A family rents a summer house on the beach to spend their vacation. Jack Chester (John Candy) is told to take a vacation after he snaps at his job as an air traffic controller. When he arrives, he first uses the wrong house before he realizes the property he rented is a dump. Sandy Chester (Karen Austin) his wife tries to make the best of things. His older children, Jennifer (Keri Green) and Bobby (Joseph Lawrence) make friends while Jack gets in a feud with a local rich sailor named Al Pellet (Richard Crenna). Jack enters a boat race to beat Al but he needs a boat.