Who are these kids?!?!

[Boatdrinks797]

Why is it that every time I watch a wakeboard/surfing clip on YouTube it's these kids cruising in a 100K Mastercraft! Who are these kids that can pull that off?

It physically pains me to say this, but...When I was there age, we had my dad’s 18ft Crestliner and my soon to be engineering buddies decided nothing could possibly go wrong if we use a 10ft aluminum fence post as a boom and secure it with a series of eye bolt's and ratchet straps!

I later found out the hard way they were wrong. But, I’ll save that story for another day...

[Mikey]

These kids you speak of are the MANY privelaged kids you often see at the lake,hanging out ,in front of the fancy houses/cottages. They are many ,no matter where you go. Unfortunetely very few of these kids have a real respect or appreciation for what they have or get to use and often abuse.
I grew up feelling pretty lucky my family had a boat, although never anything fancy ,but who cares,it was what myself ,my family and many friends learned to ski, wakeboard,tube, barefoot etc behind and i know i am forever gratefull to my dad in particular . He taught me it was a toy ,but one to be respected and not taken advantage of. He taught me to be carefull ,waterwise etc,yet to have fun. I learned by following the rules ,regulations etc and wa rewarded in the fact i've been using our boats ,unsupervised,yet safely since i was about 12,BEFORE boat licencing.

I now am the owner of my own boat and now DAD loves to come out on MY boat. Which he LOVES to drive.
What comes around goes around. Hopefully, these kids you see will end up the same.
Got a little off topic, yeah i wish we had a fancier,faster boat back in th day. WHO knows maybe ,i'd be a semiretired WATERSKI pro now,but oh well. WE did and still are having fun and now my kids are enjoying Boating as well. Just not behind 100k....

[chadjitsu1]

I dont typically see younger kids driving these boats on our lake. I generally see guys in their 20's and 30's driving them. I know that when I was in my early 20's there is no way that I could have afforded the boat I have now. I really think it comes down to the loans that banks are letting fly these days. You can finance a boat for 15 years, maybe some of you on here are doing this but not me. I make sure that I can pay off my toys as soon as possible. I don't like having debt for something that may or may not get used.

Ok all that being said if banks were not granting loans for 15 years and people were not able to afford these boats do you really think the boats would be as good as they are. The boat manufacturers need money for R&D of new products, that means they need to make the expensive boats some how affordable.

I don't think that no matter how high the quality of the products in the boat and how cool some of the stuff is that there is a justifiable price point of 100k+. There are engineering costs and other things but really..........? I feel like I have a boat that is really good now for the money. I dont see how another 50k would make it any better.

[rdlangston13]

I did a 6 year note on my current boat and may do a 15 on the next. The way I see it is I will have a sizable down payment due to being able to sell my current boat which will be paid off, so out of the gate if I buy brand new (unlikely) I will already NOT be upside down. Then I just keep my payments low to free up money for other things that may come up and then pay extra when I can or feel like it. In any case if a major life event were to happen that I need to offload some liabilities I should be able to sell and come out with a little cash in my pocket due to the size of the down payment.

[kaneboats]

Not the worst plan in the world. I paid cash for every boat I had before and kind of worked my way up to my first Moomba. But, I'm getting older and my kids are young now. I wanted it now so I financed some of it. Then I sold it and bought a new LSV-- financed a little more of this one. Still never going to be upside down in a boat though.

[mmandley]

Not the worst plan in the world. I paid cash for every boat I had before and kind of worked my way up to my first Moomba. But, I'm getting older and my kids are young now. I wanted it now so I financed some of it. Then I sold it and bought a new LSV-- financed a little more of this one. Still never going to be upside down in a boat though.

I think that's the best way to do it. The only 2 things we have financed that can put us in a bind is the house, because frankly i didn't have 200K laying around LOL. I did have my down payment and such.

Claudia's VW Passat TDI because its a Lease, no point in big down payments or over payments.

My truck as been a long string, i had the 06 F150 paid off in 3 years, traded it for the Black F350 Diesel. Paid 50% down. Then traded it a year later for the new rig and put 30% Down. I owe apx 10G less then its low value on trade in due to making slightly larger monthly payments then needed.

08 LSV i got for roughly 10G under sticker and put 5% down, made payments and kept it in the green. Sold it for enough to put 7% down on the new boat, plus the 15K down payment. Now the Mojo is very in the green and i really only plan to keep her for 4 years before i trade for the big kahuna super blinged out boat. That boat will be a long term boat as ill be in my mid 40s and plan to have some youngins.

In short i don't think it matters if you can pay it all in cash, make payments, or how ever you do it. Just keep the item worth more then you owe so you don't loose on it if you have to sell for some reason. People get into these discussions about paying interest, helping banks, helping the government, and what not.

You only Live Once, enjoy your life how ever you can. Don't be 70 and look back thinking man, if i would have taken a 15 year loan over a 6 year, i could have had my dream boat. Be the guy who is 70 and looks back at all the memories you had on those awesome days off.

[E4NASH]

...In short i don't think it matters if you can pay it all in cash, make payments, or how ever you do it. Just keep the item worth more then you owe so you don't loose on it if you have to sell for some reason. People get into these discussions about paying interest, helping banks, helping the government, and what not.

You only Live Once, enjoy your life how ever you can. Don't be 70 and look back thinking man, if i would have taken a 15 year loan over a 6 year, i could have had my dream boat. Be the guy who is 70 and looks back at all the memories you had on those awesome days off.

^^ THIS x 1000!

[KG's Supra24]

Just so not being upside down is not confused with actual costs ...

If you bought a 60k boat outright and sold it 5 years later for 40k, you paid 20k for your cost of ownership.

If you bought a 60k boat, paid 10k down, financed the rest for 15 years and sold in 5 years for 40k .... yes, you would put about 3k in your pocket at the sale because you weren't upside down HOWEVER your cost of ownership is in the 30k range, not the 20k range (60-40).

It's a personal decision for each individual and how much they are willing to pay to play. My boat is financed bc like mentioned above, I wanted the family to enjoy it now. I do find some of the terms on the new boats a little bit of a stretch. I think you will see alot of bank owned boats before long with these 15 and 20 year notes.

The kids driving the 100k rigs around here are supported by parents money.

[sicktc06]

I'm 25, bought my boat back when I was 21. It was the hardest choice I made but I went Moomba because that's what I my price range would allow me to do. I financed my boat because I thought exactly as above, I have wanted a boat since I was 10 or so and my father and I always dreamed about having one. Well unfortunately, that never happened. So, I chased a dream I had and decided to heck with it. I could afford a monthly payment, so why not go after it. I will admit that it was the best choice I've made. At times, the worst. LOL! I have had so much fun and memories made on my boat that I could not even begin to imagine where my life would be without it.

Yes I had those folks who ragged on me and think my parents buy everything for me, but that is absolutely not the case. My boat was purchased on my own, by myself, and by choices I made.

Now with that said, I was just recently in the market to trade my boat in for a Supra. (I backed out of that deal due to buying a house this year, but thats another story) But I took everything into consideration. My boat currently can sell for maybe a couple grand more than what i owe. Next year may be a different story due to the hours on it, it was over 400 hours on it and was brand new when I got it. It's been taken care of, everything, so I know it's a good boat. However, I may have a harder time selling it next year due to the hours it has.

I was going to go with the 20 year loan for a Supra as the payments would be not much more than what I currently pay, and I was OK with this term due to two main reasons:
1. Exactly as said, you only live once. Get a boat you dream about.
2. I will not have this boat the entire term. maybe 5 to 6 years of it, possibly a tad more, but thats it.

That's my two cents and I am one of the "Younger" folks having a boat, so I had to pop in. :p :) :D

[KG's Supra24]

http://imgace.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/YOLO-False-in-some-cases.1.jpg

[dusty2221]

http://f.kulfoto.com/pic/0001/0034/0sxaj33606.jpg

[sandm]

I totally agree with mike's statement. I enjoy every minute of boat ownership and want to have a boat that does exactly what I want it to do.

After some financial advice, keeping your debt/income ratio inline imo is more important than where the money goes at the end. whether you buy a big fancy boat on a 15 year note, or a cheaper boat and have jetskis, motorcycles, utv's and the such, or a second house, it's all about managing what you make and making sure you are liquid enough to get out if you need to(not upside down)..

to the op, it does make me sick to see 20somethings at the lake in 75k boats being towed by 50k trucks and guessing they are either from money and no respect for what they have or mortgaged to the hilt and one paycheck away from financial ruin.. sad thing is the courts have made bankruptcy all too common of a way out..

[jmvotto]

I agree with mike and Scott, but why use your own money when you can use someone else's (the banks, CU's etc).

[rdlangston13]

I'm 25, bought my boat back when I was 21. It was the hardest choice I made but I went Moomba because that's what I my price range would allow me to do. I financed my boat because I thought exactly as above, I have wanted a boat since I was 10 or so and my father and I always dreamed about having one. Well unfortunately, that never happened. So, I chased a dream I had and decided to heck with it. I could afford a monthly payment, so why not go after it. I will admit that it was the best choice I've made. At times, the worst. LOL! I have had so much fun and memories made on my boat that I could not even begin to imagine where my life would be without it.

Yes I had those folks who ragged on me and think my parents buy everything for me, but that is absolutely not the case. My boat was purchased on my own, by myself, and by choices I made.

Now with that said, I was just recently in the market to trade my boat in for a Supra. (I backed out of that deal due to buying a house this year, but thats another story) But I took everything into consideration. My boat currently can sell for maybe a couple grand more than what i owe. Next year may be a different story due to the hours on it, it was over 400 hours on it and was brand new when I got it. It's been taken care of, everything, so I know it's a good boat. However, I may have a harder time selling it next year due to the hours it has.

I was going to go with the 20 year loan for a Supra as the payments would be not much more than what I currently pay, and I was OK with this term due to two main reasons:
1. Exactly as said, you only live once. Get a boat you dream about.
2. I will not have this boat the entire term. maybe 5 to 6 years of it, possibly a tad more, but thats it.

That's my two cents and I am one of the "Younger" folks having a boat, so I had to pop in. :p :) :D

This is me except I bought my LSV at 23 instead of 21.

[sicktc06]

After some financial advice, keeping your debt/income ratio inline imo is more important than where the money goes at the end. whether you buy a big fancy boat on a 15 year note, or a cheaper boat and have jetskis, motorcycles, utv's and the such, or a second house, it's all about managing what you make and making sure you are liquid enough to get out if you need to(not upside down)..

I agree with you 100% here. I'm working on finding the perfect house for myself right now in every way - cost, space, area- whole 9 yards, the reason I didn't trade my boat in on the Supra, so I'm having to make sure I can manage my money correctly and have my backup funds in case something were to happen.


to the op, it does make me sick to see 20somethings at the lake in 75k boats being towed by 50k trucks and guessing they are either from money and no respect for what they have or mortgaged to the hilt and one paycheck away from financial ruin.. sad thing is the courts have made bankruptcy all too common of a way out..

Stereotypes ruin it for those of us who actually busted our @$$'s for what we have! I will say though, you can tell those who actually care about their possessions (most likely those who did work for it) and those who's been handed it just simply by their attitude and the way they go about boating. Now, I have actually asked someone who looked to be my age on an X-45 MasterCraft how they got their boat and have gotten the straight up answer his dad bought it. All I could do was... *FacePalm*

And YOLO? HA! You'll only hear me say that in it's full form on a rare occasion such as this one! My real motto is hakuna matata!!

[DDNorCal]

My opinion is it's better to own and control your cash flow. True financial freedom is not having a nut to cover each month. I've never been a fan of financing an asset that declines in value. Big items like a house you have to finance. but most everything else you don't. Buy used, save your cash until you can upgrade. I know it's not sexy and doesn't look as cool in your driveway, but I sleep a lot better at night.

To each his own. I have always assumed that 20 year olds with big expensive toys don't last long in the food chain of life. I also don't want to be the 70 year old who tells stories about the high point of their life at 25.

[rdlangston13]

To each his own. I have always assumed that 20 year olds with big expensive toys don't last long in the food chain of life. I also don't want to be the 70 year old who tells stories about the high point of their life at 25.

is it better to be 70 and have no stories to tell? your only young and able to recover from physical abuse from things like wakeboarding for so long. take advantage of your youth, i dont want to be like my dad and say "i could do that too if i were 25" i want to be 50 one day and say, "i used to do that when i was 25"

[tarheelskier]

i dont want to be like my dad and say "i could do that too if i were 25" i want to be 50 one day and say, "i used to do that when i was 25"

I am about to turn 43, I want to be 50 and STILL doing it!

[maxpower220]

I really don't mind young people on the lake with their toys or daddy's toys. I have no way to know if they appreciate it or not. I can only worry about what I can do for me and my family. I like it more if those people are slalom skiers (but that if rare).

I am amazed at the number of people on the forum that have newer boats and are spending thousands on stereo equipment for said boat.

[mmandley]

I am amazed at the number of people on the forum that have newer boats and are spending thousands on stereo equipment for said boat.

Yea whats up with that? LOL

[sandm]

Yea whats up with that? LOL

says the poster child for said statement :)

[mmandley]

says the poster child for said statement :)

Cant help it, i had to sell the old stereo with the LSV.

I'm just happy the Mojo had just enough stereo to be able to upgrade to the new one and not have to cut much out. Only had to cut in a couple tower speakers and cross over holes.

I will say, i do pay CASH for my stereo's and all my boating stuff. I only make a payment for the boat its self.

[bergermaister]

is it better to be 70 and have no stories to tell? your only young and able to recover from physical abuse from things like wakeboarding for so long. take advantage of your youth, i dont want to be like my dad and say "i could do that too if i were 25" i want to be 50 one day and say, "i used to do that when i was 25"

I like the way you think. Couldn't agree more with that.

[freshturk]

<---- 20something with a 50k boat and 50k truck. Don't forget that just because they're young does not mean they didn't bust their ass and earn every dime of it. I for one don't come from much just set my goals high right out of high school and am now reaping the benefits of the hard work. But, i wont lie, I'm probably far from the norm! Don't judge a book by its cover

[dusty2221]

freshturk, you beat me to it. As another 20something with the same as mentioned above, the automatic generalizations that are almost always automatically placed on us can be little frustrating some days.

[jmvotto]

I am about to turn 43, I want to be 50 and STILL doing it!

Amen Brother

[kaneboats]

freshturk, you beat me to it. As another 20something with the same as mentioned above, the automatic generalizations that are almost always automatically placed on us can be little frustrating some days.

You two are a couple of punks spending Daddy's money and you know it.

:D J/K. Congrats on reaping the benefit of your hard work and dedication. Unfortunately, you are the exception rather than the rule when it comes to young guys in expensive boats. I hope you raise your kids to be like you as you will very likely have the opportunity to do the opposite. If you do everything for your kids they will do nothing for themselves.

[dusty2221]

Oh lord, the little one has a long way to go. She sold me a toy for $2.00 the other day, I handed her $2.00 exactly and she gave me $1.01 back as change. Trying to explain she owed me nothing did not go so smooth.

[rdlangston13]

I see why you don't post on the supra forum much dusty!

Last year I posted the pictures from the Texas jam on the supra forum and it didn't take long for the hate to begin towards young people owning newer boats. I guess that's what you get on a forum where 80% of the members are 40+ and rocking boats made in the 80s...sorry Mike! Lol


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[Ian Brantford]

is it better to be 70 and have no stories to tell?

No way! I just wish that I could have afforded a wakeboarding boat when I was in my twenties. I got a house instead, way ahead of my friends. Then came the 18' runabout with small truck to tow it. Much later came the Moomba and towing upgrade, paid with cash. Frankly, I wish that I had done it earlier, despite not liking to carry debt. The job and my industry just were not stable enough to risk it.


your only young and able to recover from physical abuse from things like wakeboarding for so long.

That's why there is hydrofoiling. :-)


take advantage of your youth, i dont want to be like my dad and say "i could do that too if i were 25" i want to be 50 one day and say, "i used to do that when i was 25"
I want to be 50 and be able to say "I'm doing what I couldn't when I was 25". That includes boating and being surrounded by women... who are 25 or so. Hate me if you like, but I'm a late bloomer and missed out on a lot in my 20's.

I do not have any ill feelings toward youngsters with good gear if they are using it to no detriment of those around them.

[zabooda]

If kids can budget a boat then go for it. I had a new Hobie Cat when I was 20 and had my sail bag going from one end of my dorm room to the other and I was out sailing almost everyday. At 56, I'm still doing much of what I did when I was younger and added some new toys. I see the end in the horizon and I'm going until I can go no longer.

You need to balance priorities and when you're young with no kids you can do those things and you can remember those days as they may go away for a while when they have a family but it comes back with the kids get older and time to get a boat again. Somehow we have all found it in our budget to have a boat and I don't think none of us have regretted get one. I'm holding off getting a new boat until I can no longer water ski and then probably get a V drive and join the other 80% of the group.

[Mikey]

I'm 47 and have always had cars ,toys etc, just not a boat,till a few years ago that was actually mine. We are/ were a young married couple,who now have a couple of well rounded girls ,one nearly finished university and second finishing highschool and enrolled in Techinical institute for next year.BTW we are coming up on 25year anniversary.

We had different priorites as do most people,now we are slowly getting to OUR FUN carefree years??. My comments were not to chastise Young people in general,especially ones boating...

Here in Alberta ,particularily Calgary. There is a LOT of OIL and gas and Technology Money out there,and with it goes the Spoils to a lot of Kids. It is not uncommon to go to dealers and just Buy a boat outright,sometimes cash. I have seen it done... That is definetely not MY case. I worked hard for most of our boat and had a little inheritance help.

This was not saying there are exceptions and gladly there are many as many are testifying too.Good on you,weather buying or financing,is not the issue,my concern is the Spoiled rotten kids,that have no respect for there stuff,my stuff,etc. This just happens to be fairly common on a few close lakes to where we live.

[Mikey]

I can also add .Its not always 100k boats but there are a lot of them. We have the Number 1 MC dealer in the world sales,# 1or2 Malibu dealer,Number 2,3 Tige dealer,Moomba dealer was # 3,4 . These are all based on volume sales. and these are all dealers local or very near by.

[rdlangston13]

Also you have to remember those young people working in the oil and gas field up there. I have buddy from Canada who runs a cement crew on land and has been doing it for 5 years now. I don't know exactly what he makes but it's got to be close to 150,000 a year I so and he's only 25


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[Boatdrinks797]

This thread took a different twist from what I was expecting. Surprisingly, the common theme was to enjoy all the fun and atmosphere that boating creates regardless of where each of us are in our lives. I wasn't looking to start a class war or finance debate for that matter.

I was thinking back to a little over a decade ago when I got out of college and was thrilled that I could afford a jet ski (don't tell my ski/wake buddies i had one) at the time and the thought of getting a gas guzzling boat never even crossed my mind at the time. I've always been ultra conservative and whether you take out a 15 year note or pay in cash and the burn the receipt doesn't matter to me!

I catch a flight every week and live for the weekends at the lake cabin and wouldn't trade it for all the Crown Royal in the world. As much as I can't wait to unwrap my new boat, I'm certain I won't have any more fun on the water this year than I would have with my old boat. I just hope the young guys don't burry themselves in new boat's. After all, we need someone to offload our used boats on!

[sybrmike]

I guess that's what you get on a forum where 80% of the members are 40+ and rocking boats made in the 80s...sorry Mike! Lol

Hey, I resemble that remark - and proud of it.:cool: Sure, I'm more 50- than 40+ and my boat is 24 years old but I'm happy about both (glad to have made it this far & nobody makes big DD's anymore). I've been young & old, in & out of debt, boat & boatless - but the water has always held the same enjoyment. I highly recommend boating if you're so inclined and can find a way - just be smart about it and your own situation/wants/needs. Sorry if you caught some flack from my fellow geezers - you know how codgety us old farts can get when you young whippersnappers won't stay off our lawn/lake with all that newfangled boat stuff :p...

Personally, I don't care how others make or spend their money or how they came to be driving that nice new boat - only how they operate that nice new boat. With years has come the wisdom that I don't know jack sh!+ about other people and their finances. I don't presume to know if daddy or the recently departed grandma's insurance bought that boat, or if junior worked his a$$ off & paid cash or is mortgaged to the hilt - so I don't care. Just don't be a d!ck about it and think your money (or the appearance thereof) make you better than anybody else on the water. Of course, "you" and "your" are not directed at anyone particular (well except maybe those douches in the white sunglasses that pulled up in the "murdered" Supra at the TX Jam). You know what I mean if you were there...

[freshturk]

As much as I can't wait to unwrap my new boat, I'm certain I won't have any more fun on the water this year than I would have with my old boat. I just hope the young guys don't burry themselves in new boat's. After all, we need someone to offload our used boats on!

I said something very similar to my mother in law when we were at the pittsburgh boat show and she asked when/what my next upgrade would be. Now if you asked if your experience would be different going from an IO to a vdrive then i might say yes, but most certainly not when upgrading between various vdrives of the same length. At the point of spending 80k on a boat when we can have an awfully similar experience with 50k, it seems as if most people do it simply because they can not that their boating experience takes on a whole new meaning.

[sled - 1]

My neigbour is an orth0pedist. Makes about 2 mil a year. His 15 yr old son put almost 400 hrs on there brand new 80k bu last summer including a new motor!

Does this piss me off, heck no...Joey is a good kid and his dad went to school for 14 yrs and works his butt off. Not all men and women are created equal and not all people have the drive or ability to be successful.

Don't tell me for one sec that if you made that kind of money you wouldn't do the same for your kids!

I don't want to get political and I must add I'm very right on polotics, but the fact of the matter is the haves have more and the rest are fighting over the scraps.

OK off my soap box, just enjoy the lake, I feel very lucky to have a house on a lake and have my front yard a pearl gem every morning, and quess what so do my kids. What are people going to say when my 13 yr old and my other neighbours 13 yr old are driving around in our Moomba's and MC's. Probably the same thing...but to heck with them, the lakes and rivers belong to all and toys like nice boats are just stuff.

[zabooda]

I don't let my daughter or anyone else use my recreational toys. I don't buy stuff for them to wear out and my daughter is now 24 and she is pretty much on her own but she has asked a few times to use the boat. I give her support to get an education so she can get neat stuff. Besides, she wouldn't take care of the boat like I do and I like the boat to be ready the next time I go out.

If I ever get hit by Son of Daddy Bigbucks then it's Daddy who has to make things right and that may be a nice boat like they have.

[hiflyr]

Guess I am old fashioned if it is a toy and you cannot write a check for it you do not need it.

[rdlangston13]

If its a toy, regardless of being able to write a check for it or not, you do not need it


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[jpetty3023]

If its a toy, regardless of being able to write a check for it or not, you do not need it


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touché sir


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