I'm interested in boating, but haven't gotten into it. I have read a lot, for what that's worth. My impression is that people have the wrong mental model for boat economics and get screwed over because of it.
The core problem is that the total cost of ownership for a boat is a small fraction of its purchase price. Also, the incremental cost of owning one even when not using it is relatively high.
Think of cars. Let's say you get a little extra cash and you feel like having something fun to drive. You've got some extra space on your driveway. You get, I don't know, a used sports car or a camper van or something. Once you've gotten it, most of the expenditure is done. The insurance is cheap since it's not a daily drive. You've got space for it already.
In other words, if you can afford to buy a car, you can probably afford to own a car.
Any boat larger than a fishing boat that you can trailer yourself and store in your yard is the polar opposite of that.
Boats are actually pretty cheap to buy. There is a huge used market for boats driving prices down. There are many many people looking to not own a boat (which should probably be causing alarm bells to ring in your head). You can often find sailboats for free.
The reason is that the cost to own them is quite high. If you keep the boat in the water, you're paying rent at a marina slip. That's expensive in desireable areas. Populated coastal areas are obviously almost always desirable areas. Also, the water and its contents are constantly doing a number on the boat. Barnacles grow on it. The salt corrodes any exposed metal. Sunlight and UV light break down anything plastic. Every day of the boat's life is burning money regardless of whether or not you use the boat.
You can store it out of the water, and that helps. But that makes it even harder to take the boat out, so maybe you're not burning as much money every month, but you're also using it even less.
This does not mean that boating sucks or is unaffordable. It just means you need to have the right mindset for it. Don't think of a boat as a toy. And object that you can buy and put away when not in use. Think of it more like a pet, like a horse.
If you're rich, you can be a horse owner if you want and treat it like a toy. Throw many at it, pay stablehands to take care of the horse when you aren't around, and don't care about the money you're burning even when you aren't riding.
If you're not rich, you can also be a happy horse owner. But it has to be your thing. It will be a major part of your life, and occupy a very large slice of your free time. You'll move to the country to make it more affordable. You'll spend time every day taking care of your horse and enjoy the satisfaction of doing the work yourself. You may not have much time for other pursuits, but it will be your horse through and through.
I look at boats the same way. You be happy using it a few times a year if you're rich and don't mind throwing money at it. Or you can make it your thing and use it so frequently that the monthly expenses are amortized across a large volume of joyful use. But what you can't do is be a happy casual boat user if you aren't wealthy.