I pretty much grew up in a boat and have had one or many from high school till now. They are nice to have and once you have one you are always adding little things to upgrade them, not to mention the annual maintenance that comes along with them. My last boat was a 91 Champion and it was a great boat until the motor spun a crank bearing that cost $6,000 to fix. That was my chance to upgrade after owning that boat for 12 years. I pretty much do all the work except rebuilding one and they are still expensive. Would I not own a boat? No, they are just part of my life that I am willing to sacrifice other things in order to have one. The really bad part is when you have multiple boats for fishing, family activities, and then one for hunting. Not complaining as I am fortunate to have a family and job that allows me to own and afford these toys but man they take a lot of maintenance to keep running.
My dad always said it is cheaper to find a buddy with a boat and buy him fuel and whatever else to be able to fish with him as that is the cheapest and least amount of headaches you will have. This coming from a guy who has always owned boats.