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Owning a boat is a dream for many Americans, but one that can turn into a nightmare of unforeseen costs. Many novice boaters don’t realize all the costs associated with purchasing a boat and wind up with an expensive driveway ornament aside their car instead because they can’t afford gas, insurance or the other myriad things boat owners must pay for.

In recent years, enterprising business people have begun offering a solution for the high price of boat ownership: Boat rental clubs. These clubs rent out their fleet of boats to members on a daily, weekend or even monthly basis at a discounted cost. For example, one marina in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida charges non-members $329 to rent a 21-foot bow rider, but a member of the club would pay just $136, not including gasoline.

Typically, boat rental club members must pay yearly dues in order to receive the discounted prices. However, once most boaters add up the costs of insurance, gasoline, storage, docking and maintenance, not to mention the actual purchase of the boat itself, they find that joining a rental club saves them money. Boat rental clubs may also offer their members other benefits such as discounts on equipment rentals like skis or scuba gear, discounts at local restaurants and a special price on gasoline and oil.

Membership plans vary from club to club. Some offer annual memberships with a high initial cost and lower costs for renewals. Some offer a flat annual fee with no further rental costs. Some offer seasonal memberships. Be sure you understand all the terms of the membership agreement and don’t allow yourself to be pressured into more of a membership than you feel you need. For example, if you’re new to boating and unsure how much you will actually use your membership, a multi-year contract is probably not the best choice for you.

Finally, if you are an avid boater and plan on taking your boat out for several days every week, or for a series of long trips, a boat rental club may not offer you the same savings as it would a more casual boater. To see if a rental club would save you money, total up all the costs associated with your boat and divide that by the number of days you plan to use it in a year. Then add up all the costs associated with a boat rental club membership and divide by the number of days you will use your membership. Whichever number is lower will be the most cost-effective option for you.

Kadence Buchanan writes articles on many topics including
Boating, Sports, and
Recreation

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I like many other fathers out there, used to leave shopping for the children up to my wife. She would take them to the store and I would get to sit on the couch and enjoy a football game with no interruption. Sadly, that’s all been changed thanks to the limited funds available at my kid’s school to supply the sports gear that they need. It is up to the parents to purchase what was once readily provided by the school and now I’m the one that makes the trips to the store with the kids in tow.

My wife and I have always encouraged our children to participate in sports because they teach them about teamwork and working hard to achieve their goals. These types of lessons will hopefully help them later on in life, as they attend college and then enter their chosen professions. Prior to budget cuts, getting their needed equipment was not a financial consideration for the parents. Now, in order for my children to continue to play their favorite sports, we have to cut down on other expenses to be able to afford the expensive gear.

Two of my children play hockey and this type of sport is rough on the equipment, so replacing it has become a fact of life. Just the cost of the skates alone practically has me looking in the want ads for another job. Even though we buy equipment made of good quality, my kids are constantly growing, so we are guaranteed to have to replace items with every season.

Then there’s my own gear that I use to go hunting with. I also fish and play golf. My wife plays tennis with her friends and between all of us; we should own stock in sporting goods companies. As it is, the sales clerks in the store that we frequent knows us by our first names.

We made sure to get on their mailing list for catalogs because they often contain coupons that will save money on the things that we buy. I have to admit that I love getting these catalogs because they keep me up to date on the new advancements in sporting gear. While I certainly can’t afford to replace my golf clubs every time they come up with an improved one, I can at least put them on my Christmas list with the slim hope of getting one of them. Recently, a friend of mine who is in the same boat that I am, told me about a sporting good supplier that sells high quality used equipment.

I don’t have a problem with buying used equipment, as long as it works well and will save me money. From what I understand, they will also buy my used gear or sell it for me on a contingency basis. This is a great relief because it will save us a bundle and I won’t have to get that second job after all.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as sporting goods online at www.sportinggoodsupply.com

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There are several types of paintball equipment used while playing a game of paintball. Many of them serve important functions like providing safety, while some of them may be intended for cosmetic purposes only. There are also some nifty paintball accessories which can really come in handy when playing the game.

Paintball Gun:

Paintball guns are replicas of actual firearms used to mark an opposing player with paint in the popular game of paintball. These guns propel paintballs through a barrel with a muzzle velocity of approximately 300 ft/s to break upon impact. Different types of paintball guns have different firing system such as Electro-pneumatic, mechanical, or gas-powered firing systems. Some of the more popular paintball guns include semi-automatic, stock class and pump guns.

Safety Equipment:

Paintball Mask:

Paintball Masks protect the face by covering the eyes, mouths, ears and nostrils. Some masks are also equipped with throat guards. Lenses which come in double-layered or thermal designs are more reliable and the air chamber between the outer and inner lens prevent fogging. High end mask products should be considered while playing paintball because most of them are designed to effectively halt speeding paintballs which normally travel at a speed of 200 to 300 ft/s. Polycarbonate or Lexan provides good impact resistance so be sure to check if the mask has lens made with those.

Barrel cover:

A barrel plug is normally a neoprene pouch attached over the barrel opening by a cord. This safety device prevents accidentally fired paintballs to cause any harm by blocking exit. A barrel sock is more effective in reducing the possibility of the safety equipment being detached from the marker/gun barrel.

Cleaning Equipment:

Squeegees:

The barrel or breach of the paintball gun may collect dust or paintball debris. Squeegees, hinge-mounted rubber discs on the end of plastic rods, are used to clean these out by inserting the rubber end into the barrel. Cable squeegees, in which the rubber disc is mounted perpendicularly on the end of the cable, used to clean open breech and removable bolt paintball guns.

Battle Swab:

This is a double ended stick, with a bendable rubber section in the middle, which has a soft absorbent fur which is shoved down the length of the barrel to remove paint debris or paintball shell.

Common Accessories:

Drop forward and Rail:

Drop forwards, which is attached to the bottom of the gun, drop the tank a few inches and move it forward. This makes the paintball marker/gun taller but shorter in length. Safety features may include on/off switch. Another alternative to drop forward, which has become more popular, is the rail system which enables a tank regulator to be mounted directly at the base of the grip.

Remote line:

Remote lines are cables attached to the tank from the paintball marker/gun so that user can easily move while handling the marker/gun.

Pod:

These are plastic containers that can hold about 140 to 200 paintballs. Pods may be equipped with springs at the top for quick opening, locking mechanism to prevent accidental opening, and shock absorbers to prevent paintballs from breaking.

Harness:

A harness, which holds the pods, provides the player with a convenient supply of paint. They may also be fitted with a pouch to hold the tank during a remote setup, a bellyband with hoops in the back for the pods and pockets for maps, radios, and hydration pouches.

http://paintballinghq.com/ Paintballing HQ offers articles and tips about paintballing from beginner to expert.

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