Discover Boating This Summer

I kinda hate to admit just how wrong I was about this.

Especially since my husband was the one who was right.

But, I was oh-so-wrong about boating and boats.

You see, I thought we didn’t need a boat and that boating was expensive. My husband would show me pictures of boats and I’d glance at them, make some sort of non-committal noise and then go back to whatever it was that I had been doing.

But, then we went out on a friend’s boat a few times.

And suddenly, I got it.

It was so relaxing! While you can do different things on a boat, around here, it means you take a short boat ride to an island and hang out for the day. It’s very laid back: the islands aren’t crowded like the beaches are, there’s only so far the kids can go, and the water is much calmer there than it is at the beaches we normally drive to, so there’s less concern about riptides and strong currents.

We can walk around the island, play in the water, play games in the sand, the kids can fish, and we can just hang out and relax. And bonus: the kids are actually unplugged on these boat trips since we aren’t bringing any devices out on the water.

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I started to understand what my husband was saying about wanting a boat. And while we’d see all sorts of boats out on the water: fishing boats, pontoon boats, ski boats… owning a boat can be surprisingly affordable, especially if you’re just looking for an entry-level boat. Boating is predominantly “middle-class” with 72 percent of boat owners having a household income less than $100,000. (Source: Discover Boating Survey by Wakefield Research) Discover Boating has a boat loan calculator that can help, along with a boat selector tool to help you figure out which type of boat fits your lifestyle and budget.

We didn’t need anything fancy, just a way to get out on the water and spend the day with friends. We’ve made it out on the water a few times this summer and plan to go more. It’s such a great family activity.

discover boating

If you’re a little skeptical like I was, you can still get out on the water without buying your own boat. DiscoverBoating.com has an interactive Go Boating Today tool that generates local options for boat rentals, classes, charters and more, by simply entering a city or zip code.

Or maybe you’ll end up falling in love with being out on the water, and then you can check out their other resources for things like boat safety tips, boating with kids, boat maintenance, and towing your boat (do not expect me to ever be the one to back the boat into the water though… even if that might make for a highly embarrassing entertaining video…).

Be sure to sign up for the monthly newsletter at Discover Boating for tips and tools to get you out on the water.

DO YOU HAVE PLANS TO GO BOATING THIS SUMMER?

Visit the Things I Can’t Say blog for more!

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