Cruising Sailboats: a Dying Breed?

[Juho]

Modern living is hectic and on-line, cruising sounds more like peaceful and off-line. Maybe that is a good enough reason for many young people.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by thomm225

And when I say cruising, I mean offshore sailing out of phone and internet range

Offshore has never been more than the most tiny of percentages.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by mikedefieslife

It's interesting how these kind of threads talk about Baby boomers, and millennials, but completely skip over Generation X, what happened to them? Aged from around 40-55 now (give or take a year), these are ones that might be looking a early retirement now and possibly going cruising.

Actually, this could be part of it.
- Boomers have a huge population.
- Gen X is much smaller
- Millenial is bigger but not as big as boomers.

I suspect most new boat buyers are 45-60yrs old. Gen X is much smaller than the Boomers, so as the boomers age out of the prime boat buying years, the number of boats bought go down.

[Tetepare]

That’s nothing. Look at ice boating. A century ago in my area would see regattas with dozens of boats. Now it’s max five or six.

What killed sailing as a family thing is the economy and focus on kids activities like baseball. It’s all about the kids now. Dad doesn’t hunt he sits in front of the TV and watches football. He has no idea how to change brake pads. Mom doesn’t cook she goes to the mall. Forget camping even the cheapest family stays in hotels. Kids grow up on land, indoors, not exposed to the infectious lifestyle of the outdoors and the sea. Dumbing down of America.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Wingfoot

... and trying to figure out how not to be an indentured wage slave through out her youth.


... Because you spent your youth as a wage slave is more reflection on you than the person who finds a way around it, no?

I see a problem with thinking of work as being a "wage slave." That is rather negative. I enjoyed the heck out of my career as an engineer. Though there were times that were just plain work, cruising can be that way too, and on the whole, I think it was just as pleasant and memorable. I met lots of people and visited about 40 of the states.



Maybe I'm just lucky, but I dreamed of building stuff as a child, and then when I grew up I did it. And went sailing.


My father made a living as an artist and loved it. He's 96 and stilkl painting. Maybe I learned some things from that. He has a serious work ethic, but I don't understand how that is bad, if you make SURE you like your work. IF you have work you don't like, I think you made a mistake.

[john61ct]

Only a very tiny very privileged proportion of the population earns money doing something they enjoy.

And only a miniscule proportion out of those are comfortably well off.

[pcmm]

I think there are a number of factors related to the overall decline in boating.

1. cost of living- when you have to pay close to $1million just for an average 3 bed bungalow, it doesn't leave much left for "toys"!!

2. "Experts" Over the last 20 years the "expert" phenomenon has crept into all aspects of life. People now seem to believe you need a "professional" or "expert" to fix just about everything. Hardly anyone rolls up their sleeves anymore and just "fixes it". Make everything (boating, cars, houses) more expensive to own.

3. Perception! boating (at least in my area) is definitely perceived as something for the "rich" and as such is priced that way. Even really crappy marina's with lots of empty space want City prices ($75 per foot summer rates). Other marinas charge extra if you stay out of the water during the summer to work on your boat.

4. Change of lifestyles. People today seem much more sedentary than in previous generations. More are content to sit and watch the world through youtube!

5. the "Now" generation. Lots of people want what they want NOW and aren't willing to wait until they can afford it, work up to it, or work on it until get what they want. Boats are expensive so that's often too much waiting.

In my area things have gone from waiting lists at marinas across half the lake (Lake Ontario) to pretty much being able to pull into any marina and sign a contract for the summer on the spot! That's even with some marina's closing!

Either way I finally have the boat I want (I didn't realize it until now!) but it took me 5 boats of varying designs to figure that out! My boat needs a lot of work but I'm OK with that as I like to do the work! A shinny read-to-go boat would have bored me! and this way I can afford the boat (and size I want) and make improvements along the way.

[bill352]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Only a very tiny very privileged proportion of the population earns money doing something they enjoy.

And only a miniscule proportion out of those are comfortably well off.

I may have quoted this before, but...actual overheard conversation:


Guy - "I really want to make some money."


Starry-Eyed Person - "Just do what you love, and the money will follow."


Guy - "I would love to be an elementary school teacher."


S-E-P - "............ "

[pcmm]

Originally Posted by bill352

I may have quoted this before, but...actual overheard conversation:


Guy - "I really want to make some money."


Starry-Eyed Person - "Just do what you love, and the money will follow."


Guy - "I would love to be an elementary school teacher."


S-E-P - "............ "

That just proves the point!!! (Elementary) school teachers are among the highest paid public sector workers. 6 figure incomes, summer vacation, 2 weeks at Christmas, 2 weeks at march break! protected by Unions (almost impossible to get fired!) etc. etc.

[john61ct]

Should make as much as lawyers an doctors

[jkleins]

Originally Posted by pcmm

That just proves the point!!! (Elementary) school teachers are among the highest paid public sector workers. 6 figure incomes, summer vacation, 2 weeks at Christmas, 2 weeks at march break! protected by Unions (almost impossible to get fired!) etc. etc.

You will have to prove this one. I know a lot of teachers and none are making 6 figures unless they are principles or superintendents. You might also want to research the number of teachers that are covered by unions. I don’t think it is as universal as you assume.
Having said that being in the public sector is often a more stable job due to health benefits and pension possibilities so many take these over higher paying jobs elsewhere. It might be a good trade off for some but no one should be under the impression that it is not a trade off.

[P3sailor]

I've tried to encourage my grandkids to sail, even offered to pay for lessons so they wouldn't have to learn from "grandpa"! No interest what-so-ever. Guess it's just impossible to sail while peering at the cell-phone and texting all day!!

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by pcmm

That just proves the point!!! (Elementary) school teachers are among the highest paid public sector workers. 6 figure incomes, summer vacation, 2 weeks at Christmas, 2 weeks at march break! protected by Unions (almost impossible to get fired!) etc. etc.

I needed a good laugh this morning! These must be the reasons they are chronically short of teachers. An epiphany.

(My daughter teaches elementary school)

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by thinwater

I needed a good laugh this morning! These must be the reasons they are chronically short of teachers. An epiphany.

(My daughter teaches elementary school)

Where are these shortages?

I have 5 family members with teaching degrees. Only one has a job in teaching.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Where are these shortages?

I have 5 family members with teaching degrees. Only one has a job in teaching.

Odd. My daughter had multiple offers. A masters and a specialty in Special Ed probably helped.