What was your First Boat?

[Skools Out]

hey newbies tell us what ya had when ya started even if it was a Bayliner lol

[THEFERMANATOR]

I'm not quite a newbie, but my first boat I owned was just a plain jane 10 foot jon boat for pond hopping when I was 15. My next boat was a 14 foot jon to get out on the flats, and my obsession has gone out of control since.

[gofish]

Originally Posted by Skools Out

hey newbies tell us what ya had when ya started even if it was a Bayliner lol

Cool thread Skools, glad you brought it back from the dead.

I'm a newb around here. Here's my brief boat-owning profile:

@20 yrs old. Grandpa gave me and my cousin his old 14' Kennedy Craft (1970's model w/ a 1976 20hp Merc.) Still runs, cousin still uses it.

@26 yrs old. Went in w/ two buddies and bought a 1985 V-20 Step-Lift w/ a 150 Yamaha for $2500. Eventually bought the other two guys out for $500 a piece (So that's $833 initially + $1000 buyout= $1833). I'm 29 now and I run it 2-3 times a month, mainly diving/spearfishing off of it.

I have been on all types of size and make boats growing up in Panama City, FL, but those are the only two that I've actually owned.

I can say without a doubt that a V-20 rides better than any other 20/21 ft boat I have ever personally been on. I had never been on a V before I bought mine, so I completely lucked out in discovering the beauty of a Wellcraft V-20.

Ragan (gofish)

[tsubaki]

Somewhere around 14, my father got tired of me taking his homemade Geechee boat and got me a silver 10 foot aluminum boat with a 3hp turn around 180 degrees for reverse outboard. Boy did I wear those out!
Started driving and had a 1960's style 14' semi-V hull with same era 40hp Evinrude for saltwater fishing.
Some later stuff.
12' fiberglass v-nose w/7.5 Johnson
16' tri-hull w/70 Johnson
12' Sikescraft w/9.9 Johnson
15' Owlcraft w/30hp Johnson
These are still with me presently.
Flare 16' tri-hull w/70 Evinrude
14' aluminum boat w/25 Evinrude
Ashcraft V16 w/50 Johnson
17' Mohawk canoe
oh and the V!

[shubey61]

I think i was 12 when i got an 8' aluminum pram, I had to row the first year. The 2nd year I saved up & got a 3.5 HP Eska. Wore that out in 2 seasons, then got a 4 HP Merc. this one had F N R ! The 2nd. boat was a 12' Mirro-Craft w/a 6 HP Johnson. I think I was around 20 when I when a bought a 1977 15' Arrowglass w/a 55 HP Johnson. Then around 24 I got a 1983 24' Renken w/a 3.8 liter OMC I/O. Ran the hell outa that boat for at least 6 seasons. Then a traded that in for a 1988 Glasstream w/a 3.0 Mercruiser I/O What a POS! Only 1 season with that one. Then I aquired my parents 1987 21' Chris-Craft Cavalier in 1991, It only had 42 hrs. on it. I still own it to this day. Then in the summer of 2006 I bought a 1969 12' Aluma-Craft with a 1986 8 HP Evinrude, still have that one. Then in spring of 2008, I got my 1990 V-20 with a 200 HP Johnnyrude.

My dad raised us on a early 1970s?, Tcraft, 22' I believe. I/O, four cylinder that was always breaking down and under powered.
My first boat, my 1989 V20. My dad bought it for me brand new for graduating college and we went with the Yama 225 because he wanted no more problems and lots of power.
Dad past in 1993 from bone cancer. He had it at the time he bought it for me and didn't get to go on it that much with me because of pain. He was happy to see me enjoy it...that is why I haven't parted with her(memories). The golf course he use to play at was right on the ocean and I would call him when I was coming by and he use to love watching it go by...man I miss him.

[reelapeelin]

Where's Hammer w/his 1st boat??...

[cfelton]

I started with a 16ft. Juniper homemade flatbottom boat with a 3hp Evinrude. My dad found it sunken in the Chowan river, brought it home and rebuilt it. We fished it till he passed in 1980. I kept patching it until it was totaly rotten and scraped it a few years ago. Around 1990 I was given a 37ft. Colonial with twin Chryslers 6cyls. I worked on it for about a year and had arranged to have it pulled to paint the bottom when a hurricane sank it in 25ft of water in Bennets creek in Gatesville. I tried pulling it up to the top and pumping it out but couldnt keep it up on top, so I pulled it on shore with one of our log skidders and scrapped it. I then bought and rebuilt a 1972 Carolina plyboard boat and a new 25hp evinrude, still have it. In March of 06 I bought my 77 v20 with a 170 Merc. Ive spent hundreds of hours restoring the boat ,engine, drive and trailer but now have the boat Ive always wanted.

[nipper]

First family boat was my Dad's old 1950's vintage 15' Lyman with a 40 h.p. Elgin motor. Dad traded up to a 16' Speedliner in 1972 with an 80 h.p. Mercury. He quickly traded that for a larger 18' Speedliner and kept the same motor. Had many good years with that boat, and replaced the Merc. (very troublesome and unreliable) with a 1986 Evinrude 90 h.p. with VRO that never gave us a problem.

I bought that boat from Dad when he purchased his (now my) V20 in 1991. I gutted the old gal and put in new carpet, seats, etc. Believe it or not, that old plywood floor was still solid when I sold it in 1996 and bought a 20' Formula sunsport with a 265 h.p. Mercruiser. I still have the Formula.

I inherited my Dad's V20 in 2002 and still have it. I had to repower in 2006 with a new 4.3 litre 190 h.p. Mercruiser.

Anyone familiar with the Speedliner hull? I wish I had pix. Y'all would immediately recognize the similarity to the V20. It was a very good solid boat.

[eight]

If we're going into family boats it was:

1974 Duo 17' trihull with a 115, we went out every weekend and once caught some sunfish.
Some 80s 17' I/O ski boat, used once
16' bass tracker with a 50hp merc, figured out how to catch fish in this one.
18' bayliner bass boat with 125 force
1993 20' regency sunbird with 200hp I/O, lots of good times in this one, about the time I turned 16
2001 21' ebbtide with 200hp I/O, fell off the trailer but had a thick hull
2001 tige 21v, dam wakeboard boat
2006 malibu v-ride, dam wakeboard boat
2008 23' malibu, not sure what it is, rides good and good for drinking beer

The malibus will turn as quick and sharp as you can throw the wheel, much quicker than unsuspecting passengers can stay in their seats. 330 hp also.