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A former boss told a story once that was super relatable.

It was about change and how it's not always necessary.... He went on about how one business changed their payment policies so that everything was done by some kind of payment card, they wouldn't accept cash/cheque with their new system.

He was basically bitching about having to pay by card for something he usually pays for by cheque.

The super relatable service that "pulled this on him"? It was a dry dock for his boat.

Yep. Super relatable bossman. I can barely pay my bills on what I'm paid, and you're being super relatable talking about how you store your boat in the winter. 🖕

The elites don't want you to know this but the boats at the marina are free you can take them home I have 458 boats.

There are a lot of people in the world. Like a loooooot. Even if the % of non normies is only like 0.01% of the population that would easily explain those boats.

No one, take them, they're free.

The ideas that normies don't sail isn't true. I'm a normie and not rich and I started a sailing school because it's fun as hell. You don't need ^to ^own a boat to go sailing, you only need to know how.

Just had a look at used sailing boats in Norway and there are a fair number for under $10 000. Basically cheaper than a used car or camper. I'd have one if I had somewhere to keep it.

I have a friend who grew up on the coast and her family always sailed for fun.

When she got divorced she bought a sailboat and traveled for a bit in it. She then parked it at a marina and lived in it for so many years close to her kids and grandkids. She paid $100K for boat and her marina fees were $300/month. The boat was paid off with the divorce settlement.

The cheapest 1 bedroom apartment to rent nearby was $3500/month for less square footage than her boat. The cheapest small house was around $1,000,000 or around $6000/ month at the time. The homes around the marina were all priced at several million dollars.

A city of 250,000 people could have 250 boats (that's enough for a marina or two) and it would be 0.01% of the population (the one percent of the one percent). That seems to not really be that crazy.

And if you consider that a small percentage of the boat population may have 2 or even 3 boats, than it gets even less weird.

I also think that if you live near water, people are generally at least a little more likely to get a boat instead of a nice car or bigger house or other luxury item.

Edit: I was off by an order of magnitude so it would be 0.1% not 0.01, however, I think the broader point is still valid.

Sailboats aren’t prohibitively expensive for a normie, especially if you buy a used one. If you look at the large empty houses near every harbor though, you’ll see a better sign of the wealth disparity. The rich own multiple houses worth millions each and they seem to be rarely used while many people can’t afford a starter home now.

My dad used to own a sailboat, which was a high point for someone squarely middle class. We're talking a 44 ft sailboat.

These things are holes in the water who the fuck wants a boat

Some people don't even really sail them but live in them.

I'm kinda one of them. Well my dad is. He's typical of the boat owners I've met over the years. Boomer, business owner, white. He bought the first boat with a buddy in their late 20s, cuz that's when he had enough disposable income after they could afford a house, a rental property, two kids, two cars, a dog and a golf course membership. They had a falling out and my dad bought out his buddy. Three or four boats later I look after the boat, and do all the maintenance. My dad's in his 70s, he can't take the boat out on his own anymore. We go fishing 5 or 6 times a year. Moorage is $6000 a year, fuel is $2000, insurance $3000, maintenance at least $2000. Maintenance would be 10x that if I didn't do most of the work myself.

They're not that expensive, at least not up-front. A guy I know bought a sailboat for a few thousand dollars, but the catch was that it was almost 50 years old and needed a lot of repairs. He saved money by doing the repairs himself, but the $400 per month slip fee was still too much for him eventually and he sold the boat.

boats aren't expensive, especially the older they are. fixing boats properly is expensive, but you also don't really need to do that. My dad had a racing boat when I was a kid, it cost him $400.. I bought a dinghy last year for $200. That's less than the cost of a game console. And it costs literally nothing to go take it out on the water.

The two best days in a boaters life:

The day they buy their boat; and the day they sell their boat.

My family had a boat quite a few years back. Not a massive one, probably cost ten grand or something. People don't need to be absolutely loaded to own a boat.

When I was a kid, my aunt owned a small one. She’d bring it to my house where my dad and my uncle did repairs.

We were by no means a rich family. It was a two bedroom house with my parents and 3 kids.

I imagine the most expensive part of these are probably dock fees?

Same people who own all the empty properties, residential and commercial; Fucking leaches, that's who.