What different boats have you owned ? a fun topic

[oldmn19]

14 ft aluminum jon boat with Minnkota electric motor
18 ft aliminum Jon boat with 25 hp Mercury
20 ft Aluminum bass boat 125 hp Mercury
21 ft Fiberglass Bass boat 225 hp Yamaha- still have with son
22 ft Pontoon boat 90 hp 4S Yamaha

[Bryden24shp]

1st 1976 Crestliner, 70 Evinrude
2nd 1984 Forrester 164 Phanton, 125 Force. Modified to 175
3rd 1986 Forrester 190 Escape, 215/4.3ltr OMC , replaced with a 325hp 350
4th 1887 Checkmate Enticer, 300 Merc
5th 1994 Baja 22 Caliber, 425/454
6th 1995 Baja 272 525/502 Poker Run Edition
7th 2007 Manitou X Plode, 250 Etec
Next.... another Manitou X Plode, as soon as the 2007 sells......
Funnest Boat??? The Manny! By Far!!!

Several buy, fix up and sell projects in between.

Gramps... 51 years, thats totally awesome!
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
Bryan

[Bamaman]

It's amusing that just about everyone posting here has not had one or two boats. They've had a bunch of boats in various sizes--and often downsizing to a pontoon boat. Everyone shares the love of the water, however.

I guess these boats will do just about anything someone wants out of them.

[BobL]

It's amusing that just about everyone posting here has not had one or two boats. They've had a bunch of boats in various sizes--and often downsizing to a pontoon boat. Everyone shares the love of the water, however.

I guess these boats will do just about anything someone wants out of them.

I am sure it has a lot to do with my age (almost 50) but out of all the boats I have owned, the two Pontoons have been my most enjoyable. Both have been trouble free and are great family boats (for all ages). Sure, the kids love my Mastercraft for serious wakeboarding and tubing. The fishing boats were fun but only for fishing and saltwater is a pain in the a$$.

[Road Glide]

1967 18' Donzi 2+3
1973 27' Magnum Sport
1988 30' Scarab
1989 30' Wellcraft Monaco
1993 24' Suntracker Party Barge

[idadell70]

Wow ! Never thought my post would get such a response. Cumulatively we have owned a ton of boats and had fun in the process. This thread is good for us guys that have to prove to our wives that their husband is not the only guy who has and must own a bevy of boats during their lifetime. Strength in numbers. Remember the quote." There is nothing better than messing around in boats." I will add one word to that "pontoon "
Happy New Year and safe boating in 2012 . brian from Barnegat ,NJ

[Ron Burgundy]

It makes sense now why there is so much good advice here. The total boating experience here is very large.

I must confess there are times when I pass by a sharp looking fiberglass bow rider, a rugged center console, or a sleek sloop rig sailboat, that I have thought's of trading in my pontoon for one of them. The main reason I stray is because I boat out in the Gulf, and there are times where I feel limited by either speed, water conditions, or hull design.

Then I read all the posts from guys who have owned many different types of boat's, and almost all of them say the pontoon is their favorite. Maybe I got lucky, and bought the right boat the first time around.

[GregF]

I see those big boats like owning a back hoe. It might be neat and you could actually use it every once in a while but it is a lot of money sitting there unused most of the time. My pontoon is cheap to run, I can go just about anywhere in the bay with it and we actually use it.

The most attractive thing is it is very low maintenance. It is a POS and nothing I do will hurt that. If I had a $100,000 CC I *might* feel obligated to spend more time polishing it than riding in it ... not for me.

[Ron Burgundy]

I see lots of big boats around here while I am idling out to the Gulf. 99% of the time they are tied up to the dock and not out in the water. I just assume they belong to people with more money than they know what to do with. The only boat I would consider is a smaller dual or center console, in the 20 foot range, that can get up to 35-40 mph. I don't really crave speed, although I enjoy it, but I would like to be able to go further in a couple hours to explore more of the coastline.

[Waynesworld]

Im new to boating this is only my second winter waiting to take the boat out.
I started withe a 1983 21' mark twain cuddy cabin with 350 I\O used it one summer then traded up for a 1988 24' Star craft with a 90 force


loving the pontoon

[chill'nthemost]

Guess I got it right the first time

[ArkieBoater]

1982 or so 16 Foot Hobie Cat ..sailed with my wife and kids for around 10 years..........loved sailing
1993 Sea Doo SP had a 65 HP motor, really enjoyed this ski
1996 SeaDoo XP really fast, good wake jumper, my favorite jetski
1997 SeaDoo GTS wife's jetski, no trouble with any of these
2002 VIP 19 Foot Deckliner with 4.3 mercruiser........never had a problem one with this boat for the 8 years I had it, great skiing boat , loafing boat
2009 Sylvan 8522 Pontoon with 150 Etec. I ( at least in my mind) have arrived with this boat. My back is extremely bad, and this boat is very comfortable for me, I can lay down if I have too.
Wished I had bought a pontoon years earlier.

My wife and I have been going to the lake on and off for 41 years now, most of our best memories are times at the lake.

Charlie

[Bamby]

My first boat was actually a canoe, had a lot of good times on the water with it and still sometimes miss having one.

I then moved up to a 14' Sears with a 9.9 motor. I had what I'd call mixed results the entire time I used that boat. When the water was calm and their were few idiots on the water it was a pleasant enough boat to be out on the water with. But their were times it was a for real ride, and most of the time it was caused by determined idiots seemingly determined to swamp me.

Our next boat purchase was a 24' Odyssey pontoon boat which we kept in our driveway. For a few years we explored pulling the boat every weekend to different places to boat and explore. We had a wonderful time seeing the vistas of the lakes and rivers and we spent every weekend out on the boat. But after several years of primitive makeshift camping and cooking arrangements on the boat, the wife was wanting or seeking a bit more comfortable arrangements..

That's when we moved on to our current pontoon houseboat. Though it's actually small on the real houseboat side of things we've now fully utilized it for about three years and it has and provides everything needed to be comfortable and protected despite anything mother nature has thrown at us so far. Fact is this boat is likely the boat that will see us out till we're to feeble to boat anymore. It's close enough to perfect for us....

[Red555]

My current boat is my first.
20' pontoon with a 90 hp Yamaha.

[STEVEBRENDA]

1) 14 ft jon boat, 9.9 SeaKing
2) Similiar to Bamam's "1956 AlumaCraft 14' fishing boat with 1956 Johnson (brown color)."
Mine had a 35 HP Johnson Super Silent. The 200 HP motors today took up less real estate than that motor.
We worked on it every night, took it out on the weekend and got towed back to the launch ram all summer,
BUT WE HAD A BOAT
3)1974 Chryler Boat, with a 1974 55 HP Chrysler motor.
4) Forgot name of the 1983 16 runabout, 140 HP motor
5) 1995 Grumman Pontoon, 70HP Johnson
6) Bought new in 2003 - 2003 Landau tri-toon, 125HP Mercury

Other incidental boats include 10' jon boat for the pond and a 12' Sunfish sailboat for the kids.