Boating is not miserable at all. Lots of fun and a great way to relieve stress.
But unless you've been around boats for any length of time, you won't have any appreciation of the "hidden" costs of owning a boat, any kind of boat.
I grew up with boats. Have had one under me almost my whole life, so I do have some inkling of what they can and do cost to maintain and operate.
Fortunately, I'm exclusively fresh water oriented and currently own a small 17' outboard fish and ski boat, so the costs aren't horrid. But anything that lives in the water, like a boat, is subject to wear and tear you won't see or appreciate unless and until you actually own something like that. Water attacks everything. You'll get everything wet at least once. And even fresh water corrodes because there are electric currents created by the dissimilar metals used in boats....aluminum, zinc, steel, etc., not to mention active DC power generated on the vessel itself.
Then the upholstery ages quicker than anything else other than exposed patio furniture. Carpet craps out quickly and isn't cheap to replace. Vinyl dries out and cracks. Mechanical systems wear faster because of the damp environment. Lubricants get contaminated faster because of the wet environment. And on and on.
But would I quit boating? Not on your life. Love every second I can spend on the water. I'm just a realist when it comes to the overall costs and tribulations of owning a boat.
Oh, and gas isn't cheap either. A day spent cruising the lake can burn 20 gal. of gas easily, and that's if I really watch myself. 20 gal. at $3.50/gal....you figure out the gas cost. And that's just one day on the lake.
I think it's a lot easier thanks to technology. You can get a cell phone & do tethering, or get a 4G hotspot or USB modem for your laptop. Food is easy to stock up on. Propane cans for cooking. Smartphones let you call people, tether your laptop, watch movies, etc.
Boats are holes in the water you throw money in...
Lucky you. All the lakes in this area are 100% gasoline; no ethanol. I expect the price of gas to be near $5 per gallon this summer on the lake. A day of gas makes it a tough call - do I drive the trailer down to the boat launch, put the boat on the trailer, drive to the gas station, fill up, drive back to the boat launch, launch the boat, and drive the vehicle back to camp? (Takes two people obviously) just to save $20? I'm not even attempting to purchase six 5-gallon gas cans and filling the boat while it's in the water.Boating is not miserable at all. Lots of fun and a great way to relieve stress.
But unless you've been around boats for any length of time, you won't have any appreciation of the "hidden" costs of owning a boat, any kind of boat.
I grew up with boats. Have had one under me almost my whole life, so I do have some inkling of what they can and do cost to maintain and operate.
Fortunately, I'm exclusively fresh water oriented and currently own a small 17' outboard fish and ski boat, so the costs aren't horrid. But anything that lives in the water, like a boat, is subject to wear and tear you won't see or appreciate unless and until you actually own something like that. Water attacks everything. You'll get everything wet at least once. And even fresh water corrodes because there are electric currents created by the dissimilar metals used in boats....aluminum, zinc, steel, etc., not to mention active DC power generated on the vessel itself.
Then the upholstery ages quicker than anything else other than exposed patio furniture. Carpet craps out quickly and isn't cheap to replace. Vinyl dries out and cracks. Mechanical systems wear faster because of the damp environment. Lubricants get contaminated faster because of the wet environment. And on and on.
But would I quit boating? Not on your life. Love every second I can spend on the water. I'm just a realist when it comes to the overall costs and tribulations of owning a boat.
Oh, and gas isn't cheap either. A day spent cruising the lake can burn 20 gal. of gas easily, and that's if I really watch myself. 20 gal. at $3.50/gal....you figure out the gas cost. And that's just one day on the lake.
But, for San Fran, I suppose that boat might be bigger than some of the apartments.
I had a class back in 1998 with a middle age gentleman who lived on a sailboat in Newport Harbor with his girlfriend. He actually lived fairly cheaply because he didn't have a slip. His 45' sail boat was moored out in the harbor and he paid at the time like $50 a month to the County for the mooring rights. He had a small slip for a little powered dinghy that his girlfriend could get back and forth on. He loved it, had million dollar views with paying almost no money. One weekend he invited me out on his boat for sailing. It was a great day we went out of the harbor sailed around for 6 hours, had lunch and then came back in. He could get to Catalina in about 10-12 hours depending on the wind. He was able to do it really cheap but I could totally see how it would get old after a while. He was a Vet he was able to get a parking place at the American Legion and since he just had a motorcycle his girlfriend had a car they could fit both in one parking spot. However he sacrificed a lot since he couldn't get cable or Internet. They had limited kitchen space and then just the pain of having to get back and forth several times a day using the dinghy. He had cellular data card but they charged a arm and a leg for data so he didn't use it much. I could never live like that but he enjoyed it. He told me the trick to keep costs down was to get a mooring not a slip because a slip cost a lot of money, especially for a decent size boat.
Motoring from Oceanside is about a 7 hour trip at 6-6.5 knots. Can't imagine it would take 10-12 hours from Newport even under sail.