Breaking news to no one reading this column: Boating is an expensive pastime. I know it, you know it. Still, when my summer slip increased in price again this year, I felt a small knot form in my stomach. We love our marina. For the slice of life we’re in, we take full advantage of the pool, playground, dinghy dock, and proximity to the ice cream shop, so the thought of seeking out a more affordable summer home was fleeting.
Whenever the discussion around the cost of boat ownership comes up, I’m the first one to put my hands over my ears and shout, “La, la, la, I’m not listening, I’m not listening.” Dividing the total cost by the number of usable boating weekends up north is a formula that would make any financial planner seasick on dry land.
But even as one of the biggest believers in the value boating brings to our lives, I have to admit that when you take into consideration rising slip fees, maintenance, insurance, fuel, winter storage, and a rainy-day fund in case you find yourself with a banged-up prop (don’t ask), the barrier to entry—especially for the next generation of boaters—is growing further out of reach.
Then there’s the price of new boats themselves; it hurts my heart when I hear an American builder divulge that their entry-level dayboat is priced “competitively” around half a million dollars. The answer to these prices has always been the brokerage market. Unfortunately, major insurers like BoatUS won’t even touch boats older than 30 years. The older I get, the harder time I have believing 30-year-old boats were built in 1996.
It should come as little surprise, then—and it should be concerning to boatbuilders—that the average age of boat owners in the U.S. is 60, with the majority being in their 70s. Two additional sobering stats: The average age of a first-time boat buyer is 46, and there are more boat owners in their 70s than in their 40s.
This picture came into clearer focus for me recently when a young man I used to coach—now the proud owner of a burgeoning landscaping company—asked me about getting into a brokerage Sea Ray he could buy for “a steal.” He was excited about the idea of getting into boating and clearly eager to tell me about it. Kind of like when a friend gets into a relationship with a girl you know is trouble, you have to proceed with caution. I drove by the uncovered cruiser, a mountain of snow on its exposed, weathered, helm; she was a steal, all right—steal your money and your heart is more like it.
When I was his age, I bought a boat off Craigslist that threatened to do the same to me on many occasions. But then again, boat writers are supposed to be broke dreamers. I’m sad to say I counseled my young protégé to save his dollars, start a 401(k), and look into something he can trailer. I never felt like such an old stiff in my life.
Prudence aside, I know that if he became the steward of that soggy Sea Ray, he would have a challenging—at best—experience that would likely lead to his exit from our chosen pastime. But as boaters, it feels like we have a responsibility to guide and pass our love of boating on to the next generation. In this case, I’m going to suggest that he gain experience on the water through Freedom Boat Club, and I’ll invite him down to my boat so he can try driving a twin-engine cruiser. Hopefully this guidance will, in the long run, get him hooked on boating for life.
We need new boaters, and God knows today’s young people can use the therapy and escape that time on the water has to offer. By passing it on, we can help others make lifelong memories while ensuring that our home marinas don’t get paved over for condos.
See you on the water,
Dan
daniel.harding@firecrown.com
@danhardingboating
This article originally appeared in the June/July 2026 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.
