Sometimes it's difficult being broke.
Check that. Most of the time it's difficult being broke. You set up a budget and work on reducing expenses and widening the gap between the income in order to make things happen in your life...
It will sometimes make it hard to justify an experience that is purely educational.
We're not making any money off of doing something like attending the Southern California Boat Show. It was close by, but $30 for tickets (we were $15 each and Kiddo was free) and money for food was an expense that could perhaps be better utilized towards the purchase of a first boat.
I did my best to analyze what we would get out of it, whether we would just blow our cash and feel like we were at some kind of timeshare seminar. Admittedly, when purchasing tickets online we ended up with subscriptions to Sea Magazine and Boating World. Two free magazine subscriptions... what was it that Long John Silver said about silver platters? Oh yeah, never trust 'em.
Having free parking was cool (they had a parking lot with a shuttle every 7 minutes or so) and most everybody we interacted with was absolutely awesome, but winding your way through the vendor tent was like a baitfish swimming through a slew of hammerhead sharks. Friendly, but only because they're planning on devouring you. Having tried that type of selling before, I can respect their dedication to their craft. There were also some awesome products, especially a reusable heating pad that would heat instantly after snapping a device inside the gel filling.
The next tent ended up being home to the seminar area, and just in time to catch the seminar I had thought I'd miss. I grabbed a seat and waited to learn about traveling by boat to Mexico. One of my personal dreams is to "follow" (stay away from the actual pods) the California Gray whales on their migration to the Gulf of California and, perhaps (within any and all regulations) swim with whale sharks. Well, in order to do that, it would require going to Mexico. I've only ever been to Mexico once in my life. A day trip that ended with me purchasing a blanket. Yeah, my "wild years." I was curious as to what we would require, especially because my ultimate dream would involve us staying there over a summer break and immersing ourselves in the culture and life. Learning about nature and our neighbors to the south firsthand rather than through books or media. I ended up learning a lot, and getting a valuable handout that. Some of the information will be out-of-date by the time we wind up on a boat, but the handout will still point us in the right direction when our time comes.
After the seminar, my wife and son swept me away to the boats that were for sale that they had been out looking at while I was being educated. The two yachts, one of which we have the specs for (50 feet, over $940K asking price), were both fabulous for different reasons. I was drooling over the one with two grills (one by the swim deck, one on the flybridge) and Love was enamored of one with the better layout of the saloon (living room, for you landlubbers). Either way, they were way out of our current price range. Once the salesmen realized it, we were lucky to dodge their garlic and holy water as they escorted us back to the dock.
We took a break, regrouped, let Kiddo play with a sailing simulator for a bit, and ventured off to find some vessels that were geared towards what we were considering for our first boat purchase. We ended up finding two that were far more realistic. A 42-foot boat had a California King (the same size that we have in our home) in the master stateroom was going for $125K, and another, that I got excited to see was listed at $55K. That excitement ended up being killed by the musty smell throughout as well as the dual twin beds in the master stateroom that couldn't (read: shouldn't) be modded due to the presence of an exit in between said beds. I'd never be able to share a twin-sized bed with my Love and that just won't do.
After that foray, and seeing the boat at the end of the dock with the price tag of nearly $1.2M, we decided to call it a day. We caught the next shuttle, hopped in the car, and headed back home. We discussed a lot on the way home, and it resulted in some great insights.
Takeaways:
1) Get On The Boat - If you're like what I've described in our lifestyle (shoestring budget, paycheck-to-paycheck, but getting better and finding ways of reducing expenses), take the bit of money and go to one of your local boat shows. This one was smaller than the one that should be coming up around January, but was local and only required we buy two adult admissions for $30 total. Price was a valid concern for us, but we took the chance and were grateful that we did. We stepped onto boats that were suited to our current needs and ones that would be a future dream. Ones that would be a nightmare and ones that would be an alternative (Love and Kiddo took a look at a sailboat that, although curious about, I was reluctant to see since I'd prefer to have more powerboating experience before I began to sail.) Although I've looked at hundreds of boats on all the different websites, actually stepping on decks was far more educational.
2) Don't Let Rude People Win - There was a boat that my wife and son checked out while I was in the seminar that they weren't going to take me to see, simply because the salesman followed them around and wiped down every surface Kiddo touched in a very obvious manner. As a former salesman, I can understand the urge to present a perfect product to prospective customers, but there's a point where certain things cross over into genuine rudeness. This, I believe, would be one of those instances. As far as I'm concerned, he can go take a flying leap. It seemed like these were almost a group of "open boat" presentations by a collection of brokers, so if it was anything like an open house on land then I don't expect these were intended to sell specific yachts. The best way we, especially as consumers, can change this type of mentality is to not give business to these rude salespeople.
3) Kid-Friendly, And Not - Kiddo ended up quite disappointed when he discovered he was too young to get on a paddle board that was propelled by an elliptical-like device built into it. Being extremely active and fearless is a horrible combination for 8-year old boys and insurance agents alike. Although Kiddo seemed like he took the rejection in stride, we believe it ate away at him a little bit every time we passed someone else enjoying a test-drive on the paddle board. We did find a sailing simulation put on by the American Sailing Association that he played six different times, with a very nice and helpful man. He even got a bag/backpack and sticker for his effort.
His enthusiasm onboard the boats we were looking at... wow. He was so excited to show me all his discoveries. Where he'd sleep (even to the point of arguing with one of the salespeople why Mommy and Daddy should have the Main Cabin and why the cabin he wanted was better because of all the windows to see the stars out of), and the complete ease in which he was able to navigate on and off the boats despite occasional large gaps between the stairs and dock. We were always right there in case anything happened, but he would look at us as if we were being over protective. As evidenced by the sighs from the salespeople as we departed, some people appreciated our behavior.
4) Network! - We ended up making a connection with a broker, Charlotte Carbaugh. She was showing the $125K, 42-footer, and made sure to take her card. Unfortunately, we didn't take very many pictures. We were tremendously overwhelmed with our first time there that we didn't really think about some of the most basic things. Networking, though, was one specific goal we had going into the show. Even though it was a focus, we ended up coming home with two cards, one of which we threw away. So make sure that you get out there and make connections with vendors, brokers, whatever you may be looking for!
All in all, it was educational, fun, and more. We've been feeling discouraged, as if the day-to-day concerns are overwhelming us and we can't find the exit. Going there, getting out onto a boat, sitting in the Captain's chair...
Home, home again... I'd like to be here, when I can.
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