The Key! Or maybe just some self-awareness

Roger Taylor in his book Good Boats wrote “the key to choosing the right boat is perhaps self-knowledge more than it is expertise in naval architecture”. In the world of boat shopping, we are always trying to understand where you are trying to go-not physically but emotionally. Yes, boats take you somewhere physically, but you are going to that place because it does something for you emotionally which is why we focus there first. To understand where you are headed on the emotional side may take a little soul searching. You also need to know yourself well enough to understand what price you are willing to pay in time, money and mental bandwidth. Toss these things into the hopper and perhaps the right boat will pop out. The following three steps assume you want to go boating soon, not some undefined date in the hazy future.

First, try to understand the “why you are going to boat”. It may be as simple as it is a fun weekend activity with family and friends, or it might be as epic as trying to instigate a significant change in your life. Whatever your reason, figure it out.

Next let’s “know how you are going to boat” Do you have visions of cruising from Alaska to Mexico yet your current and foreseeable future is a work and a life structure that requires you to be in one location 50 weeks a year? Time to realize that you can boat on the weekends and short holidays but not for months at a time. This may require a speedy cruiser vs. the slow passagemaker you had been envisioning.

Finally (and most difficult I think) lets decide if we are “willing to pay the price”. We all have a mental picture of what our “boating” will look like. We then have to figure out how far our current situation is from that picture. So ask yourself, how likely are we to put in the effort, and make the sacrifices in time and money to achieve that picture? Highly likely? Then carry on…not so much, then time to redraw the picture. And there is no shame in redrawing the picture-it is the right thing to do.

Nothing new here. Take the why, add the how and then decide if you are willing to pay the price. A little self-knowledge will give you a chance at finding the right vessel for you.