From Boat Life to Van Life: Why We Sold Our Boat and Started Traveling

For nearly three decades, summer weekends followed a familiar rhythm.

Early mornings at the lake.
The smell of fuel and sunscreen.
Glass-calm water, perfect for skis and wakeboards.
Kids laughing off the back platform.

We raised our kids and grandkids on that water. We upgraded boats as seasons changed. We became the couple everyone associated with the lake.

Boating wasn’t just something we did.
It was stitched into the fabric of our family life.

And then, almost quietly, something shifted.
Our kids grew up, and their priorities naturally shifted.
Their families were busy with life, baseball games, and home projects.
Driving four hours to the lake felt heavier.

The weekends felt predictable.

Nothing was wrong.

But something wasn’t quite right either.

That’s when Gail and I started asking a question we hadn’t considered in 28 years:

Is this still the life we want or just the life we’re used to?

That question eventually led us from boat life to van life.

28 Years on the Water

Boating had given us decades of memories. It had carried us through busy parenting years and into the early stages of an empty nest. We had upgraded boats three times. We were still athletic enough to ski and wakeboard when conditions were right.

But something had shifted.

The lake felt smaller.
The routine felt familiar.
The excitement felt muted.

We were still deep into our careers at the time. Retirement was on the horizon, but not here yet. And that made the question even more pressing:

Do we keep making the best of something that once fit us perfectly?
Or do we intentionally design something new?

When Your Lifestyle No Longer Fits

This wasn’t a casual decision.

Boating had become part of our identity. Selling the boat felt almost disloyal to the life we’d built.

But as couples sometimes do, we began to dream out loud.

What places had we never seen?
What trails had we never hiked?
What National Parks were still on the list?

Without much thought, we each started rattling off ten or twenty places we wanted to visit “before we die.”

And then the idea surfaced.

What if we sold the boat… and bought an RV?

Up until that moment, we had never seriously considered it. In fact, we may have joked about RV life in the past. We weren’t campers. We liked comfort. We liked the water. We assumed boating was more “us.”

Funny how perspective changes.

Boat Life vs Van Life: What We Really Compared

This wasn’t an emotional leap. We thought it through carefully.

Activity Level

Boating gave us bursts of activity — skiing, boarding, swimming.

Van life offered something different: consistent movement. Hiking trails. Exploring cities. Climbing ridgelines. Walking historic streets. We realized we could likely stay more fit hiking National Parks than floating on a lake.

As we planned for retirement, long-term health mattered.

Flexibility

Boat life anchored us to one body of water.

Van life opened the entire country.

Instead of returning to the same shoreline each weekend, we could wake up in the mountains one week and near the ocean the next.

That kind of freedom felt energizing.

Cost Considerations

We didn’t make spreadsheets, but we were realistic.

Boating came with:

• Storage
• Fuel
• Maintenance
• Insurance
• Seasonal limitations

Van life would come with:

• Vehicle maintenance
• Campsite fees
• Travel fuel
• Occasional upgrades

Neither lifestyle is “cheap.” But van life felt more flexible. Instead of paying to maintain access to one lake, we’d be investing in experiences across America.

Social Dynamic

Boat life is often group-centered, which was perfect during our parenting and early grandparenting years. But as our family rhythms changed, the lake no longer felt like the center of our lives.

Van life felt more couple-centered and we were ready to focus more on each other.

We were ready to enter a new chapter of life. The idea of exploring together — just the two of us — felt aligned with our season of life.

We Didn’t Wait for Retirement

Here’s the part that matters most.

We were still working when we made this decision.

We weren’t retired boaters looking for something to fill time. We were intentionally designing the next phase of our lives while still in our careers.

Waiting felt risky.

We didn’t want to postpone adventure until “someday.” We wanted to test it, refine it, and grow into it before retirement officially arrived.

That mindset is ultimately how our blog got its name.

Van Life By Design wasn’t just clever branding.

It was exactly what we were doing.

Selling Our Boat and Buying a Van

A few months later, we sold our boat to a family member. That made the transition easier. The boat stayed in the family, and so did the memories.

We found a used Sprinter van in Idaho that fit our vision and budget. It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t brand new. But it represented possibility.

Our first trip?

Driving it from Idaho back to Kansas in a single weekend.

That story deserves its own post.

What We Miss About Boating

We’d be dishonest if we said we don’t miss parts of boat life.

We miss:

• The rush of pulling up on skis.
• Glassy water at sunrise.
• Familiar dock conversations.
• The rhythm of lake weekends.
• The need for speed on the lake.
• Making family memories on the lake.

Boating gave us nearly three decades of joy.

And we’re grateful for every minute.

Now that we no longer own a boat, we still rent a boat for a weekend once or twice per summer, which scratches our lake itch somewhat.

What Van Life Gave Us That Boating Couldn’t

Van life gave us:

• National Parks we’d only talked about.
• Trails that challenge our legs and lungs.
• Desert sunsets.
• Mountain sunrises.
• Shared problem-solving.
• A renewed sense of adventure.

Instead of repeating one familiar weekend, we’re constantly discovering something new.

And that novelty has strengthened our marriage in ways we didn’t fully anticipate.

Was It the Right Decision?

For us, yes.

Not because boating was wrong.
Not because van life is superior.
Not because retirement forced our hand.

It was right because it aligned with who we were becoming.

Active.
Curious.
Intentional.

From boat life to van life wasn’t about abandoning one identity.

It was about designing the next one.

Was It the Right Decision?

For us, yes.

Not because boating failed us.
Not because van life is superior.
And not because retirement forced our hand.

It was right because we were changing.

We were still working. Still healthy. Still capable. And we realized something important:

Waiting for the “perfect time” is often just another way of standing still.

So we didn’t drift into a new lifestyle.

We designed one.

From boat life to van life wasn’t just a change in vehicles. It was a decision to keep moving — physically, mentally, and relationally into the next chapter of our lives.

Looking back, we didn’t realize how much this transition would shape our relationship. You can read more about that here → Van Life and Marriage.