To varying degrees we comply and conform to outside influences depending on how close we are to those influences. Family, both immediate and extended, can be very close and very influential. Someone who follows you on Facebook and you have never interacted with, not so much.
What does this have to do with boating? Your influence group (IG) can have a huge impact on which boat you buy…or don’t buy. It is easy to pretend you are a lone wolf, but if we have learned anything in the last couple of decades, we all have influences. It is just a question of which ones and how much. An easy example are sailors that have decided to move to powerboating. Sailing is great, but it is physically demanding and many a dedicated sailor has decided that to keep boating they must switch to power. Seems simple, but it is not. Many of their sailing friends will be shocked, dismayed, scornful. Another one I hear frequently, as a wood boat guy, are people who confess (usually in hushed tones) that they want a wood boat but can’t buy one because their boating friends will think they are stupid. Or folks who want to boat but their friend group does not boat, so clearly, they can’t boat either.
There are all sorts of different and subtle influences that can put the brakes on your boating dreams and you don’t even realize it. The question for you is simple-will you allow these influences to keep you stuck or do you want to go boating?
Not doing something is easy, doing the thing, regardless of what your friends and family say, is hard. The good news is that for every boating activity under the sun there is a bunch of people also doing it. You just have to find them. Yacht clubs, boating clubs, brand groups, and yes, even wooden boat support groups. They are all out there wanting to make you feel warm and fuzzy about your decision because each person who joins their group validates their decisions.
Changing is hard but best to get on with it and hanging out with boaters is a great way to get started.
Todd Powell Boats 