Owning A Boat In College

[dtrs5kprs]

Had boats throughout pharmacy school, but they all had several things in common:

They were old, used, paid for, and 100% mine.

And the maintenance will drive you nuts. Both in terms of time and $$$.

My suggestions...find a local bass club and join as a non boater, or find small lakes and work on skills, or perhaps a 2 man boat like a bass hunter.

[LarrySTL]

I owned half of an inexpensive starter level bass boat once. I would not recommend it, and I would run like hell from owning one fourth of one.

[Feathers and Fins]

Never go partnership with a BOAT, 5TH WHEEL, ATV, CAR/TRUCK or DOG! I have seen way to many friendships end that way and even more fights because of it. You are going to college for a higher education NOT Fishing and education is where you need to focus your attention. That may sound harsh and I hope it does, but if you worked hard to get in to college you are hopefully working toward a better life in the future. Planning already for playing is a major problem as you are taking your eye off the goal.

The Goal should be the education to secure that in the future you will be able to have a boat Of Your Choice! Best case scenario should be 4 to 6 years college then at minimum 2 years in the field you went there for geared toward a home purchase and then after that perhaps another 2 to 4 years get the boat. You can adjust those numbers depending on the degree you seek and career pay for entry positions.

You need to take into account the cost of being a boat owner as well. The cost of buying one is just the first in a series of expenditures you will face.

[marcusearlt]

First boat I bought was as a freshman in college. WOW, what a beauty is was. Rust, squeaky trailer, rotted transom, and a 6hp Evinrude with a prop the size of a DVD. Perfect to fish generation on the Little Red with, right? Convinced my twin brother to go in half. So, we really had no idea what we had signed up for. (gas, glue, storage, registration, etc) We had a blast on that thing, bout killed ourselves too many times, and my shoulder hurts just thinking about yanking' on that recoil starter! Now, let me tell you, we only took between 6 and 9 hours a semester. If was going to enroll full-time, say 12+, it would be well advised to do some serious consideration on the matter. The workforce is tough and a bachelor's degree is becoming more and more common. You need every possible advantage you can to beat out the next guy, grades, internship, summer job, club memberships etc. You'd probably be best served to delay your angling dreams, for now, in preparation for the absolutely ferocious everyman-for-himself competition that ensues during and right after college for good jobs. Wait on the boat, study hard, get an awesome job, and buy what ever boat you want. You will thank yourself for the rest of your life.

[Greasy B]

My brother and I are long time fishing partners, every trip is a joint financial endeavor. We have been doing this without argument for thirty years. We have had joint ownership of a river john for fourteen years and likewise have never had any issue at all. I guess our attitude has been that all the great times we've had on trips and with our boat pales in comparison to any perceived inequity. Our approach is to not belly ache, if the boat need maintenance open up your wallet, if it need cleaning, clean it, if it's time to go fishing don't argue about who's going to drive just hook the thing to your truck and load up.

[Simonthegolfer]

Hey thanks for the input guys!

Also for the fishing team/club idea grizwilson. I knew about collegiate fishing but never thought about it at Tech!

I've spent many a days jug fishin on Lake Dardnelle and no it extremely well and knowing where that small of a boat could go isn't a problem. I forgot about Lake Conway though...good crappie fishin.

And being that my friends will be at college a year before me it might be wise to hold off on the boat until I get there as my friends would have the experience of freshman year and know wether the fishin boat would just be a bad idea or not.