Are you in a boating rut?

[Bubba1235]

I looked at a 1989 19' runabout this weekend. It was on a covered lift at one of the local lakes and the owner told me there was no trailer. He bought the boat new in 89 from the local marina, they put it on the lake and thats where it has spent its entire life. (Marina stores it in winter.)

To me (maybe its just me) but boating the same lake for 10 years sounds BORING. One of the things I love abotu a small trailerable runabout is being able to take it places and going exploring, seeing the sights, etc. I can't imagine being limited to one lake.

 

[Boss Hawg]

Re: Are you in a boating rut?

I looked at a 1989 19' runabout this weekend. It was on a covered lift at one of the local lakes and the owner told me there was no trailer. He bought the boat new in 89 from the local marina, they put it on the lake and thats where it has spent its entire life. (Marina stores it in winter.)

To me (maybe its just me) but boating the same lake for 10 years sounds BORING. One of the things I love abotu a small trailerable runabout is being able to take it places and going exploring, seeing the sights, etc. I can't imagine being limited to one lake.

Ditto
I live in East Texas & have many lakes & rivers close to explore - But Sam Rayburn itself is large enough to find a new spot every weekend & Toledo Bend is only a little farther down the road

 

[capt sam]

Re: Are you in a boating rut?

I have numerous large areas I explore constantly, if all you have is a small lake then that's all you have but I'd get bored quick.

 

[Rogue427]

Re: Are you in a boating rut?

Its fun checking out new places.

 

[skargo]

Re: Are you in a boating rut?

I bought my '78 Nova from the original owner, he had it on the boat lift/boathouse for 31 years, no trailer.
He was on the South river in Annapolis so he could go many places on the Chesapeake bay.

He did trailer it to the Keys with a borrowed trailer once.

Me, I like going different places.

 

[MudSkunk]

Re: Are you in a boating rut?

everytime i go out i launch and recover my boat since i use it to fish and there area ton of lakes i seldom go to the same lake twice in a row.

 

[mcgonegalm]

Re: Are you in a boating rut?

My boat stays docked at the same lake all summer long and has stayed there for the last 3 summers. While I would admit that taking it around to different lakes would be nice there is still something to be said about being able to get home from work and in less than 10 mins. be out on the water with the boat waiting for you at the dock (that includes a 7 min. drive to the lake from my house).
My weekends tend to get filled up pretty quickly these days so I really enjoy being able to go out and boat on any random weeknight when I have the time and be able to spend as much time on the water as possible. I always say I'd rather boat on the same lake all the time then not have the time to boat on any lake. Just my 2 pennies!

 

[Mike722]

Re: Are you in a boating rut?

We don't trailer. I have one to take the boat out once a year to clean and check over, then it is back to the water and in the lift until spring. We have a 16 x 70 foot trailer with 75 ft of lake front. The kids swim from the dock or we have a couple of large areas where the water is only 2-3 feet deep for swimming and floating. It is more like a second home close to home.

Before purchasing the lake place, I hated taking an hour to put the boat on the water and hour to take the boat off the water. Now we can be on the water in 5 mins and if the weather turns bad we can have it back in the lift and under cover in no time.

Boats, Beer, and family is never boring to me.

 

[idrownworms]

Re: Are you in a boating rut?

I live close enough to a lake (Sylvan) I can hear boats when inside my house and the ramp is only a couple minute walk away. My favorite lakes ( the Indian chain and the Oliver chain) are about 8 miles from the house. And if you add in the Waldron chain about three miles away I have enough water to boat on it keeps it from getting boring
But I guess if I had a place on the lake, I'd prefer the Oliver chain or Indian chain, I'd be happy and the boat would probably stay there.

 

[lowkee]

Re: Are you in a boating rut?

I can't even live in the same town/city for more than a few years, so the chance of boating the same lake for more than that.. slim to none.

 

[Ram58]

Re: Are you in a boating rut?

I trailer everywhere. I would love to be able to walk out the front door and jump in the boat for a ride or fishing. Maybe someday!

 

[mike64]

Re: Are you in a boating rut?

There's dozens of lakes around here, but the largest lake in my county is a ten minute drive away, so that's where I usually go. But it can get awful crowded and choppy with all the wake action. So I started checking out some other lakes around here last summer and found a good "backup lake". It's about 2/3 the size of the big one close to me but it's got branches and coves that make it seem bigger. There's a chain of about 5 lakes about a 45 drive west of me that I hear takes about an hour and a half to get from the first lake on the chain to the last-- I want to try that out.

 

[capt sam]

Re: Are you in a boating rut?

the reality is that even people on the coasts usually limit their travels, they get to know areas and get a comfort level and stick to it.

 

[strokeoluck]

Re: Are you in a boating rut?

We've only had our boat out five times but we've been on three different lakes. We're spoiled up here in the land of 10,000 (actually 12,000) lakes, you can hardly throw a stone without hitting a lake. I too would get bored going out on the same lake all the time, sort of like joining a country club and having to golf on the same course for the rest of your life. Then again, if I had a home/boat on a lake and I "had" to go out on the same lake frequently I suppose I could suck it up and struggle through it.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Are you in a boating rut?

I'm trying to get used to the smallish lake we now frequent after selling a shared family place on a chain of larger lakes in the Muskokas. There, a day trip from the tip of the nearest to the top of the farthest and back was almost 80 miles. And that was just as the crow flies, nevemind the hundreds of back bays and several rivers available.

This new lake is much much smaller and a complete circuit of all nooks and crannies can be done in an hour or so.

So far, though, I've only done a trailering day trip to a nearby lake once. We're also within an hour of Parry Sound on Georgian Bay from the new place and that's virtually limitless boating. Haven't managed to shift my duff to do it yet though. Also, we used to rent the lakeside place for a month in the summer and I'd bring the boat back to Toronto on the trailer and use it in Lake Ontario. Near Toronto, though (except for the harbour islands and some nearby beaches) it's a vast expanse of semi- to hard core industrial shoreline that's none too pretty to look at or boat around.

So, while I'm not bored of the new northern lake yet I can feel it nibbling at the edges of my concsiousness after three summers. One thing I've done to make the lake seem bigger...is to use a smaller boat. No kidding -- my wife and I have discovered kayaking and really enjoy it and I've also rekindled my interest in sailing -- having bought a little old dinghy to mess about it. My sailing is still rusty enough that I can waste an entire afternoon just rigging it and getting a hundred feet off shore. Don't need an ocean for that!

And finally, the sad reality I'm coming to terms with is my 7 year-old son isn't the hard core boater I already was already at his age. Simple fact is he won't put up with a day on the boat. Tubing, sure, heading to a beach twenty minutes away, ok -- but the whining isn't worth it trying to force a longer voyage on him. That my dad and I do together or I'll just head out on my own. I can't do that every weekend though so it's not like a limitless environment to boat in is going to waste. Sniff...

 

[NYGiants]

Re: Are you in a boating rut?

own a 33' sailboat
cant really trailer it
just sail to new places
going to rhode island this summer
from sandy hook nj

 

[dingbat]

Re: Are you in a boating rut?

I get the shakes just thinking about being land locked. Can't imagine be stuck in a lake.

 

[allinmygarage]

Re: Are you in a boating rut?

I live on a lake and stay on the lake. Guess it is all personal preference. Speed boat stays on a lift and the old booze cruising pontoon sits in the water. None of my neighbors own a pontoon trailer. We rent one at the beginning and end of each boating season and pull them all out and put them in together. Each homeowner chips in about $5. Way better then having a huge pontoon trailer sitting around in my opinion.

As for the Maxum 21' open bow. I only pull it out once a season when my family rents a resort in northern MN for a week. It is better then paying the boat renting fee. I seem to find myself spending half a day before the trip getting the trailer ready for the 3 hour drive. Grease, jack, spare tire etc.

I mostly do water sports with it so staying on the same lake is no big deal. I'm weird but there is something just reassuring about living / being on the same lake. I read about all the extra stuff boaters carry around like props etc. If something ever goes wrong I have about 10 neighbors I could call for help. I only carry all the necessary safety equipment and a cooler full of beer.

 

[INJUN]

Re: Are you in a boating rut?

I have too many places to explore.
If I crossed my lake, I'd be in Europe.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Are you in a boating rut?

Our boats stay on lifts at the lake. The lakehouse is the home away from home and we like to go up once or twice a month once the weather warms in April/May and we drive the hour trip to get away for the weekend. While Grand Lake is nothing like the Great Lakes, it is large enough that it takes a few hours at 30mph cruise to go from one end to the other. Lots to see and do, and we like to ski/tube mostly anyway so we don't require lots of new scenery to do that. The numerous lakeside restaurants and bars make it easy to bar hop on the water as well. You can see 16ft bass boats or 50 ft cruisers in the same area.

We do take the ski boat and the jet ski to 3 or 4 other lakes within about a 75 mile radius once or twice a year though just to break up the monotiny.