The Case for the Boat Club
Take the Boat Pill
A guest article by Yeehaw Yinzer.
As many OGC readers may know, life in the modern world can be quite atomizing. But, dear reader, there is a way. Let me introduce to you the concept of joining the boat club to save Western Civilization.
Think about it. You choose how invested you want to be. Need bonding time with the family? Get a nice pontoon boat to cruise the local waters and enjoy swimming, fishing, and everything in between. Need to get away from it all? A nice fishing boat for you and maybe one or two buddies to relax on the weekends.
Want to change the default setting rather than treating it as an occasional getaway? Get a houseboat or a sailboat with a cabin. This type of move is what I call laying a keystone habit. If this becomes your default, then other good things necessarily follow.
The solitude on a boat is different from the solitude in a city apartment. The increase in fresh air, sun exposure, and peace and quiet means that one will have more time for higher pursuits, such as reading the Bible, writing, and cultivating skills.
While the idea of moving to the wilderness is appealing to some, moving to a marina is a nice in-between. You will reclaim the solitary outdoors and that sweet American freedom while still staying close to civilization.
According to nutritionist Ray Peat:
Possibly the most toxic component of our environment is the way the society has been designed, to eliminate meaningful choices for most people. In the experiment of Freund, et al., some mice became more exploratory because of the choices they made, while others’ lives became more routinized and limited. Our culture reinforces routinized living.  In the absence of opportunities to vary the way you work and live to accord with new knowledge that you gain, the nutritional, hormonal and physical factors have special importance. (emphasis added)
Again, what better way to break out of a state of self-inflicted lockdown than to live on a boat? You will learn useful skills like tying different knots, boat and vehicle maintenance, and piloting/sailing.
Are there social opportunities at a marina? Yes! At the boat club, we grill. Growing up, my boat club frequently held events throughout the summer such as races, breakfasts, and even a Jimmy Buffett Day celebration!
Any good reader of John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice series (a must-read for all adolescents, I’d say) surely continued reading Flanagan’s subsequent series, Brotherband, which documents the tale of Hal Mikkelson in a Viking-esque civilization.
If that does not inspire you to set sail, I DO know what will:
Every public education curriculum details the voyages of European settlers to America. Your ancestors did it; you can do it, too. We all have much to thank them for, in the good of the America that we have inherited. Given the comforts of modern technology, we will have a much more relaxing experience than they did.
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As far as how much this costs to do:
I would budget $30,000 for obtaining a used live-aboard boat: $20,000 for acquiring, $10,000 for initial repairs. Then I would expect $5,000 per year in repairs. I don’t usually think that they would be this much, but I’m leaning on the high end so as not to lead anyone into error. If you look hard enough, you should be able to find more affordable options for a boat, but they may require more work.
A live-aboard sailboat is usually cheaper than a pontoon boat, and fishing boats are quite affordable as well. For readers considering the live-aboard option, you can see that the costs easily beat house mortgages and apartment rents. Of course, owning land is absolutely an important part of being an American, but living on a boat is definitely better than eating bugs and living in a pod.
If you have a marina in mind where you want to put your boat on the water, you will certainly want to ask what specifications are permitted and select accordingly. Dock slips are often priced in terms of feet, so if you get a shorter boat, it will generally be cheaper.
Additionally, you will want to factor in on-land boat transportation costs. Do you have a truck or a good Jeep and, of course, a boat trailer?
I would budget $200 or so per month for the boat’s gas, although it really depends on how often you use the motor specifically and how much you use the boat in general.
Boat clubs will also have membership fees for events and shared resources, so those are worth taking into account as well.
Be sure to check on your state’s regulations. In Pennsylvania, for instance, we have to register our boats every year, or else we will get in trouble with the boat patrol — akin to a speeding ticket.
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With all of that said, I hope that you, dear reader, are at the very least inspired to go boating with some loved ones. Hopefully, you are now seriously considering a boating lifestyle as a way to navigate some of the cultural tides we face.