A boat in saltwater is floating in an evironment that is determined to destroy it. Everything breaks. Bilge pumps die and flood your boat. The toilet reeks b

A boat in saltwater is floating in an evironment that is determined to destroy it. Everything breaks. Bilge pumps die and flood your boat. The toilet reeks because bacteria grow in the copper piping and produce sulfurous gas. Wiring mysteriously shorts when the PVC coating outgasses and cracks and salt air and moisture creeps into the copper strands. Everything is exposed to the sun all day, doubly so because of water's reflections, and the UV destroys everything, too. Be prepared to fix something every week and that the cost of fixing it will be sky-high because you must use marine-grade parts to fix it. When you're not fixing expensive broken shit, you're maintaining it. Constant repainting of surfaces. If your boat has teak, you'll frequently need to strip it and sand it and re-laquer it. Motors die if not used regularly or overheat when the diesel gets old and rots head gasket seals. Fuel leaks. The lines that you use to secure your boat to the dock need constant re-tightening as the tides and waves and wakes toss your boat around. If you forget to tighten them or go on vacation, your boat will come loose and beat itself to death against the dock. If there's a hurricane, the usual course of action is to move your boat out into the harbor and anchor it securely and then ride the storm out somewhere safe. I love boats but there is a good reason for this joke: "The two happiest days in a man's life: the day he buys a boat and the day he sells it."