What was your first boat?

[kyjd75]

Another "old" guy -- my first boat was a late 60s 13' Boston Whaler my father purchased for me and my brothers. Came with a 40 hp Evinrude, which we replaced a couple of years later with the "new" 80hp 4 cylinder Mercury. That was a tremendous motor--ran for years w/o any problems at all. Tough boat, we ran the heck out of it and it took everything we gave it. I still love BWs today although I'll probably never be able to buy the one I'd like to own.

[evernic]

lots of family boats from age 5 on...MY first boat was in 1972...a new 1971 cobia 19 CC, with a barely used '71 merc 115 in line 6...on a 1972 seminole steel trailer...boat was a no frills splatter paint, no inner liner boat...engine was bullet proof put 4000 hrs on it...have owned 8 boats since...bigger, better, faster, more equip...still caught twice as many fish on that little cobia...

[rchanner]

My brother & I bought an old 12' wooden boat (runabout style) that was parked in a guy's driveway on a rusted out trailer for $50. We spent countless hours sanding, glassing, and painting, added a 20hp merc with throttle & steering controls (but pull start) and man, we had us a hotrod....the thing probably topped out at 20-25mph, but we had a blast tearing up the lakes in Western Washington.....never quite got up the stones to take it on the Puget Sound-we used Dad's 23' North American for that.

[Boz]

Oh, yeah! Hard to forget a diabolical boat that tried several times to kill me.

It was a 26' SeaRay express cruiser - 1982, I believe. It had a single 5.7 Merc I/O. We bought it just as winter was setting in up in Maryland. After sea trial, we made arrangements with the dealer to winterize and store it for us until spring. Spring finally arrived, and we headed down the Chesapeake to our marina. The following weekend, we cruised back up the bay only to have it crap out on us right in the middle of the ship channel leading to the C&D canal. Battery was brand new, but it simply would not crank. Considering our precarious location, USCG towed us to the nearest port, where the dealer picked it up. Turns out they had "forgotten" to re-winterize it after the sea trial, and an exhaust manifold had cracked over the winter; engine was full of water.

Dealer took full responsibility and totally rebuilt the engine. While it was high and dry in the shop, I had to retrieve some stuff we had left onboard during our aborted cruise. I never saw the big slick of engine oil they left on the deck, and I ended up slipping off the swim platform, landing on the concrete and breaking my right heel.

Eventually, it was repaired and we took it back home. A few weeks later we spent the night on it in the marina, me with a cast up to my knee. Woke up the next morning, stepped out of the v-berth into about 6 inches of water. Fresh water supply hose had busted overnight, filling the bilge, killing the battery (so no pump!) but ruining only the starter.

Any wonder I traded it in on a brand new boat a few weeks later? But not before fouling the prop on an unmarked crab pot on the way to the dealership.........

[NO J.O.B.]

First boat 2003 34' Fountain CC. I was about to turn 36 and told the wife it was time. She got the school she wanted and two little currlied haired monsters. So I needed a boat.

[Overcurrent]

My first boat was a 1969 "Sportyak II" , LOA 7'0", with a 1.5 Hp Evinrude outboard. I received the boat not long after my EIGHTH birthday.

Boat #2: 8' fiberglass dinghy (unknown make), 2HP Johnson outboard.

Boat #3: 12' Sears Gamefisher (made by MFG, green, not cored) with a 9.8HP Mercury.

Bit of trivia for the poster who had a foam-cored "Super Gamefisher": they were made by Seacrest Marine in Washington, NC.

Boat #4: 15' Duo Rounder trihull, 55 Evinrude pushbutton shift

Boat #5 (owned concurrently with #4 and #6): 11' Sea Snark sailboat, acquired for $40 and used on the lake at the apartment complex at which I lived back then.

Boat #6: 18' Dixie 186 bowrider, 115 Merc

Boat #7: 21' Dixie 821 walkaround cuddy, 165 Mercruiser

Boat #8: see signature

[shrimplegs]

73 Quachita, 14' flat bottom jon with a 12 hp Bucaneer. Still got the boat, my son fishes out of it in the farm pond. He has to come ashore after about two hours and drain the water out of it, it leaks so bad. I did upgrade to a 15 hp Johnson in the mid eighties though.

[dman]

First boat I remember - my dad's 14 foot fiberglass skiff with a Johnson 9.9 - ran like crazy. I took that boat all over Back Bay and Deer Island in Biloxi after school and in summers catching specs on dead shrimp. Also learned how to check to make sure the plug is in before you back it in the hardway!

First boat of my own - a 1999 SeaRay 15 foot jet boat with a 90 hp Force engine. Piece of crap - broke down all the time. Finally sold it

Next partnered with my father-in-law on a 1969 30 foot Chris-Craft Commander with twin 450 Chevys - what a beast. Learned how to get a tranny out - how to change a manifold how not to back in the slip with a crowd onboard the first time - how to apply bottom paint and pay for fiberglass repairs and the sheer pleasure of selling it

At least I had a partner who paid his share and directed me....Imean helped mne with the work. (You know it takes at least 2 6 packs to put on two bottom coats??)

Next up a 1979 Montauk with a 1979 Evinrude - sold the motor for $500.00 and put on an Evinrude 88 special. Then bought a 1989 Montauk with an 89 Yammy - swapped the engines and sold the 79.

2000 SeaDoo Islandia deckboat with a 350 Merc inboard. Still have that beast for river and bay cruising

1979 Boston Whaler Harpoon 17 foot sailboat for my son - still have that one too.

1999 Angler catamaran with 99 Yammy - current boat....but probably not the last.

Oh yeah...two 14 foot aluminum skiffs and a Hobie two person kayak.

Ain't life grand

[sprockets]

1972 Cacci Craft 15' tri hull with 50 hp Evinrude. Great boat!

Cool. I went to college with the daughter of the guy who owned the company. This was around 1979-81.

[Ocean2500]

My first boat was a 1968 Starcraft fiberglass deep v with a three cylinder 55 hp Johnson outboard and a Gator trailer.