Highest happiness return per dollar

[Murph Tang]

I raced with Lemons, Chump/now Champ and WRL for 10 years before I opened my own business. Bye bye time and money for awhile.

Rock Crawling is pretty minimal cost once the rig is built. Yeah you will break shit but its not like road race weekend blowing money (unless you go crazy buggy.)

The family can ride with you along with fun camping. The rush is different but its fun when you a climbing something you probably shouldn't.

[Shaggin Wagon]

Good thread but it is comical how this board has aged...I'm still into cars, but not racing, never really was though. Being in the body business has helped making my hobby a lil bit less expensive and its been a great family bonding experience. I specifically got in the body business to be able to enjoy my hobby actually.

[Mach1]

We have been on the boat almost every weekend for most of this summer. It's a long way cheaper than racing, and relatively cheap if you are trying to cut some spending. We do a lot of hanging out and swimming with the kids, so we're not burning gas around the lake all day, but part of the day. We pack snacks and drinks in the cooler, go to the lake, spend 5 or 6 hours and go home. It helps that Alvarado is never "busy" and the ramp is free. This weekend we maybe spent 10-20 bucks including fuel to get to and from the water, snacks, drinks, etc.

Mountain biking is fun, and relatively inexpensive, plus a great workout. There are quite a few places to go for cheap/free. I have a couple coworkers that go frequently. I bought a specialized from one of them and went a couple of times with them. I have a medical issue that keeps me from doing it right now, so if you wanted to borrow it, it's your size and just sitting in the shop right now doing nothing.

Thanks for the offer DJ, I have a decent bike that I can use, appreciate it!

[Gasser64]

So $12,000+ a year in storage costs

If my current building were a few feet taller, it would fit in there just fine. It has ac. 12k a year? Wow. No just keep it at your house.

and you're still going to do your own propeller maintenance?

There's probably very few people who can be bothered. When necessary I turn it over to the propeller repair shop. $33... iirc. Been awhile, might be $40 now, again can't remember.

[Mike]

I’m still trying to figure out what my hobby is. Drinking and boating was such a staple that I’m all over the place exploring new hobbies.

[Ruffdaddy]

I’m still trying to figure out what my hobby is. Drinking and boating was such a staple that I’m all over the place exploring new hobbies.

Just make exploration your new hobby so you dont have to commit to anything. That way you're all over the place by design!

[JV106]

That is funny. My Dad has had a jet boat for about 20 years now. 460BB. Sounds good and is fun spraying the water. It hasn’t run right in years. Boats cost money period, plus when gas gets expensive it sucks gas like crazy.

I’m gonna defend myself on this and say you could be in a boat for under $10k. 90% of your time at an event/gtg the boat is parked. You can go as nuts as you want with the racing or just chill. If you do this on the cheap you’ll spend more money going to the gtg and camping than you will on the boat. And you’ll still be hotrodding.

[Big A]

Even a relatively new boat can nickel and dime you with the maintenance costs, it's simply something that needs to be factored in with the cost of ownership. My main grip isn't the money, it's the time needed to do it all right. Even if you have the space at home, a boat can just be parked and forgotten until the next weekend, and if you do that you are gonna have trouble in the long run.

The best way to do it is to pick a slip at your favorite marina, pay for their maintenance/repair package, and then it really is as simple as driving to the lack whenever you want to get on the water.

If you've got the time though, most boats are maintainable on the driveway, if that's part of what you want as a hobby. Just know that it can also become a bit of a chore over time.