Anyone who spends a good chunk of their lives on the water will proudly recount the various craft they’ve enjoyed across the sweep of their boating life. The chronology generally follows an upward trend, starting with a modest skiff or sailing dinghy and navigates through increasingly bigger and better boats.

But just as our wants, needs, and priorities change at various life stages, so do the boats that fit our lifestyle. There’s “moving up” and “downsizing,” but what about switching boats simply for a lifestyle adjustment. Sailors jumping over to power as they age is a common theme, but what about the angler who trades in the center-console for a pontoon boat to spoil the grand-kids? Or from a hard-core sport fishing machine to a plush family cruiser? People make adjustments in their lives for all kinds of reasons.

Bottom line: You need a boat that matches your lifestyle, or you’re bound to use it a whole lot less — and nothing eats at a boater more than the thought that she or she is just not using the boat enough. The goal is to stay in boating, and sometimes that requires making a change.