What do you guys/gals do to pay for your addiction?

[ian ashton]

By addiction I certainly mean boating/wakebaord/ski-ing/etc. :lol:

I am a home loan officer with a big bank, and have yet to buy a boat, but will hopefully be making the move within the next few weeks...

What about everyone else?

[spyder]

System Administrator / Engineer at Research In Motion (RIM)..

Oh, and I am 26. Own a 2006 Mobius LSV and a 2005 Toyota Matrix, and I have no debt.. Sorry to boast ;)

[bobwells]

I sell pot... :lol:

[lanceswake]

bobwells

You must have a couple of these boats then huh bob?

[MasterMind3002]

Computer Tech/System Administrator

Amateur male dancer :D

[lanceswake]

ian ashton

Unless you just have money to burn it's definately a hobby you must love to do it. The boat payment & ins. is only just the beginning. There's always ice, food, beer, gas, wake/skate/surf boards, vests, ropes, gas, and more gas!

[bobwells]

you can check my profile and see i'm only joking, am very blessed to have 1 and its a '98 mobius, before the Lord got my attention I'd been known to roll the dice :wink: this June is 12 years clean & sober...life is good and God is Great :D

[lanceswake]

That's awesome bob!!

[teamctl]

Systems Administrator

In our line of work it's good to have a sport like wakeboarding for a hobby. High stress, very long hours and lots of time sitting on our arse isn't good for the ol' ticker.

-Jay

[Membrain]

I'm in water treatment! Go figure!!!

[ian ashton]

ian ashton

Unless you just have money to burn it's definately a hobby you must love to do it. The boat payment & ins. is only just the beginning. There's always ice, food, beer, gas, wake/skate/surf boards, vests, ropes, gas, and more gas!

Oh I know, believe me! I've been on the water my whole life; I just haven't owned a boat of my own yet. Last spring one of my buddies bought a 23' Yamaha that I've spent about every day on from May to September, lol. The ski/wake boat is actually a compromise with myself; I was hoping to buy a 37' Formula SS this spring, but I decided the 'responsible adult' thing to do would be keep the cash in the bank and just help my dad get a boat that he really wants. In a year or 2 I'll hopefully be buying the big boat, but for now I'll at least have some fun behind a Moomba or Supra!

[lanceswake]

Responsibility should be classified as a four-letter word. Right ?!?

[lanceswake]

For me the biggest addiction is after several attempts, and face plants, I finally pull off a new trick on my wakeboard. The feeling is undescribable! It's a huge rush and I count the days till I can go back and do it again. It's a passion man!

[ian ashton]

I know! I'm very excited to get on the water behind a boat meant for boarding. The twin engine jet boat doesn't produce the greatest conditions for wakeboarding, but like I always say; If I'm in/on the water, I'm happy.

[04OUTBACK]

VP of Sales-National Accts in Hunting industry..

[LARGECAR]

Helicopter mechanic

[tarkus70]

Rail Road Supervisor

[JesseC]

Senior System Analyst/Programmer - I hate computers though...go figure.

[ATLOUTBACKV]

i run a car/marine audio shop

[zegm]

Mine Warfare Engineer

My wife - Senior System Analyst/Programmer

We have 2 boats

Her - MasterCraft soon to be a Moomba LS

Mine -a 25ft Long twin engined Proline for trolling in the Gulf of Mexico!

[tazz3069]

Electrical Contracter. I own my own business.

[deerfield]

ian - To pay for the Outback purchased last year I used money from my job as a commercial banker. Been in the business fourteen years. Prior to 1994, I was in government service at the federal and state levels. My first job out of undergraduate school in 1980 was state trooper here in Illinois. Saved up money for three years, drove to Florida, bought a used Nautique in the Orlando area, and pulled it back to Illinois. That was the start of my appreciation of tournament ski boats. Having a great time now sharing my interest in water sports with my three sons. - Deerfield

[zegm]

Deerfield,

My wife and I met in 1982 in college discussing Water skiing. We have skied for years, it got boring actually. Then we had 2 kids a 10 year old boy and an 8 year old girl. Now I love driving the boat!!!! They are both very good offshore fisherman too! They can hear the sound of an outrigger clip snapping from way down in the cabin and before I can turn around and grab the rod they have it!!!

[deerfield]

zegm - Have seen several times that you are a two boat family. Must be nice having the option of going out into big water. I would like to have a center console twin engine boat in addition to our ski boat. We live two miles from Lake Michigan and some great fishing. It's a purchase maybe five years out on the horizon. Nice to hear that your kids enjoy the fishing as well as the fun stuff behind the MC (soon to be LS). - Deerfield

[Psmartell]

I work for my local city government as a Capitol Improvement Construction Inspector that oversee's projects dealing with city owned property.Was a ASE Master Mechanic prior to this,my wife works in Pharmecutical Drug Testing. Our LSV is our third boat,prior boats were 89 Nautique 2001 and 95 sanger DLX20.

[501]

I just purchased my first Mobuis XLV, 2008. I should be able to pick it up in a couple months. I own my own Security Company that specializes in Digital Surveillance. Formerly I was a Systems Admin. Seems to be a lot of computer nerds here like me.

[bambam26]

Fireman/EMT been at it for 22 years now this is my 18th as a career Firefighter............. :lol:

[local 11 spark]

Union Electrician---25 years, married to a great, hot gal who makes good money, I AM TRULY BLESSED!!!!
All I could see myself affording was an Outback...I wanted something that will last me 20years, light weight, so I can tow it to my place in Havasu when I retire in 10 years...hope, hope!!! 8)

[zegm]

Deerfield,

Yes we have his and hers boats. Our (hers) MasterCraft is a 1975 Stars and Stripes that we bought used way back in 1985ish so there have not been any payments on it for many years. So when we moved here from Atlanta 5 years ago we were able to buy a (mine) 1997 Proline 231 Walkabout with twin Evinrude Ficht 150s to enjoy fishing in the Gulf. You should consider purchasing your center console down here, there are thousands of fishing boats and hundreds of dealers so you can always find a great deal here on a fishing boat. The opposite is true in this area with the Skiboats. The nearest skiboat dealer is 2 hours away (MC) and the closest Moomba dealer is 5 hours away. That is why I had to go to Atlanta to get the Moomba. We do live on a fresh water lake so the skiboat will Never see salt water.

[bamaspiveys]

I manage a team of Network and Systems Engineers for a large Healthcare Management Company.

Teamctl is right this is a great hobby for stress relief, so it does not really surprise me that a high percentage of people on here are IT related.

[Buttafewcoe]

Mechanical engineering. CNC Programming

[Yellowmobius]

Very interesting post,
Me, I work for the State of ND in the IT field, Fiber Networks. 9 y/o boy and 11 y/o girl and a GREAT wife! My girl started wakeboarding at age 6. the boy not so much, still not sure if he is my kid (LOL). Boating is truly a passion for me!

[ian ashton]

VP, loan officer, "The" IT Staff and "the" appraisal department of the local Farm Credit.

Wait, so you originate the deal, then appraise the property? Thats incredible! I guess you don't have a whole lot of problems with appraisals coming in low, lol. We aren't even allowed to talk to our appraisers anymore with all the craziness in the market!

[BLKOUTLS]

system design, programming and install of home automation and av systems. i get to work with expensive toys all day.

[Sled491]

General Contractor, had my own company for 7 yrs now. Wife used to be a sales rep for an electronics company with customers like US navy and Chevy, and GE Medical. Then for 4 yrs she was a stay at home mom and for the lat year has been our Business Manager.

Way more computer geeks than I would have every imagined, just kidding guys settle down :lol:

I like the debt free guy, obviously hasn't started his family yet hey Z. Try a couple kids in private school, and all there activities. Oh yeah and vacation becomes a whole new level of expensive :cry:

[ian ashton]

I had a laugh about the debt free comment as well. I'm debt free, except for the $200k I owe on my house, LMAO!!!

[teamctl]

SEARK: I saw this in the paper today and thought you may be interested:

http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080302/NEWS01/803020323

Even though I went to UWA, I still head over to ULM's bayou to watch the ski team practice. I can understand not wanting to ride after that level of talent! Those guys and gals are awesome.

Anyone one in the Monroe area looking to ride this coming weekend, send me a PM!

-Jay

[SEARK]

teamctl,

They should raise the students fees there. When I was down there they never had a problem increasing fees for one thing or anther. :lol: I don't even remember having much say in it when they did.

I am glad to see they are still the best.

[spyder]

General Contractor, had my own company for 7 yrs now. Wife used to be a sales rep for an electronics company with customers like US navy and Chevy, and GE Medical. Then for 4 yrs she was a stay at home mom and for the lat year has been our Business Manager.

Way more computer geeks than I would have every imagined, just kidding guys settle down :lol:

I like the debt free guy, obviously hasn't started his family yet hey Z. Try a couple kids in private school, and all there activities. Oh yeah and vacation becomes a whole new level of expensive :cry:

Yeah, debt free is possible when you still live at home... probably should have mentioned that .... :D

[davidl]

Retired Msgt U.S Air Force. We now have a Pole Building company which my lovely Bride runs and I am a Heavy equipment sale rep for the west coast.(dump trucks,trailers, Low boys ect...) We have raised two wonderfull daughters, Oldest is married, youngest just graduated and is on here way! Very Blessed !!

[smokedog2]

Interesting on the pole building thing. I’m considering building one here in Ohio. Probably next year to be more convenient for grabbing the boat. I’m looking for two doors high enough so I do not need to drop the tower, 40x50 or so, electric and insulation, cement floor (I think).

Any hints I should look for in a building?

I’m considering using these guys.

http://blitzbuilders.com/


And what happened to that guy that made like one post saying we should stick to talking boats and boards?

He never did post to talk about either!

SD2

[davidl]

Smoke, E mail me and I will send you a packet we have. It will give you some options on what you want. We have a 36' x 60' x 14' shop and it works well for the boat and toys. Don't hesitate to ask on the building thing we have built a TON of these!!
Take care......Davidl Our web sit is mwbsc.com Check us out!

[JoeTechie]

I Own an IT/consulting company for law firms. Geek x 33 years


Geeks are the ones that utilize web resources naturally, so it is not uncommon to see them (EDIT: "us") as a majority of members on web boards. With that said, I'm wondering if the breakdown would be the same on the Malibu or Mastercraft boards ?

-J

[ian ashton]

Its always interesting to see the different occupations on different types of forums. On a BMW forum I frequent there are a lot of business people, most of the off topic threads are about investments and the like. At a sport compact car forum I frequent its about 95% young kids in college and highschool (and their topics of discussion, grammar, and spelling reflect it!) At the Chrysler 300 forum there seems to be a general mix of all kinds of jobs, no common thread there which I found suprising.

This is the only boat forum I belong to and now come to on a regular basis (except for the supra forums, which don't get a lot of action. I'm also on Formula boats forum, but I don't really frequent it much.)

[Membrain]

Hey Popeye or Gunny!?

I just saw where you are retired military. We have a NAS on the little lake we ski called Carswell. It is too cool…you can anchor just off the runway and watch the F18’s do touch and gos. Sometimes a B52 will fly over and do a couple touch and go’s. First time that happened, I thought I was experiencing Armageddon and a solar eclipse!!!!!!! Mostly we see C130’s. We see lots of Chinooks. My favorites are the Warthogs!

Each year we have an air show (except for last year), and we all go out there on the lake to watch. Front row seats! Way cool!! Getting caught in an F18 jet wash on the lake when they go vertical right over you is an experience you never forget. You gotta love the smell too…well, ok, maybe not! We watched a vintage WW2 P51 Mustang and a Hell Cat trying to outrun an F14 Tomcat in a mock dogfight. It just wasn’t right!!! The poor WW2 planes were flying their arses off, and the Tomcat was about to stall following behind them!!!! The F4 corsair was cool!

You ask your self how I know so much about this kind of stuff??? My Dad is ex Army…


…watching dogfights on the History Channel helps a little too…

[davidl]

Your O.K. in my book !! Suck that J-P-4 fuel up !!!! Thats the smell of power. Also freedom!. I am a c-130 hurk guy. Load specailast. I built the rist pallets and loaded the birds. Flew a ton, I have been on 131's 130's, B-52's 141's and C-5's. My Avator is out of respect for my grandfather. He was a navy man,served on the battleship USS Chicago. Hit by a Jap-Sub in the pacific and spent 6 weeks in a rubber raft. (my hereo).My Wife is also a retired MSGT. Jet blast is my Viagra!!!

[Digger]

That would be an incredible sight thats for sure! I am glad that you guys burn all that fuel, I am in the oil patch in Alberta Canada and would like to thank you for all your support :D Taht is where I make my money to fuel this so called addiction. I have been to some air shows up here but there is no way in heck that you would ever be able to get underneath a jet in flight unless it was flying at 25000 feet. And yes for all you smart a$$ guys down south, we do have a couple jets :lol:

[Bombguy]

Former USAF Explosive Ordnance Disposal Tech, current Ordnance and Explosives contractor. Wife is an Environmental Engineer. We have a 2005 Mobius LS. The wife and son are getting ready to start their third summer wakeboarding. Due to recent back surgery, I've been restricted to boat driver/cabin boy. This summer, I'm gonna try my hand at wake surfing, so Ed might be hearing from me, hopefully for some pointers, but possibly some whining. :D

Neil

[davidl]

Digger, I just have to say.........Do you really have jets?.... Just kidding my friend we love you cunnnnooks. Your Snow birds (air team) are the BEST. Huge nads to fly that way. See-ya Sarg.

[Digger]

Well kind of... they are supermarine spitfires that we bought off the R.A.F. in the 1940s. We have done some upgrades though, like strapping some bottle rockets to wings :lol: Actually, you are quite right. We have a great areal team up here and they are nuts! Unfortunately a few of them in the last couple years have crashed. The blue angels are very good as well, I have seen them preform a couple times. Hats off to all those guys.

[h2oskierrick]

Excellent post!
Me I'm a QA Analyst for a major airplane building company in the Northwest!! That's a fancy name for a production troubleshooter! If the parts don't fit or can't be installed we figure out why, who, when etc.. get it fixed so the plane can go through production.

Enjoy the water everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Hammer]

Own a Termite & Pest control business here in Ft Worth Tx.Just purchased my first 08 LSV Mobius SWEET!!!!!!!!

[Membrain]

Hey Bombguy,

So your wife is an environmental engineer? What do she do? I’m a manager over water treatment.

The Blue Angels were at Carswell two summers ago. Those guys are unreal!

[Membrain]

Hey Hammer…time,

You are close to Lake Worth…you oughta come on out this summer! We’ll be in the white XLV GG with a dorky looking kid in a green helmet doing flips!

[ian ashton]

We were on Lake St Claire over the summer and one day there was an F16(?) doing sweeps around the lake, talk about insane; very cool experience.

[byronkoz]

Hey Bombguy,

So your wife is an environmental engineer? What do she do? I’m a manager over water treatment.

The Blue Angels were at Carswell two summers ago. Those guys are unreal!

Membrain, are you waste water treatement?

[Membrain]

No, I’m in Potable water.

[zegm]

This post is going wild and to think it almost started off on a sour note too! But you know most of you guys can't boat yet, I can but don't have the boat yet so what better way to get to know each other. I get stuck playing with Mine Warefare equipment towed behind the MH-60 Seahawk while watching the 43rd fighter squadron go out in their nice new F-22 Raptors and just piss of the other 2 F-15 squardrons. Airshows everyyear!! And the guy mentioned a C-131!!! Wow that is rare as well as the Spitfires and the Hellcat!!! Everone come on down as the airshow will be March 28 here at Tyndall AFB Panama City Florida. And until you see the Raptor demo you haven't seen anything yet, I love planes too and grew up on a Naval Air Station and have seen at least 20 airshows, BAs and TBs but this baby WOW! Last year he stole the show! I have never seen anything like it before and it was the slow speed stuff that blew me away!

[Membrain]

You know, the F 35 is being built here in Ft. Worth. We’ve seen some of the proto types flying around once in a while. That’s s one bad plane! I’d hate to be the country picking a fight with us! These things are one big can of whip arse!

[aerophoto]

I am a Teacher Wife a Lawyer she pays for the boat I get the summers off to ski with my daughters.

In the Summer I am an Aviation Photographer ( Military )

Bill

[zegm]

I guess you saw the F-22 Raptor demo? Whats with the Toranoda on your website, seems like the F-18 would be your choice? I really wish I could see an AD-1 Skyraider!!!!!

[aerophoto]

I guess you saw the F-22 Raptor demo? Whats with the Toranoda on your website, seems like the F-18 would be your choice? I really wish I could see an AD-1 Skyraider!!!!!

Have a whole set dedicated to the Hornet I am one of the photographers that shoot Maple Flag. I Love that shot taken at Maple Flag in 2006 Right after Flag I will be getting my new boat...Yea. And YES The F-22 at Nellis was FANTASTIC.

[zegm]

Go to pride and joy and look up the 2008 LS, that is our new boat, it is at the dealer now. I will go pick it up Friday! Unfortunately for us the dealer is 5 hours away. March 28th I will be on Tyndall AFB to watch the Airshow, the 43rd Fighter squadren has the F-22 and their intelligence officer is our good buddy! She gets my son and I VIP passes and we go where no one has gone before!!! My 10 year old son has gotten to look inside the cockpit of a F-22 but I was not allowed as I don't have a security clearance! There is not a rivet or seam on that airframe!!!!!

[aerophoto]

SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET Love it ours is in the Yellow like on the main page Cant wait will post picks as soon as I can enjoy the show My greatest joy sitting in the F-117a Cool I will be in Nellis November for the show

Bill

[Bombguy]

Hey Bombguy,

So your wife is an environmental engineer? What do she do? I’m a manager over water treatment.

The Blue Angels were at Carswell two summers ago. Those guys are unreal!

The wife does project management on environmental remediation jobs. Mostly on former used defense sites (FUDS).

Neil