Having said that, building your own boat can be a fun activity and one that can save you money (or at least get you a bigger boat for the same amount of money you were planning to spend anyways). Here’s what you need to do to get started in the boat-building process:

Do some research. Learn a little about the process. Find out what kinds of tools and materials you’re going to need, in general. Invest in some books on boat building, or spend some time online learning about the overall process. Learn about different boat-building methods. A number of vendors also sell boat-building videos to help you get a handle on the process, as well.

Pick and purchase a design. There are a number of companies out there that offer boat plans. You need to not only pick a design that appeals to you and meets your boating needs, but one that comes from a reputable company. Make sure to thoroughly investigate a company before you drop a dime on boat plans.

Get your tools and building accessories. You aren’t going to need anything too exotic. Just a table saw, hand tools and a whole mess of c-clamps will pretty much do it, in addition to basic supplies.

Procure your materials. Some companies will sell you an entire kit that includes all of the materials you need for your boat. You can save some money by just buying plans and then buying your materials separately. Make sure you know what you’re buying, though, as mistakes can be costly here.

Talk to your insurance agent. Once you’ve built the boat, you need to make sure that your investment is protected. Boat insurance rates may differ greatly from a boat that you’ve purchased from someone else. Talk to you agent to find out what coverage will cost.

Photo via paulshaffner

Let me rephrase that. If you live in a place where the water freezes over into ice for half the year, winter sucks.

You make an investment in a nice recreational watercraft or boat. You rent marina space, and you take good care of the vehicle. You even make sure that your boat insurance is paid up at all times. Yet you’re stuck at home, huddled around a fireplace, waiting for the lake to thaw.

Well, it’s time to get up off your warm duff and get back out on the water. An ice boat is exactly what you need to get on the water during the winter months.

What’s an ice boat? Well, an ice boat is a purpose-built framework that’s pretty similar overall to a sail boat. Instead of a hull, however, this boat has runners, skis or skates. It’s designed to sail over ice rather than through water.

Ice boating even has its own specialized terms. Sailing and racing an ice boat is known as “ice yachting.” Ice that’s good enough to be sailed upon is called “hard water” (as opposed to the “soft water” you spend your summers on).

Ice boats are typically single-seaters. There are some models that have more seats, but they’re much less common. Some ice boats can even have a motorcycle-style side car attached in order to bring along a passenger.

Ice boats aren’t a new concept, either. They’ve been used since the 1800s for both practical purposes like transporting stuff across the ice, as well as recreationally for racing. The original ice boats were as long as 50 feet in some cases.

There are Ice boating clubs, too. While you won’t find them in Florida or North Carolina, there are a ton in Michigan, Wisconsin and, for our neighbors to the North, in Ontario and Alberta.

The Northwest Ice Yacht Association is one of the oldest of these groups. They feature an annual regatta, which has been going on for more than a century.

So, if you can’t wait for the spring thaw, try something new. Talk to your boat dealer about an ice boat. Maybe you can rent one for a weekend to start. It’s not for everyone, but you might just find you’re hooked.

Photo via Joe Shlabotnik

Unless you’ve seen SeaBob, it’s a little hard to believe exactly what this machine does. It’s part bodyboard, part jet ski and all excitement. With this vehicle, you can leap across waves, but you can also dive for the ocean floor. SeaBob is fast and agile. It features an electric impeller jet motor that lets you go as fast as 8 miles per hour.

The impeller jet propulsion system on the SeaBob comes standard at 3.3 horsepower. The higher end model puts out 5 horsepower, and can achieve speeds greater than 10 miles per hour. The batteries take between 6 and 12 hours to charge, and can be plugged into a standard wall socket. The charge will power the device for about an hour, and extra battery packs are available, as well.

The SeaBob also features an LCD display in the cockpit. This display will show you the power in the engine, as well as how long the charge will last, the water temp and how far under water you’re diving.

Some have called SeaBob the “Segway of the sea.” You can steer the SeaBob just by shifting your body weight as you go along. By applying only a small amount of pressure, you can get the SeaBob to dive. The standard SeaBob will go to a depth of 2.5 meters, but it can be adjusted to dive to a depth of 40 meters. At the indicated depth, a safety feature shuts off the engine.

Best of all, SeaBob is maintenance free. In addition, the hydrodynamic shape and the powerful but ecologically friendly Lithium Ion batteries make the SeaBob one of the least damaging vehicles on the planet, creating zero emissions and leaving no carbon footprint whatsoever.

SeaBob features an ergonomic shape and comes in many colors, including Carex Yellow, Rapid Red, Silver, Titanum, Star White, Pacific Blue, Cion Yellow, Diago Red Lumex Yellow and Magma Orange.

Cayago is the company that makes SeaBob, and they’re based in Germany. In the United States, National Marine Suppliers has announced that they have reached a distribution agreement with the company for North America. National Marine Suppliers will handle the marketing and sales of SeaBob in North America.

The SeaBob is eligible for boat insurance policies through many insurers.