Life's in the way

[UWSkier]

8 hours ago, footndale said:

Some people do guys nights out. I've never done that. Instead I do 5:30am mornings footing with the guys. Some of the best times I've had. We rotate boats and I pay for gas.

I'm usually in the truck by 5:30 to be on the lake by 6.  It's the best time to be out.  Get some great photos in addition to the great water.  It's the prettiest, most peaceful time of the day and 85% of people sleep through it.  Fine by me!

[isellacuras]

I am in a bit of a strange position right now. I have sold my house and I'm looking at upgrading the house, property and neighborhood. Three bumps in the current budget. One of the requirements for the new house is to have indoor or space to build indoor storage for the boat.  At the same time I keep upping my home budget and start thinking "if I sell the boat, I can free up some cash and buy more house" but then I wouldn't need the storage which lowers the cost and increases the amount of options out there. My riding buddy @Jalama will be happy to find out that I am considering selling he VLX and replacing it with a 93 echelon I have my eye on (he's a skier). I primarily foil so wake is not as important as it is for other wake sports. Problem is that my wife has really been enjoying surfing the last couple times we have had the boat out. Oh what to do?

Edited July 31, 2016 by isellacuras

[saburkhart]

I can really relate to this thread. I am 43 and skiing and boarding is not as appealing as it used to be. Kids are 9,8,and 5. So far no one wants to ski or board. The will do it from time to time but they really just want to tube. We live on a lake so we will always have a boat but at this point why not get a pontoon for cruising and tubing. I fear as soon as I sell the 01 vlx they will want to board and I will never find a boat in this good of condition for anything close to what I get out of mine. New boat prices are crazy

[67King]

19 minutes ago, saburkhart said:

I can really relate to this thread. I am 43 and skiing and boarding is not as appealing as it used to be. Kids are 9,8,and 5. So far no one wants to ski or board. The will do it from time to time but they really just want to tube.

If it weren't for my wife, they would never tube.  Had it not been for me, they would only tubed.  I made mine (11, 11, and 6) ski and wakeboard, and they have decided that they want to surf, now, too.  But I made them do other stuff besides tubing.  And now at least the twins prefer it to tubing.  The young one is very timid, and won't try anything.

[saburkhart]

7 minutes ago, 67King said:

If it weren't for my wife, they would never tube.  Had it not been for me, they would only tubed.  I made mine (11, 11, and 6) ski and wakeboard, and they have decided that they want to surf, now, too.  But I made them do other stuff besides tubing.  And now at least the twins prefer it to tubing.  The young one is very timid, and won't try anything.

I feel the same as you. I also make them ski and board but so far I still have to make them. At some point I have to let them decide what they like. So far it seems to be swim team and basketball and soccer and diving and baseball and softball and volleyball and triathlons and...

[IXFE]

My family is generally pretty good about getting out on the boat. But with four active kids it's gotten harder to find the time.  Two boys in baseball is brutal. And as soon as baseball ends in late July, football gets going in early August. The girls are involved in soccer and dance  

I used to get frustrated because the family trips were my only regular outlet. So I started a "surf club" this year. I get together with 3-4 guys early every Friday morning. We are on and off the in two hours, hen everybody can get to work. Surf Club has added a lot to my boating experience this year. I highly recommend this to you all... find a few guys and start it up. 

[Chrisjjbrown]

Come on guys don't give it up if you really love it.  If it's not a priority anymore that's fine.  I'm sure people's proximity to the lake makes a difference too  

I'm sure it gets harder with older kids but you guys with young kids should have no problem,  maybe I am just lucky my kids love going on the boat, I try to do something similar to IXFE weekly too  and highly recommend it   

I coach high school sports so I understand the demands sports can put on a families schedule 

But I work full time , I'm in the middle of my MBA program, coach high school sports, have 3 kids under 5 (6 months, 3 , and 5)   And I have about 70 hrs on the boat already this summer....I guess I'm lucky 

 

You can make it work.  

[jalama]

On ‎7‎/‎31‎/‎2016 at 0:07 AM, isellacuras said:

I am in a bit of a strange position right now. I have sold my house and I'm looking at upgrading the house, property and neighborhood. Three bumps in the current budget. One of the requirements for the new house is to have indoor or space to build indoor storage for the boat.  At the same time I keep upping my home budget and start thinking "if I sell the boat, I can free up some cash and buy more house" but then I wouldn't need the storage which lowers the cost and increases the amount of options out there. My riding buddy @Jalama will be happy to find out that I am considering selling he VLX and replacing it with a 93 echelon I have my eye on (he's a skier). I primarily foil so wake is not as important as it is for other wake sports. Problem is that my wife has really been enjoying surfing the last couple times we have had the boat out. Oh what to do?

Tough call @isellacuras but the Echelon would be pretty cool.

Everyone's kids are different but I'm happy mine still love getting out on the boat. They are active with sports year round... swim team, soccer, basketball etc. but we always find the time to get out.

We mainly kneeboard, ski and board. I have two girls 9 and 11. My 11yr old can now deep water start on a slalom ski and she absolutely loves it. My 9yr old has gotten up for a few seconds and should get it next time out. I got a used kneeboard last year and that killed the tube. We didn't tube much to begin with but now they don't even ask about it. For anyone wanting to get away from the tube, get a kneeboard and it might help. It teaches them line tension control and how to hold an edge. Great experience for the ski and board.

I think I will always have some type of tow boat.

[DarkSide]

I have been doing the weekday morning thing for a couple years.   It is absolutely awesome.  In AZ sunrise is 5:15 in the summer so we go out til 8.  That still gives people time to go home shower and be at work by 10.  The key is limit group to 3-4, otherwise ride time is short.  Also you have to have Committed people.  If you plan a 3 person trip and "that guy" cancels at 9 PM or even worse does a no show.  Then the others are affected

[isellacuras]

We are lucky to have a committed group. I think most of our little circle prefer to be out in the late fall to early spring. We will gladly give up a little warmth and break out the wetsuits to have less boat traffic. I do miss summertime dawn patrol. Haven't been out in the early morning yet this year. That stinks because I have the perfect schedule for it. I report to work at 1pm every other work day and have a shower at the office. 

[bamabonners]

We were faced with this same decision as well.  We sold our boat the week after July 4th.  We just simply weren't using the boat enough to justify the cost.  We are involved in other activities and just felt guilty when we didn't use the boat.  

Purely speculation and uneducated discussion here, but I think the prices of boats are reaching the point to where sales will begin to slow.  I hear more and more people and see more threads on multiple boards talking about the prices.  My dealer was telling me that he simply can't get enough used boats...especially Axis.  This tells me that people are becoming more price conscious.  I had many calls and texts about my boat when I put it on the market.  I wound up selling it for what I paid for it, one year later.

I will miss the boat, but I am not missing the guilty feeling when we don't use it.

 

 

[Fman]

I also have two in college and one left at home going into his freshman year of highschool.  When your kifs hit college work and school over ride boating.  Fortunately my youngest is the boarder of the family, plays lacrosse during fall/winter season and off season rides the cable parks and boat.  He spent seven hours on the cables the other day, had blisters on his hands.  Its a great sport for him when not playing lacrosse.  No doubt when he leaves the nest our water time will drastically be reduced.

Maybe when this happens an "old guys rule" surf/wakeboard club will have to be formed in the sac area to keep riding.  I would love to continue the sport but realistically I don't see my wife and I putting 100 hours on the boat every season.  Boating has always been a family event for us and when your kids are out its just not the same with two people on the boat.  I hope to continue on but won't surprise me if I don't have a boat sitting in the garage in four years.  Time will tell....

[BlknYlwT22]

14 hours ago, bamabonners said:

We were faced with this same decision as well.  We sold our boat the week after July 4th.  We just simply weren't using the boat enough to justify the cost.  We are involved in other activities and just felt guilty when we didn't use the boat.  

Purely speculation and uneducated discussion here, but I think the prices of boats are reaching the point to where sales will begin to slow.  I hear more and more people and see more threads on multiple boards talking about the prices.  My dealer was telling me that he simply can't get enough used boats...especially Axis.  This tells me that people are becoming more price conscious.  I had many calls and texts about my boat when I put it on the market.  I wound up selling it for what I paid for it, one year later.

I will miss the boat, but I am not missing the guilty feeling when we don't use it.

 

 

@bamabonners Tried to send you a PM but there was an error saying you could not receive messages

[bamabonners]

@BlknYlwT22  Sorry about that.  I cleaned it out....try again

Edited August 4, 2016 by bamabonners

[granddaddy55]

On July 26, 2016 at 1:22 PM, Falko said:

Unfortunately baseball is what is keeping us away. Can't really do that in the winter either.

It is going to be the hardest on my son losing the boat. Mainly because we won't have it, but further because he'll know that he is the main reason we can't use it anymore. Ugh, this is awful...

Youth Baseball is becoming cultish, they only hang out with baseball players, so many playing so many teams and tournaments and all stars, and the various youth World Series, this baseball ruining Summer's thing is becoming very frequent  and "NONE" will become pros, less than 1/2 of 1 percent will become high school ball players , and less than 1/10 of 1 percent will go into play college ball.  Ever notice, what?,  50 percent or more of adult soft ball players couldn't run down a real fly ball if their life depended on it( while adult fame is hitting only!!!) I think it's the worst sport for kids, cause there is little to no exercise involved in playing a 7 or 9 inning game except for running the bases and most kids don't hit well.  For most you can either hit that fast ball or curve or you can't and no amount of coaching will fix a lack of hand eye coordination. I loved my youth baseball but I wasn't one of the 1 percenters.  If I had been given the choice between a falling on a wake to wake air I would eventually conquer and striking out, I would have chosen the face plant!!!! I played some nasty serious team sports like Rugby for 5 years, baseball didn't hold a candle to that,and it got me in the physical shape of a lifetimes and come to find out I was the fastest open field player on any team I played against.  but in youth baseball I was a fat ice wagon.  Same for soccer vs baseball, a fat out of shape kid can't fix that Norte baseball field, they'll only get bigger going with the team for pizza.  A local guy who was a Yankees pitcher, Kevin mamahat( spelling), he refuses to do the youth traveling baseball stuff, his kid is a pitcher too and he tells all the fathers, "Oh yea, keep having your young kid throw that breaking ball and hard fast ball and see what's left of him when it's time to move up"

i guaranty the 1st time the family goes wakeboarding and comes home all happy and tired like we do while the your kid goes  to play baseball, they'll start reconsidering the travel crap! Games are one thing? But tournaments and travel are useless!!!  My dad never missed a game if he wasn't working shifts and even if he was he came.  It not once made me a better player, but yes it felt good to have his support.  If he would have had a wakeboat  , I really wonder what choice i would make, we didn't have all this ridiculous traveling and tournaments , just playoffs and championship post season and that was over in two weekends.  Baseball was over by early July! Now in warmer parts if country it's almost year round now!

Edited August 12, 2016 by granddaddy55

[Falko]

I don't want to start an argument about baseball, but if you are getting fat playing baseball, you are doing it wrong. It is the preparation for games that keeps you in shape, not the game itself. My son goes out and runs sprints about daily, does push ups, squats, etc etc. Yes, most kids show up for practice/game, do their thing and go home and eat chips. The ones that are serious work on their own. Town leagues are dying because most of the kids are there for recreation, not competition. That is why travel is growing the way that it is. Baseball doesn't make kids out of shape, lack of effort does. He also plays basketball in the winter which gives him his fix.

And really, he has gone out on the boat many times, knows all about it, grew up on boats. Yet he prefers to play ball. You don't agree with the travel stuff, that's fine, your decision. He is trying to get better at something he enjoys, we feel the travel ball is the way to do it. An old bowrider throws a wake too, yet we choose to buy big dollar inboards to make it better.