Choosing the Right Boat for Your Family

Most purchases don’t require a lot of time, energy, research, or thought. To ensure you are making the best choice possible when choosing the right boat, however, you will likely spend countless hours on research to discover the proper safety equipment, maintenance costs, and storage capacity before selecting a family boat within your budget. It’s a big investment and you want to get it right. Add kids to the deck of the vessel and you have an even more challenging process for choosing the right boat for your family.

Choosing the Right Boat for Your Family

When it comes to selecting a family boat, you have many options. There are pontoon boats, cruises, sailboats, and more. You will want to consider how to select a family boat that is the best for family activities, watersports, and fishing from a boat, and at the same time, is safe, easy to navigate, is a breeze to maintain, and doesn’t exceed your budget for a boat.

Things to consider when choosing the right boat:

• The size of your family today…and in the future

• How you will use your boat and what activities will be enjoyed while on the water

• Setting and sticking to a budget

• Each boat’s maintenance and operational costs

• Taking a test drive

• Buying boat insurance

• Safety equipment like life jackets, first-aid kit, fire extinguishers, navigation equipment, a marine radio, and a waterproof cover for storage

• Taking a boating safety course to learn all the boating laws to ensure you and your family stay safe on the water

The Best Family Boats

You can take your family out on any boat but not every boat is ideal for family activities. Here are the best family boats to consider that make it easy to enjoy time on the water with your kids.

Pontoon Boats

When it comes to choosing the right boat, many families enjoy the versatility of pontoon boats. Navigation and driving a pontoon is uncomplicated, there’s plenty of storage, maintenance is easy, and pontoon boats will have all the necessary safety equipment. Pontoon boats, from small ones for 8 people or large pontoons that can accommodate as many as 15 guests, are a good option for a growing family. No one will feel restricted and there’s enough space for watersports equipment and all the gear for fishing from a pontoon boat. Pontoon boats are also stable enough to host gentle cruising trips on local lakes and family parties.

Cruisers

Cabin cruiser boats are like the mobile homes you might consider renting to enjoy a vacation on land. Cruisers allow you to take your entire family on watery adventures full of family activities, watersports, fishing, and more. Even with small cruisers you will be able to dock in a variety of ports, spend long weekends enjoying the boating lifestyle, and spend many days swimming and relaxing on the water with your kids.

Sailboats

Few types of boats are more romantic than sailboats. They exude the ideal of boating on still waters beneath a setting sun as well as evoking the history of tall ships and the excitement of boat racing. Some sailboats have cabins, kitchens, and bathrooms meaning once you learn how to sail, you can get away for weekend trips with your family.

Fun Ways to Use Your Family Boat

Keeping kids entertained while out on the water on any of the best family boats is key to enjoying a successful day together on your boat. You will want a boat that has shade, comfortable seating, and possibly an interior space to relax out of the sun and be a vessel perfect for a variety of uses, including fishing, watersports, yoga, parties, and family activities.

Understanding boating laws and safety is every bit as important as choosing the right boat. Learn all about boating and safety before selecting a family boat and taking to the water.