Is Boat-Sharing Better Than Owning In Buffalo, New York?

You may have heard someone say that you don't need to buy a boat...you just need a friend with a boat.  Now there's a new service in Buffalo that's a mix of both.

Owning a boat seems a little crazy here in Western New York.  You don't get a whole lot of time in the year that you can take advantage of them.  Summer only lasts for a couple of short weeks.  Just about the time people really start to get out and enjoy the weather it feels like we have to start getting ready for winter again.

But that being said, summers are also incredible here in Western New York, and to go without a boat seems like a shame.  A day out on Lake Erie or any of the lakes that are close enough to drive to would be amazing!  And how incredible would it be if you could do it every weekend of the summer?

If you've ever been in the middle of this argument with yourself, you might be interested in a "Boat-Sharing" service.  It's a real thing.  It's kind of like an AirBnB where you get all the benefits of using someone else's property, without the upkeep of it.  Not only do you avoid having to come up with the money to buy the boat itself, but you don't have to pay for a slip, insurance, maintenance, a trailer to tow it, or any of the other fees that come along with buying one.  They estimate becoming a member of one of these services could cost you around 1/3 of the normal cost to own a boat.

You can choose the boat that you want when you want it.  Maybe one weekend you're just looking for a fishing boat to go out on with your brothers.  The next, you want to take the family out on a pontoon.  You choose what works for you!

What's even better is that some of these services have locations all across the country.  This one in Buffalo has locations from here to Florida and even as far west as Washington. So if you're taking a vacation away from Buffalo, you can just borrow a boat wherever you're going and not have to tow it along with you.  It'll just be there waiting when you get there.

It sounds like the perfect option to me.  All the perks of owning a boat, without actually having to maintain a boat!