Bought my boat on March 23rd. Called the bank ahead of time and put cash money in the sellers hand. Really wanted things to work out, but I felt my inexperience, age, and arthritic joints worked against me. But I decided I was going for it anyway.

And there's been a couple of misadventures. The lake level dropped and I scuffed a prop til it needed repair. Also failed to watch my depth coming around the downriver end of an island and got stuck in the mud. Went fishing to find that my onboard trolling motor charger had failed and called it a day before lunch.

Still... I get a huge thrill every time I fire the boat up. Love the quiet power of the 4 stroke Merc 90. Got a 13 mile run between dams on the river near me and I can have a great day just riding back and forth.
Last week I bought a tube and accessories. Put my youngest (the crash test dummy) in the water behind the boat this afternoon and pulled him up and down river til almost dark.That's one first for today.
Also went upriver to the town near the dam and tied at the municipal free docks there. Wife and son walked up a block into downtown and got hot dogs and fresh cut french fries and brought them back to the boat. Another first..
Were tied up there until it was starting to get dark. We'd been out til almost dark a few times but this time we mounted up the nav lights and headed 8 miles downriver to the ramp where we put in. Beautiful night, and another first...

Been a lot of firsts over the last few months and I still have tons of plans for the boat.Lot's of grandkid time lining up.
But... I decided before I bought it that if I had one really good day it would be worth the price of admission. We've had a number of really good days, with today being an epitome of sorts.
Figuring that the boat has paid for itself in under 4 months...

And a big thanks here to all who advised on various matters concerning!!!

A bote thread is no damned good w/o pics.

I know a lot of people don’t like them, and I don’t get to use mine as much as I would like to, but I’d never be without one. Glad you’re having fun with yours. Dave

Good for you, man! Boats are a hell of a lot of fun.

Maintenance and planning take care of 99% of boat issues.

I like boats.

Those 4 stroke Mercury motors are great. I have a 2010 115 Mercury 4 stroke. Only issue so far the alcohol in the fuel I’m forced to use cooked a couple internal fuel pumps a couple years ago.

Congrats! I have a good friend who wouldn’t consider life without a boat, he spent a bunch of family time on them when his kids were growing up, l expect he would agree with you.

Same with me and my new Tracker Classic XL, John. Gone are the days when I could get my Hobie Pro Angler on top of my SUV, and now launching and retrieving are so much easier.

If you don't have it yet, do get the Mercury Vessel View Mobile device. It simply plugs in to the motor and links to your phone. It gives you RPM, temps, estimated fuel remaining and flow rate, hours of use, and even links to your dealer to report trouble codes. And lots more besides. About $200. Many YouTube vids on it, so check one out.

My flats boat is going on a 1,102 mile trip Thursday and will be used hard for 10 days. We'll use it as a mode of transportation, fishing and skiing and then another 1,102 miles back home.

Surprisingly my wife has decided she would like a mini pontoon boat for our new property a mile from a mountain lake.
She went and set up an auto deposit for her bank and calculated out her savin for a boat.

But it will be next year before we buy.

Ethanol was mentioned to harm a boat motor, I keep this website as a favorite.

https://www.pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=CT

Enjoy, but one first I'd strongly suggest you make a point to avoid experiencing if at all possible is getting caught out on the water in heavy fog, especially on waters with barge traffic.

I had a flats skiff and I used it just about every weekend. I got my moneys worth of fun out of it the 6 years I had it. I sold it when I got into kayak fishing. I miss it sometimes other times I am glad to just have the yak in garage.

The charter guys in Venice, Louisiana run around at 45mph in fog so thick you can't see a channel maker at 50'. A tug and barge is easy to see.

As to the title: that amount of fun is almost beyond the realm of imagination.

We have had a lot of fun with ours!

I'm leaning hard towards getting a boat. You guys are gonna push me over the edge. Living on a bay on the south side of Lake Ontario and having the finger lakes not too far south of me and I've been around boats all my life. Now that I'm retired I could expand my leisure activity on various lakes & large bays. Very little river navigation for me, though, because around here that's mostly canoe & kayak territory. My present "yacht" is a 15.5 ft. fiberglass canoe that I've owned since 1975. Time to move up a few notches.

A Louisiana Coonass without a boat is akin to a Comanche without a horse.

Unthinkable.

You said in an earlier post
You were gunna run it hard.
I think that that is a bit to hard.

























































Hope everyone on the boat was OK after the collision.

I gotta ask...
Presuming 1102 miles on the trailer? Or are you talking water miles?

I'd love to find a way and a place to do an extended water trip. Either inns or campgrounds would be OK with me.

But trailering around is cool too.I've done 3 lakes and 3 rivers within 2 hours of the house. Dreaming of North Dakota or LOW...

#saltlife

Made some dreams come true for an outlay of cash and some willingness to exit my comfort zone.

I'da paid more and squirmed harder if I'd had to, for this...

I think someone needs to get outta the house more

Have you heard of this book?

https://www.amazon.com/River-Horse-...06#aw-udpv3-customer-reviews_feature_div

This guy went 5,200 miles across America from the coast of New Jersey to the Pacific in a 22ft boat, floating as much as possible.

The book gets mixed reviews, ain’t read it yet.

I love boats, but one thing you learn fast is what it stands for...

Break
Out
Another
Thousand

That's what happens when you trust GPS and don't understand radar.

I hate boats, but I love the water. It still costs the same, but it's a little easier to accept.

Lt, I believe that’s a Furano atop the top?

Yup...don't mean they know how to use it.

There is nothing, absolutely nothing,half so worth doing as simply messing about in boats

You got that right.

It’s my understanding that radar such as that will throw false images or none at all when contacting a wooden vessel like some shrimpers have. I’m back in the 1990s with that statement,

+1 too many words

I read it, quite a few years ago now. William Least Heat Moon is a writer of at least some Native American extraction; also wrote PrairyErth, and Blue Highways. He tends to get very deep into the minutia of things so at times reading him can get a bit tedious. He's a bit of an eco-philosopher. If you are expecting a book about boating, look elsewhere; this is a travel book and the boat is somewhat incidental, simply the mode of transportation. As I said, it's been awhile since I've read it, but those are my recollections. I haven't re-read it, and don't expect to.

I bought my dream boat a couple of years ago. I haven't used it as much as I should have, but I just love it. I just smile when I drive and fish out of it. I should have bought it several years ago.

You can never trust GPS. You can always trust radar. Modern radar will show birds flying around and clumps of vegetation floating in the water.

I'll take a shot at posting what i got
Koshkonong in May Link

First Time Out

Tonight at the Dixon downtown dock

The two best days of owning a boat are when you buy it and when you sell it. I’ve had two nice powerboats. Sold the second one on Saturday. Actually made a few grand on the deal from when I bought it. A good day.

BTW, the building with the square tower thing, in the downtown Dixon pic, is the high school where President Ronald Reagan graduated

I honestly think a boat is the main thing responsible for my kids growing up without getting into trouble. (it sure as hell wasn't good parent skills) Every weekend, in decent weather, the whole family was in the boat with camping gear...they never had time to get into trouble. In the winter, it was horses and FFA beef projects and chores.

I can honestly say that time on the water and in the water is the best of my life

On the east coast you could run the ditch up and down the coast, all the way to here.

My wife and I have talked about getting a pontoon, maybe 22 to 24', removing all the furniture, and setting it up for camping. We could avoid campgrounds with noisy generators, dogs, and kids on motorcycles. Just quiet on the water.

This is supposed to revolutionize boats motors. Great video in any case.

My boat has been the best frivolous purchase I’ve ever made. We literally spend no less than one day a week on our boat. Even if we can’t spend a full day down at a big lake, we can go on a weekday afternoon to our local joint and play. Tubes for grown friends and water toys for our 2 and 4 year old have limited the fishing this year, but it’s all been a blast. Oh and with low water levels I’ve now been through three props. If you want a really cool experience, check out Lake Powell. Exploring the side canyons and fishing and camping off the boat there is tons of fun. Went with another family this year who also is an 18 foot bow rider snd young kids and it was just a blast

My favorite boat is the one someone else owns. I like boating, but do not like owning.

We liked my wifes 'fancy' 21' bowrider so much last year, that she "let" me buy a 24 year old bass boat this year...

Dog included in the price? 😁

To the OP congrats on your summer experiences, I'm sure you have many more such happy moments ahead.

Its my experience that people who complain about the expense of boats are the same people who leave them in slips and leave them outside all the time exposed to the elements.

I’ll trade you that long haired burr picking up biscuit eater for two heads of rotten cabbage.

Name your minimum boat and power to do it, please

I'm running a 16 1/2 foot aluminum crestliner with a 90 OB. Would you do it with that combo? That combo and my beginner skills?

Maybe a 21 ft center console like a scout or key west with a 150 yamaha?

I know that guys with the skills and confidence in their craft can do what some would fear to. Rode a couple of times from Boynton Fla to Freeport Bahamas with a friend in a 26' open fisherman 40 years ago.

Also...

I've seen the pics or video before, of the cat on the rocks. Never heard what happened to put it there. Anything a guy like me with a small fishing boat could learn from?
I've already proven I can be a moron at the helm...