What was your first boat?

[micura]

Mako 15 with Johnson 70 seahorse.

Fist I bought 1987 Mako 20 with 225 Rude "micura"

[59cruisers]

1959 16' Cruisers with a 1966 40HP Evinrude. It looked a lot like a Chris Craft of similar vintage. When I bought it, it didn't run, and barely floated. Learned a lot about boating, engines, and women on that old boat. . . While I loved the lines of that old wood boat, I don't miss the maintenance of the wood!! When it became more of my fishing boat than my obsession, I fell behind on some soft spots, and it sank. My current boat has no wood :-)

[brick]

Ship Ahoy! I just found this site and look forward to some help and advice, My first boat was a coleman scanoe. (great boat never had a problem) then a 1959 mahogany speed boat. Fun but you ran out of room if anybody went out with you and you had more than a small cooler. I think it was a wellbuilt or something like that. Then a 15' larson with a 50 horse envinrude. Loaded (overloaded) was good for 7 or 8 mph on a GPS. Now a 1972 IMP with a 302 V8. A GREAT boat fully restored. And also the one that needs the most help. A 25' Wellcraft Sportsman 250. Currently in about 45 pieces. She has twim 3.7 liter motors in it. This boat of my dreams was totalled in hurricaine Katrina. I have slowly very slowly (like dead slow) been working on her. Any advice or volunteer mechanics needing a hobby?? Also a 12' Mackenzie river boat that I made. Safe boating, Brick

[Drailey]

My first (new) boat was a 1980 model Star Craft Mariner 180 center console, powered by a 75 HP Johnson. The bare hull weighed 705 lbs. With the motor, battery, 12 gallons of fuel, and two POB, she probably scaled in at a tick under 1500 lbs. Her top end was a shade over 40 MPH (WOT against measured course between two buoys, using a stop watch). Due to her light weight and nearly flat bottom, she could cruise at around 20 knots, burning about 3-3.5 GPH. I had a lot of fun with that boat, and even fished her 10 miles off the beach once. Electronics wise, she was equipped with VHF, and a Lowrance graph-recorder (paper machine).

The biggest issue was her propensity for pounding rivets loose. I came up with a workaround, replacing most of the factory rivets, and then coating the inside of her hull with a tar based paint. That repair was quite effective, as the last year I fished her (1982), I noticed that she did not develop any leaks, at all.

I sold her off to a close friend in early 1983, after I took delivery of a Mako 235. The last time I saw that boat (circa 1991-92) she was still out there fishing.

1964 carter craft 12' with 7.5 merc

[Sassafras]

Early 70's. Built a Trailcraft 17-foot fiberglass square-stern canoe from a kit. Came in a 9-foot box. Canoe was either laid up in 2 sections (bow and stern) or cut in half after it was originally laid up so it would fit in box. Fiberglassed the joint, added PVC gunnels and some braces, flotation, and a wooden seat in the stern, and it was done. Used it for many years. Many repairs including replacing the wood braces in the floor with metal ones to prevent drunk friends from breaking it when they stood in in on the shore. Split it across the middle again when trying to remove about 2 1/2 feet of snow in low temperatures (Minnesota).

With all that fiberglass and metal, it was just too heavy to be a one-man car-topper, so I found a new home for it with a friend's son in North Carolina and replaced it with a Scanoe.

[Albi]

1986 Chris Craft 217 Scorpion (Dual COnsole) with a 150hp Evinrude. Served me well for 3 years. Not the best quality boat, but i had some fun times on it.

[RogueAngler]

14' Stauter-Built (locally made wooden boat) with a pull start 25 Johnson. My dad gave it to me for my 11th birthday. He thought that if I could pull start it and shut it off and satrt it again 3 times in a row then I was old enough to operate it. I spent a lot of time in that boat.

[Don-c]

1970 Sportcraft 21ft cuddy cabin powered by a FWC 155hp OMC electric shift. It was a wee bit underpowered to say the least.

[Bell Swamp]

It is somewhat of a tossup between the 8' pram and the 17' juniper sound boat as to which I used first. The first I actually owned all by myself was a 14' Mirro Craft. I replaced the 1934 ELTO with an 18 Evinrude.

[285exp]

1971 Negus, 22' with 250 hp Volvo i/o. The boat is seen here on her maiden cruise.