me? What is the source of your authority to be so judgmental? I just don't appreciate being denigrated in a public forum by someone who doesn't know me or anything about me.[IMG]http://www.fishin.com/forums2/images/icons/icon9.gif[/IMG]