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Life's in the way


Falko

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Just now, River Monsters said:

hockey > baseball.  Buy the kid some skates and keep the boat.

Hockey? Isn't that 12 months a year now? Everyone we know with hockey kids spend every weekend driving somewhere for all weekend tournaments.

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4 hours ago, Falko said:

Well, after some serious soul searching and thinking, looks like we are going to be leaving the boating community for a little while. We just have way too many other things going on, haven't even uncovered the boat this year, still shrink wrapped. Next year isn't going to be much better. Not sure if we should market it now or wait until next spring. We're just really torn about the whole thing, but having a boat just to have a boat sit in the driveway isn't going to work out.

 

Makes me wanna...

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I wrestle with this one constantly. My wife is not physically able to enjoy much of what our type of boat has to offer, son loves the boat but has moved out, daughter loves the boat but does not like to go under water, so she won't do much behind it. Basically our Echelon LX is a mobile swim platform for our dog...if it wasn't paid for and I didn't have such a love affair with it, it would be gone. But I know I'd never get another tow boat, so it sits, waiting for the 2-10 (depending on the year) outstanding trips/events per season. And to me it's worth it. For now.

BTW my son played hockey and soccer. Both 12 months/year. And both ludicrously expensive. Mostly the club, camps, and travel fees. Still have $800 worth of brand new sticks sitting in the warehouse (basement) and he's graduated. That's 3 sticks, BTW. On a good deal. Might have gotten him through one season. If we were lucky. His latest skates would have been $1k, but he decided to hang it up. Ended up being a good decision.

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1 hour ago, oldjeep said:

Hockey? Isn't that 12 months a year now? Everyone we know with hockey kids spend every weekend driving somewhere for all weekend tournaments.

My son played AAA last year and that was a bit much.  Summer is still slower.

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Kidless mid 30s type here, but when the heck did kids sports get so ridiculous?  When I was younger it was practices a few nights a week, maybe one game against a team from across town or up to 45 mins away.  No weekends until I got to HS football and even that was only occasional weightlifting in summer and a short season in the fall.

All these folks driving 4 hours every weekend with crap painted on the windows of their minivans make me shake my head.  Guess it's a matter of perspective.

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Yeah! Keep the boats!  I was grousing with my buddy at work last year because I lost most of last summer due to injuries.  He said it happens, sometime you can lose most of a season due to any number of things. 

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I almost went that route. So, I bought a newer one to make sure I didn't. I go out by myself. A lot. But then I'll go several weekends in a row, with a different date on the boat each day. 

Boater, Steve B.

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I am without a tow boat currently (still have a boat to fish and hunt with). We bought the vlx when my daughter was 2 weeks old and put 120 hours on it the first two seasons. Then kid number two showed up and was a total game changer. Sold the vlx and will probably pick up an lsv or axis in two more years when the kids are a little older. 

It's kind of funny in that I always wanted a boat growing up to wakeboard behind (always went with friends). My parents always talked about how we would never use it, etc, etc. Fast forward 20 years and my mom literally told me I can't sell the boat because she saw how fired up my daughter would get to go on the boat. Talk about an aha moment for them. 

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2 hours ago, UWSkier said:

Kidless mid 30s type here, but when the heck did kids sports get so ridiculous?  When I was younger it was practices a few nights a week, maybe one game against a team from across town or up to 45 mins away.  No weekends until I got to HS football and even that was only occasional weightlifting in summer and a short season in the fall.

All these folks driving 4 hours every weekend with crap painted on the windows of their minivans make me shake my head.  Guess it's a matter of perspective.

I am 33 with 3 kids. Grew up Ski Racing on the national level. Practice 4-9 M-F every night that snow was on the ground, be at the hill at 5am Saturday, off at 3 for races, do it again Sunday. Practice was only 2-3 days a week in summer, but when you stared hitting the top ranking you went to mount hood, OR for about a month each summer (got to train with Koznick, Tommy Moe, Vonn (then Kildow) and a bunch of crazy guys from the Japanese ski team. This was all late 90's in suburban Minneapolis and I knew some hockey kids with a schedule nearly as tough as mine. So I am guessing this time commitment thing has been going on for some time.

I think that you have to do what the kids love too, and if it's ball and the boat isn't looking like financial sense then by all means let it go. There are always people selling to buy from when you get back in! I went 5ish years without an inboard as I needed to build a house, and now I am back.

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I hung onto my boat after the kids left.

My wife and I filled the time afterwards going to the lake for a meal, reading, taking neighbor kids that had become old enough to learn wake boarding and our own kids when they could.

Now it is the grandkids wanting to go and has it been worth the wait!!! Talk about exciting all over again!

I'm really glad I decided to wait for the future and kept a boat around.

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9 hours ago, vanamp said:

 

This is our first summer with a baby and it is A LOT of work getting on the boat.  We really love to surf and we are making it work(50 hours so far), but sometimes it feels like we do nothing but plan to be on the boat.  We have to plan at least a week in advance and two weeks in advance for cabin trips.   All house projects are on hold till fall, my garage is a mess, the lawn mower chokes every time I mow because I waited too long and I am grabbing laundry out of a basket a lot more than out of the closet or dresser.  But in no time the lakes will be frozen and I'll have plenty of time to get through my to-do list.  

 

Dude...relax. Home projects will always be there. Take time to have fun with your wife and newborn baby. If that means boating the so be it, if not, the time will come again when you can go. 

8 hours ago, Falko said:

We don't regret the baseball stuff at all. He's played on four teams this year and we'll be spending next week in Cooperstown for that weekly tourny. We love watching him play and making family trips out of it. But we also love boating, but we can pick that up later on again, I guess. I can sell the boat, down size the Armada to something more reasonable, etc etc etc. 

You can't choose what your kids will want to do, you just have to support them in their choices.

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We have found ourselves in a very similar place.  3 teens (1 in college) and they are always going in 20 directions.  I have threatened to sell the boat but just can't do it.  I love surfing too much and my wife has become a pretty good driver.  Living on a lake really helps too.  

We have found that boating/water sports is a great way to get involved with the community.  Many kids that would never have the opportunity to try these activities have been able to enjoy hours on our boat and try new things.  It's a little way we can give back.  

When the youngest goes off to school, we will still keep the boat and I will relieve the stress of the work week by getting some surfing and boarding in as often as I can.  Then when the grand babies come, we will be the cool grand parents!

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14 hours ago, oldjeep said:

Hockey? Isn't that 12 months a year now? Everyone we know with hockey kids spend every weekend driving somewhere for all weekend tournaments.

Seems like baseball is too.  Speed and agility, lessons, Fall ball, then we start back up in late Jan. Now School ball enters the mix as well.

My son isn't even that great, he just loves to play, so we will do what we can while we can to help him enjoy what he is doing.  We just have to be a bit flexible with the boat thing.

BTW...he used to hate boarding, and just wanted to play in the sand(mud) on the beach but now is starting to enjoy it since he is no longer on a kids board (has my old b-side).

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Yeah, baseball is almost a year round thing. AAU is in the spring along with town ball. Then summer holds the all stars and for our area Baystate league. And he is on a Cooperstown team as well. He's been on the field probably 95% of the days since the end of March (actually practiced in snow flurries once). Usually fall ball kicks up shortly, but I think this year will be some down time and strength/conditioning instead. His arm needs a rest, along with his parents. He loves ball, could never take it away from him. And I asst coach some of the teams so it is good time to spend with him.

And as for other sports, funny he has little to no interest in Football or Hockey. Winter he does play basketball though, kind of a fun sport for him.

Edited by Falko
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I don't see me ever going without a boat.  I guess it is all about priorities and making it work.  

This year, it has been use it once on the weekend and once during the week.  We had our yearly boating vacation at my buddy's joint (on his boat) but no cabin trip this year.  Will probably end up around 50 hours on the boat, which is plenty of use.

I think a lot of it is making the decision to actually USE the boat.  It's fun.  It is great on a hot day.  My daughter isn't into sports yet but eventually will be...I'm sure that will eat up some time but we will still make time for the boat.  Unless your kid has a reasonable chance of going pro or highly likely to rock a scholarship from it, the sport should really be treated as a fun hobby and not a life dedication IMO.  Where you can justify not boating by saying "he will miss out if we don't do a zillion sports teams" I can also say you are missing out because the kid won't have that boating experience either.  All about a balance.  

Looking back to my childhood, I couldn't care less about my baseball experience but wish my parents would have kept their boat longer (it was a financial issue, not time in their case).  Boating is something the whole family can do; sports is someone playing and everyone else stuck watching.  

Just my perspective - do what you want.

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10 minutes ago, Falko said:

Yeah, baseball is almost a year round thing. AAU is in the spring along with town ball. Then summer holds the all stars and for our area Baystate league. And he is on a Cooperstown team as well. He's been on the field probably 95% of the days since the end of March (actually practiced in snow flurries once). Usually fall ball kicks up shortly, but I think this year will be some down time and strength/conditioning instead. His arm needs a rest, along with his parents. He loves ball, could never take it away from him. And I asst coach some of the teams so it is good time to spend with him.

And as for other sports, funny he has little to no interest in Football or Hockey. Winter he does play basketball though, kind of a fun sport for him.

As long as everyone is happy, different things work for different families.  Around our house we didn't do (allow) any out of season sports, which meant soccer was not played in the summer aside from maybe a week long pre-season camp.  With 3 kids in different sports it would have meant all summer in the truck watching one kid or the other do stuff.  Summer was always for family stuff - biking, hiking, boating, etc.

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Yep.  Swimming in my case.  12 months with two 2 week breaks.  We found when we can.  Long course championship meet was last weekend, so we had several swim friends over yesterday and hit the water as much as we could.  Summer league championship is this weekend, and school starts for some the next day, a week later for us.

 

We go when we can, but as has been stated, you let your kid find their passion, and you support it.  I swore I'd never have a kid who did a single sport year round.  I didn't count on the kid wanting to do it, and asking for 2 years before we made the jump.

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17 hours ago, Michigan boarder said:

We rarely boat with our boys (age 17 and 16).  In fact, it's like pulling teeth.  I've given up on them, they just don't share the enthusiasm for fun, adventure, accomplishment, strength, or speed.  I'm slightly bitter.

The daughter is starting to get into it pretty heavy though (age 10).  She joined the show ski team last week, practice tonight.  She will probably slalom for her first time ever tonight.

When she is done, I intend to keep the ski boat until my body is physically incapable of footing and wakesurfing.  I've about given up on wakeboarding, but still do it from time to time.  Boat is paid for, slip is cheap, easy to maintain.  So it would make no sense to sell it.

All that said...we are still on our first tank of gas for the year.

You are on ski team, no time for your own boat. :)

 

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2 minutes ago, footndale said:

You are on ski team, no time for your own boat. :)

 

I know!! Footing last night in the almost dark.  Then had to pack up the jump, because everyone else left it for 3 other guys and I.  Late nights!

Daughter has wake boarded since age 3, and surfed starting last year.  Last week she skiied for the first time on 2 skis.  On the way to practice last night she's like "Dad, I'm slaloming tonight".  So I talked her thru how to drop a ski, no pressure, maybe you'll get it this time maybe next time.  Yeah...she is a natural.  She slalomed all night.  She wants to barefoot...so that is next (she is 10).  She does not like "climbing on people", so doubles and pyramids are out (for now).  She says she wants to be a jumper, footer, girls line, and swivel.  Can't argue with that!  I think a young girl footer in a pink barefoot suit would be a great addition to the show.

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I'm mid 30's and no kids and just can't see my life without a boat of some kind.  I doubt i'll ever really be too old to at least surf so I plan on having the bu for a long time.  When growing up, sports were a school year thing.  It was pretty clear that summer weekends would be spent at the lake with family.  Even as I got older, it's all i really wanted to do. 

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12 minutes ago, Michigan boarder said:

I know!! Footing last night in the almost dark.  Then had to pack up the jump, because everyone else left it for 3 other guys and I.  Late nights!

Daughter has wake boarded since age 3, and surfed starting last year.  Last week she skiied for the first time on 2 skis.  On the way to practice last night she's like "Dad, I'm slaloming tonight".  So I talked her thru how to drop a ski, no pressure, maybe you'll get it this time maybe next time.  Yeah...she is a natural.  She slalomed all night.  She wants to barefoot...so that is next (she is 10).  She does not like "climbing on people", so doubles and pyramids are out (for now).  She says she wants to be a jumper, footer, girls line, and swivel.  Can't argue with that!  I think a young girl footer in a pink barefoot suit would be a great addition to the show.

Sounds great. Get her on trick skis! I regret not doing it soon enough with my daughters. They hate swivel, so for the girls its doubles(5th at nationals once for oldest, can't find a decent partner now though.), pyramids and starting to jump this year. They have been footing for years, but have't picked up the passion for it. This August it's trick skiing basics, so they do it in the show next year.

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