What was your First Boat?

[reelapeelin]

TWIN 7.5s....FANTASTIC...please tell me you got some pictures you can post!!!... ;D 8) 8) ;D...

After reading all the previous posts I realized that I'm an "aspiring player". All of the boats I've been on have been owned by either my father or cousin. Growing up my dad started with an 18' MFG (early 70's maybe even 60's) with an OMC I/O that seemed to be nothing but problems that he inherited after my grandfather passed. I remember many of days my grandfather and him working on it before granddad passed and many more days he worked on it afterwards. But once it was in the water it was a good little no-frills boat. Caught my first bluefish (about 14 lbs)on that boat trolling with a Cisco Kid when I was 8.
In '85 he and my mom bought a 19' galaxy bow-rider. That lasted until we got caught in some mildly rough seas (3 ft) and on the way in slighty dipped the bow through a wave or two.
So the next boat they bought was a 20 foot '86 Regal. Closed bow (dad's preference) with plenty of creature comforts (mom's preference). Very versitle boat. Not really a fishing boat, but we made due.
In '92 mom & dad went on a "bigger is better" kick and bought a 26' Bayliner. Turned out "bigger" wasn't really "better" and in '96 they bought a Wellcraft 23 Excel. A very fishable boat with just enough comfort to keep mom happy, though over the years her interest in boating has fadded a bit.
My cousin has had 3 boats over the last 15 years between 17' and 20' (his latest).
For the last few years things have come to a point in my life where I can finally have a boat of my own. I wanted a '20 boat that could handle the the lower Chesapeake Bay and the coastal waters comfortably. I'd seen plenty of V20s roaming the bay and liked the hull design as well as the open layout so I went looking for something similar to the V20. I never did see anything similar in new boats, but I did see the high prices (+30 grand for a 20' boat????) on top of not seeing a layout that I actually liked. Which led me to look for a used V20. The one I came across is now my first boat. It's the '71 V20 sitting on the side of my house waiting for me to restore it. Unfortunatly time and work space hasn't been on my side, but I'm working on fixing those issues. So until I actually splash my V20 I guess that makes me an "aspiring player". In the meantime I'll keep reading the posts here for encougement and ideas as well as putting in my two cents every now and then...
Oh, yeah I'm 33 and wanna-be-boataholic! 8)

[chitbob1]

Skools yes they were both tillers it was tough sitting in back of the boat with both hands behind you but believe me you knew when you got them in time with each other that was the trial then I built a bracket for it where you could concentrate on lookin forward with just one hand behind you quite a sight to see the men in bass boats when you pass them up

[willy]

Hey JeffXJ we are all aspiring players, it never ends, thats what keeps us young and looking forward to the next best thing or best gadget etc. Welcome and good luck with the restore ;)

[CT_V-20]

12' Snark - sailboat (12-yrs old)
14' Zuma - sailboat (14-yrs old)
20' Sea Sprite I/O - parent's (15-yrs old)
14' MFG - mine (16-yrs old)
16' Old Town Canoe - (17-yrs old; still have)
17' Hansa - sailboat (22-yrs old)
15' Key West Explorer - (24-yrs old) awesome & simple
20' Sea Ox Walkaround - 30-yrs old
Quahog - current

[reelapeelin]

One day, I will lose interest in boats...the next day, I will die...

[Pipe_Dream]

Originally Posted by reelapeelin

One day, I will lose interest in boats...the next day, I will die...

Interesting . . .
Last Saturday we pulled the boat out for the holidays. We'll be going out of town and didn't want to worry about it in the water. Getting the PD on a trailer has never been fun, and nearly always involves me getting wet, at least to my knees, but this time I managed to climb over the bow rail and onto the trailer to winch it up tight without going into the water, which is in the low 50s. I couldn't help but think that it would be sad someday if I couldn't manage to do this! Don't lose interest, Reel!

First boat owned was a 16' Luger sloop and no motor. Used to take girlfriends out for days of sailing -- ah, those were the days! ;D

[willy]

Low 50's I wish I'm living in a winter wonderland
HO HO HO :-[

[macojoe]

Interesting . . .
Last Saturday we pulled the boat out for the holidays. We'll be going out of town and didn't want to worry about it in the water. Getting the PD on a trailer has never been fun, and nearly always involves me getting wet, at least to my knees, but this time I managed to climb over the bow rail and onto the trailer to winch it up tight without going into the water, which is in the low 50s. I couldn't help but think that it would be sad someday if I couldn't manage to do this! Don't lose interest, Reel!

Ha Ha Ha thats why I have a bend in my rail! I couldn't get over it and almost fell and grab it and hung from it!! 320# was a funny site to see!!

I drive on most of the time these days. But if I can't the 2 speed winch is just fine and I never have to get wet.

[Pipe_Dream]

I'm hoping to see some of that lake effect snow next week! ;D

I don't know . . . my trailer has bunks, and I've never been too thrilled about winching all that weight up those bunks with that little bow ring. :-/ I can usually drive the boat right up to the rubber bow stops, but if not I hate using the winch for anything but helping to secure the boat. I'll get as much of the trailer as possible into the water without getting my truck's back wheels wet (salt water is baaaaaad news) and sometimes that means I've got to get wet!