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.

[TheTinMan]

A 1959 Fiberglass tri-hull, what a tank! Came with a 1968 40hp that had a burnt cylinder. A friend of mine, get bthis, had a 1959 (same year as boat) 35hp Johnson Super Quiet for $100.

I had to install new cable steering, got it all hooked up, all excited towed it to the ramp, launched it, took off and turned right.....and the boat went left! duh

Gees, the name of the hull was Glass*****, may have been Glasstron or Glasspar. :o

[Franco]

AN EARLY 80"S 20' SEAOX CENTERCONSOLE WITH A 115 'RUDE 30 YEARS OLD

THAN A 13' BOSTON WHALER SUPER SPORT WITH A 35 HP SUMPTHIN 35 YEARS OLD

83 WELLCRAFY V20 CUDDY WITH A VOLVO PENTA 225 HP I/O 42 YEARS OLD

2005 MCKEE CRAFT 196 MARATHON CC 150 YAMAHA F150 FOUR STROKE 49 YEARS OLD

[captbent]

WELL MY FIRST BOAT WAS MY FATHERS A 1964 CRIS CRAFT, THAT IS WHERE I STARTED AS A YOUNG BOY, IN MY TEENS I SOON BECAME THE PILOT BUT NEVER THE CAPT, HAD THAT BOAT TILL I WAS IN MY EARLY 20S, THEN MY FIRST BOAT WAS A 1967'28'LUHRS SPORT FISHERMAN THAT I HAVE A PIC OF ON THE SITE LOVED THAT BOAT HAD THAT IN MY LATE 20S, THEN IN MY 30S I WENT SMALL A 17' BRIG WITCH I STILL HAVE, THEN HAD A 37' SILVERTON CONVERT FOR 5 YEARS, THEN I GOT A 17 'MIRROWCRAFT THAT I USE FOR FISHING ALL THE TIME, AND NOW A V20 THAT I GOT FOR FREE THAT I AM REBUILDING AND IM 47 NOW

1976: My first boat was a 1974 V20 with an OMC 165HP, bought by my dad when I was 12.
1978: Dad traded it in for a 1978 Century 27' (big mistake) with a single Mercruiser 260: poorly built but we got a slip on Lake Michigan in Chicago.
1980: Dad bought a 1978 Trojan Express Cuiser 30' with twin 225 Crusaders. Dad wanted twins for Lake Michigan. Starboard engine never worked right despite a rebuild.
1982: Dad traded the Trojan for a 30' Sea Ray weekender with twin 400HP mercs which went 45MPH.
1986: Mom had a stroke and ended our boating days
1990: Dad died of cancer
2004: I started the whole process over by buying a 1986 V20 with a 225 Johnson.

[rb437]

Late 60's - early 70's: Spent summers as a kid in NJ sailing a Sunfish with my best friend.
77-78: Spent 18 months aboard the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal.
80's & 90's: owned a few small boats, Sunfish, O'Day Widgeon, Jon boat.
1999: Bought a 1992 17' Bayliner Capri with a 70hp Force. The boat was in great shape and ran well for me, but I quickly discovered how small this boat was. It was good for playing around in the river, but you had to keep a very close eye on the winds and avoid any days over 15 knots if you didn't want to beat yourself half to death. After learning the shortcomings of the Bayliner the decision to move up to a larger boat was easy. That decision was confirmed the day I was pulling one of the kids on a tube and I turned back into my own wake and took water over the bow.
2001: Bought 1989 v20 and have been very happy with it from the first day. Sold the Bayliner for $400.00 more than I paid for it.

I don't know if that qualifies me a player, but to quote MJ "who cares." I love my boat.