What's your first boat story? The one you purchased.

[Wish]

Moved to FL shortly after college and within 2 months had my 87 Suprats6m. Only had a dinky 4cyl stick shift truck to pull it. A bit dicey at the ramps..fried a clutch..but it got the job done.

 

 

[oldjeep]

 

Wife decided that she wanted a boat in 2002 so that we were able to go out as a family rather than joining in with the entire clan in her dads boat. At the time we didn't have a lot of extra money but she did have a little 1970 triumph spitfire I restored for her that she said we could sell to get a boat. We sold that beautiful little car and used the money to buy a 1987 Bayliner 195 with a 3.0L and Cobra drive. The boat didn't run right so I got a deal on it - turned out to be a $20 head gasket. I replaced the seats and reupholstered and recarpeted the rest of the boat. Got a ton of use out of it for 3 seasons and then it died in the lake and I had to swim it back to the launch - went out the next day and bought a brand new 2005 bayliner 195 that we had until 2014 when I bought the Malibu.

 

Wasn't really a good trade, but I guess it got us our first boat ;)

http://oldjeep.com/images/spitfire/spitfire%20001.jpg

http://oldjeep.com/images/Bayliner/photos/photo3.jpg

 

 

[Chef23]

Mine isn't that interesting. I bought the house I grew up in from my parents in 2004 on a lake and it came with a 2002 Malibu Response LX with 40 hours on it. Boat is still going strong.

[gt2003]

July 2013, went out with friends on the lake for their yearly lake visit. What a fun weekend and brought back a lot of fun memories on the water. Bought a boat a short time later, 2007 Tahoe Q6. Upholstery was good, motor strong etc. Just 2 years later, boat is much nicer than when I bought it (prop, seadek, new bilge pump etc) and it's going up for sale shortly to finance a dedicated slalom tug. Look what you all have done to me!

[Jordan]

Bought a Hydrostream V-King with a 200 Merc on it...very fast boat. Had to put weight in the bow to keep the nose down. It actually skied pretty well. After that one...only inboards.

[Orlando76]

I started as a fisherman so my first boat was when I was 16. An aluminum Jon boat I paid $10 for and shortly after it was on a $600 trailer. This thing leaked so much water than I didn't bother with a live well, literally. Had 3 other fishing boats since, each one getting significantly better. Then I boat my first own ski boat, a rather flawless 1976 Ski Nautique which I still have in the fleet. Been chasing buoys since.

[A_B]

I took out a $2500 Student Loan in 1978 for the down payment on a promo '77 SN. Dad bought a 27' Lake boat and sold the 19' Galaxy I/O. Had to do something. Worked part time while in college so could swing the monthly payments. Just needed some upfront money.

[swc5150]

The first boat I bought myself would be an '06 SN196. Bought it new as a non-current, and scored an amazing deal on it. Ended up having to sell it due to divorce, and although I've owned a few boats since, that was the last brand new one I purchased. Pricing got a little higher on these things the last few years.

[Edbrazil]

12 ft. Chris Craft kit boat. With 2.5 hp. Elgin motor. About when I was age 11. Actually, this

was my 2nd boat, but the first powered one. First was a surplus WW2 inflatable liferaft.

[ALPJr]

Summer of '74. Just finished 8th grade and got a summer job cleaning cars and pumping gas at Wallace Buick in Ocean City, NJ. Saved $700 and bought a MFG Corvette II. 14' with a 40hp Evinrude. Saved enough over the winter to trade the 40 for 60hp Evinrude V4 (fat four) the next summer in '75. It was a little rocket. Got me up on a no-name wooden slalom for the first time. Will always remember that day - we were instantly outlaws - with Russ Ramey driving and no spotter in the Great Egg Harbor River. Wow 40 years goes by fast!

[A_B]

I forgot my 14' StarCraft with 33 Evinrude for $400 when I was 14. Bought it with grass cutting and birthday money. Upgraded to 50 Merc next season. 33 was a dog for pulling skiers, we all had to drop a ski.

[Lieutenant Dan]

I used to split my weekend time in my early 20's between sailing in regattas (crewing on a Thistle one-design boat) and bumming slalom pulls behind friend's stern drive runabouts. One day we were all out to dinner together, my sailing captain and some of the bow rider guys, and the captain asks "so when are you going to get a boat". I answered, as soon as I can find one like "Joe's" (i.e. not a Thistle) but in red. I bought a 19' 1985 Wellcraft 190 (red of course) with a 3.7l 4 cylinder later that summer. I used that boat for 17 years before replacing with my 2001 Sunsetter LXI in 2003. I might never get another boat again.

[MISkier]

Grew up with the family cottage 20 minutes from the house. Parents had boats (all low HP outboards) and I planned to buy a faster boat when I could. In late 1995, I decided to do it. But, I realized i needed something to tow it with. So, I bought a new 1996 Tahoe (that I still drive) and waited for the winter boat show. After the boat show, I convinced my wife to visit the marina to "look" at a boat. She was a little surprised that we actually bought the 1996 Bayliner 1750 LS (135 HP) that day. On the way home, she connected the dots and asked "did you buy this truck so you could go buy that boat?"

 

That boat skied well. It was only 16' 9" and 1850 pounds. I could break 50 mph with it trimmed out. Great wake for an I/O, comparable to an outboard.

 

In 2004, I sold the boat to my Dad (he still has it) and bought a 2000 MasterCraft 205 with 33 hours on it for $25,000.

 

In 2010, I traded in the MC for a 2009 Malibu LX, in order to get ZO. It was a demo/promo boat owned by a fellow club member and I had already spent time skiing with it. I was the original titled owner with full warranty.

[A_B]

Wives can be so perceptive...

[foxriverat]

In the early 90`s Shortly after moving to the suburbs I started hanging with some guys who water skied and snow skied. Growing up in Chicago they were things I never had access to. I was instantly hooked to both. A few years later I bought a 91 Malibu Mystere euro f3

 

[Fam-man]

Had open access to the boat owned by my father in law. I Got tired of the sharing/ maintenance/ gasoline use situation so started shopping for a direct drive nautique, Malibu or Mastercraft. Budget wise it was looking like an older higher hour boat until we came across a 1998 Nautiqe 196 at the local Volkswagon dealership. I convinced the sales manager it was better to sell it to me for a real good price then to keep it over winter. Took it home, went through it and took it to the lake for a first ski. This was September and the water was high 40F, went for it in board shorts and standard vest. Was the best ski ever, also the coldest ski ever! I've never swam so hard towards the boat when dropping the rope.

[ForrestGump]

I'd just turned 26 and gone to a birthday party with an attractive blonde on a small lake near San Antonio (Lake McQueeney) the first week of March of 96. The guy who's house it was at had a 93 PS190 and we skied all day and into the night. The following Tuesday(because the dealerships weren't open on Monday) I went to the local Nautique dealer and bought a 96 Ski Nautique. Had to get someone to go pick it up for me because I had a Corvette and no way to pull it home. I showed back up at that guys house to ski with it(using a borrowed truck still) a few days later and he went WTF!

[skiinxs]

The first boat I purchased was a used ’72 squirt boat in 1978. I had been around boats my whole life, actually working for my dad as an outboard mechanic at his boat dealership since I was 12 years old. I had never messed around with a boat with a jet pump, so it was interesting to me. I quickly found out what a great job that jet pump did at taking a lot of horsepower and turning it into a lot less horsepower. I kept it a couple years, made a lot of improvements and sold it to someone else who was intrigued by a jet boat. I then bought my first real boat, a ’78 Charcoal and Black stars and stripes MasterCraft. The price was right because it showed zero oil pressure at idle. I gambled that it was a bad sending unit and was right. I got really good at putting buttons back on the seats with that boat, as they used thread that would rot when wet and the buttons pulled a nice little funnel in the seat for water to run into. Other than that it was a really good boat. That was boat #2 for me. I currently have boat #38 on order, my 37th inboard, a 2016 Nautique 200 with a Direct Injected 6.2

[thager]

@ShaneH I pulled my 1973 Hydrodyne around for a couple of years with an. 81 Vette. What's the problem?

[Fast351]

Closest picture I have is something I found on the net. I don't know if I have any pictures of my actual boat, but this is close, a 1969 Chrysler LoneStar:

 

http://forums.iboats.com/filedata/fetch?id=7152442&d=1312889725

 

Had a 1958 Merc Mark75 on it with no neutral. The boat had reverse, and it worked by pulling the stick back and restarting the motor, and the motor ran backwards. With the boat running it was in gear. No lie.

 

My brother, dad, and I all went in on it together (although I think my dad was just humoring us) for the princely sum of $200, right after high school. We kneeboarded a ton and twin skied behind it.

 

Truth be told though, I've always been around water. I was practically born on a boat, and growing up in the Netherlands, you have a certain appreciation for water because it's everywhere. The whole skiing bug is actually pretty new compared to my water addiction.

[jhughes]

Ours is one hell of a story.

 

The year was 2002, I was a recent college grad and I had no tow vehicle at the time. Since I was and still am a total car nut I had a 5spd BMW sport sedan which I had no business owning based on my income level. I had a low-paying entry-level IT job and lived in an apartment with my GF (now wife). So we had no means to tow a boat, no place to park it, no real solid idea where we would use it. Really had no business owning one but I had to have one.

 

At the time, we had never been in the course and we shared an HO Mach 1 slalom ski with an adjustable binding that multiple family members pitched in to buy years before. Neither of us had skied behind an inboard yet (as adults- I did learn to get up on 2 behind one when I was 8).

 

Browsing Ebay at the time there was a red 1990 SN. In Mesa, Arizona. We live in Chicago. Somewhat of a challenge that it was thousands of miles away. But, at the time remember that the Internet was still young. There was no Craigslist, no BOS, no Correctcraftfan.com, no nothing. When I saw the pictures of this beautiful red boat it had to be mine and gosh darn it, we would use it and love it and become water ski people.

 

I don't know what my dad was thinking when he volunteered to drive my brother and I all the way out there and tow the boat all the way back. He also co-signed the loan I took out on the 12-year-old boat. Though we were not a "water ski family" he sure did help us get started with this disease back then in retrospect, that's for sure.

 

So we drive all the way out there in a day and a half. We get to the guy's house and go to the lake and the first time I even drive an inboard is this test drive. I ski, my brother skis. I was amazed at what it was like to get pulled up by a real ski boat, incredible! At speed so quickly! The lake, whatever it was, was amazing. We were skiing through canyons on this big body of water near Mesa.

 

We put it back on the trailer, hook it up to my dad's totally undersized Cherokee, and we drive this rig non-stop all the way home to Chicago through every kind of weather and road construction and traffic imagineable. I think it was over 30 hours of driving. We hit a rainstorm somewhere in the Ozarks that was so intense that I was positive we would die in some horrific wreck. But we didn't.

 

 

 

By the time we got back home the rear leaf springs on my dad's car were FLAT! Boy did that car take a beating. Traded it in shortly after.

 

Anywho, we got it home, and after a few outings in the following spring borrowing my Dad's car, I traded in the BMW for a 4Runner in 2003 and literally wept that night, cried myself to sleep. From then on we've always had a tow vehicle but a few years ago I wised up and bought a 3rd vehicle to scratch the car itch.

 

That's basically how it all began. 13 years later and we couldn't imagine not having a boat. Or two!

 

Here she is in New Mexico, 2002:

 

 

 

[Bill22]

@jhughes buying a boat with no tow vehicle! Awesome story.

[mwetskier]

first boat i ever owned was a 1973 nautique. had a starter fail and ran to shuck's auto to buy a replacement. put it in but boat wouldn't start. cranked it non stop until water started shooting out the carburetor. thus learned the existence of a reversed engine block and marine starter.

[6balls]

'91 Ski Centurion Falcon Barefoot bought in '99 from my Dad. Drove a Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX at the time so sold it and also bought my Dad's Jeep. Wife totalled the Jeep, still have the boat...but added a SN 196 as well. Would be very hard to sell the Centurion even though she sees limited duty spending lots of idle summer boat lift time. I would need background checks, statements of intended usage, care plans from a potential buyer!

[Ed_Obermeier]

Ah the memories! First boat was an 18' 1970 Larson Shark tri hull runabout purchased in around 1985 or so. Bought it because the open bow was about 60% of the length of the boat, 6-7 people could sit in the bow no problem, and because it was $2000 which even that was a stretch back then. Had a nice running Ford 4 cylinder, top speed about 30 mph with 4 people. Quickly figured that wasn't enough power to suit me so I found an old Buick 225 6 cylinder engine, rebuilt it, stuck it in the boat. Spent about $800 to rebuild it, gained maybe 2 mph if that. Lesson learned. And I pulled it with a 1976 Olds Delta 88. Only went through 2 transmissions...

 

Had that about 3-4 years , sold it and bought a late model 20' runabout with a 305 Ford V-8. Worlds of difference performance wise. Had that several years and got serious about skiing somewhere in there, then bought my first (and only to date) new inboard, a 2000 Supra Legacy.

 

Sold that in 2008 and bought the 2005 Response LXI I'm still skiing. Never say never but don't expect I'll ever need another inboard, this one does everything I need it to do and it's paid for.

[Nando]

My first boat actually titled to me was a '73 Nautique bought from my friend's dad in '80. My friend's brother was going to grad school and had an identical one with slightly fewer hours, so the dad bought that and sold me the other one. This was back when the graphics were painted on with Rustoleum paint, which was all faded, so I stripped it off, buffed out the whole hull, got stencils from Correct Craft and had a neighbor who has a body shop re-spray it in Imrom paint. We put a lot of hours on that boat before it was replaced, but we couldn't part with it- it's still in the family; I sold it to my brother last summer. To this day, the hull looks better than when it left the factory.

[socalskier]

89 supra comp ts6m. Loved that boat. Had some strange looks from the family because the boat came before the house. Priorities!

[fu_man]

6 years ago my brother and I somehow convinced our wives and we went halves on a lake house. We wanted a property first and would worry about the boat later. A friend of ours has a 94 MC and still had his old 93 Seaswirl. He wasn't ready to sell it yet so he let us use the Seaswirl so we all could get out on the water. "Here is the boat and here is a lift...lets put them in your channel. " What a guy! When the Seaswirl I wanted an inboard. 3 of my close ski buddies had MC's and Bu's and dammit I wanted a ski boat too. Budget was tight but I found a barely used 03 Outback for a real good price. I am in Illinois and the boat was in Michigan so I drove the family up there on a Columbus day weekend with my ski and my wetsuit. Got to try that baby out on a perfectly sunny and pleasant 63 degree day in Michigan among the fall colors. There was only one problem (@jhughes) ....I didn't have a tow vehicle. Luckily the guy I bought it from lived in Illinois too so he agreed to tow it back from Michigan for me. I still don't have a tow vehicle....wife wanted a minivan and since I got the lake house and the boat...hey, no problem. However I do have awesome friends who help me put the boat in in the spring and pluck her out in the fall. So now I have a ski boat and my brother has a pontoon and life is GOOD.

[jhughes]

@fu_man congrats on the boat and welcome to the club! I personally will not miss the Sea Swirl.

[rodltg2]

@jhughes Im surprised the Cherokee made such a bad tow vehicle. I towed my ski Brendella with my Cherokee all the time. It didn't sag like that at all.

[oldjeep]

@jhughes @rodltg2 - I used to tow with a 96 Cherokee without any trouble too. That picture looks like the result of an incorrect hitch height.

[PatM]

In 1991 I bought my first boat, a 1987 Supra Comp TS6m. Broke up with a long time girl friend earlier in the year and this boat fell into my lap. Got me back into skiing (this time seriously addicted). This taught me that God has a plan and I can dig it.

[Wish]

All these 80s Supra Comps...makes me miss that first boat.

They were ahead of their time.. Hard to not see the lines of that boat back then reflected in a lot of the newer ones now..especially the CP

[wolfgang]

I used to tow a twenty two foot SunRay cuddy (my fourth boat actually and first non-outboard) on a dual axle trailer behind a 1989 Cherokee. Same problem...with anybody in the back seat the rear springs would settle on their stops and transmit every expansion joint and pothole in the form of a sledge hammer blow. The radiator constantly overheated and the brakes faded in seconds; but power and traction were great . It would pull that old barge up any dirt ramp. The SunRay would get me up on one ski if I held my breath to the count of 10. 4. 3 V 6. Actually swapped the two barrel for a 4 barrel carb. It used more gas but didn't have any more of a hole shot. Two boats later, the 2004 Response LXI PP is very much appreciated.

[ColeGiacopuzzi]

I can tell you my dad bought his 1983 SN in 1984, from a guy who won the boat off Jeopardy as a bonus prize. It sat in the guys yard for 5 months before my dad bought it, never had been In the water. Were now on our 5th Nautique.

[kstateskier]

Grew up skiing behind my Grandparents 1969 Mark Twain ski boat with a V8 and double popup ladders off the back and green interior. BTT I was in late teens, early 20s the boat burned 2 qts of oil per day, lost more wood and screws from the dash with ever roller hit and caught on fire in the middle of the lake due to some old wiring. At that point (maybe summer of 2000) my parents told me I should get my own boat and stop flirting with death in the Mark Twain.

 

Started looking at Boat Trader and found a 1990 Mastercraft PS190 for sale with a 351 and 525hrs - no photos about 35 minutes south of my hometown. Drove down, saw it for the first time sitting in the driveway all cleaned up and shiny. Owner told me to take my shoes off and I knew I had to have it!

 

Made a deal with the owner having no clue how much money the bank would lend a 21 yr old kid with an internship as a web designer. Went to the bank the next day and somehow they were dumb enough to lend me the money!

 

Had that boat for 500 hours and 10 years and went from not being able to run the slalom course to a couple @ 35 before I sold it because all my friends had new promo boats. Some lucky guy drove from Wisconsin all the way to Missouri to pick it up! I wonder where that boat is now, what it looks like and if it still drives and slaloms like butter!?

 

Currently in my second boat - 04 LXI that I love (maybe not quite as much as that MC)...

 

Met Ez Ed after I bought that boat at a Tournament. He was buddies with the first two owners and sometimes I think he befriended just so he could keep skiing behind it! haha, no matter his motives I got a great buddy and a good ski boat out of that deal!

 

[mwetskier]

@skibrain -guess i gotta ask -what is it about my automotive starter incorrectly applied to a marine application story that you ' disagree ' about?

[foxriverat]

@wetskier most likely small cell phone big thumbs accident

[mwetskier]

easily undone with a follow up small cell phone big thumbs intentional.

[Waternut]

I loved waterskiing but didn't know anyone with a ski boat. Knew a few friends who owned wakeboard boats and never went out. I figured a direct drive was totally out of the question but looked forever for something in my meager price range. Eventually found this 86 Dixie Super Skier and with A LOT of elbow grease, brought it back from the dead and continued to use it for 4 more years.

 

 

 

 

[Wish]

@Waternut Wow what a transformation and nice use of materials to keep cost low...well done!

[dchristman]

A '77 MasterCraft bought in '81 from Jimmy Mandolos for $7k when he bought a new Nautique 2001. It's hard to tell from the picture but it was a light green hull with metallic green stripe. We tricked behind the MasterCraft every day even after he bought the Nautique because the wake was better - smoother in the center and crisper.

 

 

I had the MC for 3 years before I sold it and bought the '83 American Skier from Ken Mead. The best trick boat ever. I miss it. We picked it up at the factory in March of '83 and headed to Okeeheelee. I'm so happy that Al Luck was a picture taker and always had his camera along - the pictures are here on the SCPB website:

 

okeeski.com/gallery/1983/

[Texas6]

My wife was pregnant with our first child in 2002 and we'd just discussed the probability of her not returning to work after the baby was born....I decided then that day that if I didn't go get a boat, it may never happen....and I'd been looking and knew this conversation was coming and had this 1996 Prostar 205 picked out...as soon as we got done chatting through it, I made the call and was on the road to Dallas from Houston the following day...the picture still sits on the desk in my office...

 

[mwetskier]

@skibrain -so its and easy fix just go to my post and click on ' disagree ' again. seems like the decent thing to do.

[mwetskier]

@skibrain -either you fixed it or it fixed itself. i dont mind being disagreed with but i always try to figure out why so i can avoid being disagreeable in the future. when i cant figure out why it becomes a puzzle i want to get to the bottom of. that is all.

[BCM]

Last Monday I picked up a 98 CC 196 w/ SG. My first boat, its been years in the making but finally made it work out. Currently trying to figure out where I will store it...

[rockdog]

Good work @Texas6 you have to be ready and get them at a weak moment, if she's anything like my wife, she's rarely weak!

[keithh2oskier]

Picked up an 02 SN 196 this fall. Spring cant come quick enough. Tower is long gone.

 

I bought my ram 5 years ago with the intention of needing enough power to tow a ski boat...

http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu136/keithncollins/Ski%20Nautique/IMG_0619_zpsm464caqi.jpg

 

[Texas6]

@Rockdog - that is EXACTLY right!!

[skibumm]

I was a broke recent college graduate with a one year old and a new house. I was on a budget and could not find anything used that I liked so I ordered a 1994 Bimini Skier (single axle trailer and not a dang thing extra on it. About 3 weeks after I ordered the dealer called me and said that the Centurion factory had a boat that a customer had put money down on and had backed out (lost his deposit). I could have the boat for the same price but the trailer was tandem axle and was $500 more. I did not get to pick colors but went ahead with the change. 21 years and over 2600 hours later the old tug is still going strong.