A wise person once said, “you can’t buy happiness, but you can buy a boat”. For those of us who boat, truer words have never been spoken.
Since February is the month of love, I can’t think of a better time to reflect on what we love about boating. If you think about it, boating in the early days was about transportation, moving people and goods from one place to another. Two hundred years ago, the average person wasn’t hauling their pontoon to the local lake and dragging the kids on a tube. The last hundred years have seen the renaissance of recreational boating. Boats are built for luxury and fun like never before. The following are some reasons why you gotta love boating:
1. Freedom - There is no feeling quite like being out on the open water. There are no lanes, no traffic lights and there is very little structure to your travel. You can hammer the throttle and rip the wind through your hair or putt along at a snail’s pace. It’s generally your call. There is nothing more fun than finding a remote cove, tossing out an anchor and hopping into a cool lake for a swim. It’s amazing.
2. Family - I love loading the pontoon full of family, snacks and tunes and heading out for the day. It’s a great way to forget about the complex things in life and to focus on the beautiful surroundings. We encourage turning off the phones and turning on the fun!
3. Watersports - The evolution of watersports over the last 30 years has been epic. Once upon a time all we had were water skis and a few crappy inflatable rafts that always managed to spring a leak by mid-afternoon.
Now there is everything! From towable tubes to wakeboards to inflatable islands, you can have it all. Modern pontoon boats are built to haul and tow just about everything you can imagine. If you haven’t been to a watersports retailer in a few years, go now. The spread of products gets better each season.
4. Lake People - Lake people are awesome! We are just a different breed. Once we set foot on the boat, we let the fun loose. Slap on your loudest Hawaiian shirt, grab a cold beverage and crank up the Jimmy Buffett and we are in heaven.
It’s a simple path to happiness. There are simple codes we live by - wave to everyone, when someone comes on board give them a cold one, and if you see a stalled boat, give them a tow.
5. Nature - There are so many beautiful lakes in this country, each filled with aquatic life, waterfowl, surrounding foliage and unique shorelines. We all love to run the boat fast, but sometimes you just need to slow it down and look at the surroundings. Don’t ever let a sunset go unnoticed!
6. Fishing - Fishing is an expansion of the nature category, but just slightly more involved. It’s just plain relaxing. There are times I fish and hope I don’t catch anything. I just enjoy the peace and relaxation of casting and reeling. There is a certain Zen that captivates me. If you fish, you know what I’m saying. If you don’t fish, try it, you will understand what I’m saying. If you want to get a kid stoked on life, take them fishing. For a child, the thrill of catching a fish is hard to put into words.
7. Naming your boat - Naming your boat is another thing I love about boating. Most people don’t name their house or car, but they definitely name their boat. Boat names are the best. Walk to your local marina and absorb the creativity. The first new pontoon I purchased was purple. I’m talking really purple. Purple carpet, purple top, purple seat accents, bumpers, ropes, you get the picture.
The name was an obvious choice, Barney, like the giant purple dinosaur. If you are looking to buy a used boat, check to see if it has a name on it. If you don’t like the name, don’t buy the boat! I was told it is bad luck to change the name of your boat.
February will be over before you know it which means it’s almost March. March means Spring. Spring is pretty much summer, so start working on your boat now. Use this window of time to put a dazzling new G-Floor on your pontoon. You will be the talk of the dock!