TripleJGraffis
Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2024
- Messages
- 431
Hello everyone!!!! I am back! Not in the capacity that I had hoped for, but back nevertheless. I have been itching for a few years now to get myself into the water. I have had a whole slew of bad luck come my way since the purchase of my house back in June, including 30k of unknown water damages spanning over 20 years and have not been able to touch the repairs on my other boat for at least a couple years now as a result of this as well as life obligations in general. The issues with my house have been very mentally taxing on everyone involved, so I decided quite a while back that I was going to do something about that.
With the repairs not happening and looking at my boat sitting vacant in my garage every day, giving me constant reminders that I can't get into the water as a result, I finally decided to bite the bullet and find myself a nice large party barge that I can enjoy with my friends and family right now. I searched high and low and waited patiently for the right boat to come along. You have no idea how hard that was for me as I am a very impulsive spender.......But I took the advice from you guys that I learned about buying a boat while I was working on the other one and just like a prize fish, I waited for the right boat to come to me......and I think I found it you guys!
With the introduction of a new dog into our lives and the need for space for my family, I decided that I wanted to search for a nice, large used pontoon. I found it! A1987 Crest III 25 footer! Funny thing about it, is that I passed on it on Facebook marketplace, at least 10 times, because it was about $1000 over what I wanted to spend. One day, it showed up again in my feed and I reached out and told the owner to take the post down because I couldn't handle staring at such a gorgeous old girl and keep on passing her up LOL. He reached back out and ultimately said if I was that serious and passionate about finding a boat and was that interested in this one, he would consider knocking the price down to my spending range.
I was sold and the rest is history. It was being held at a storage unit about 17 miles from my house. I asked 100 questions, thanks to you guys and he answered each and every one. Turns out some old gentleman purchased this gem about 30ish years ago and barely used it, yet kept it professionally maintained and stored indoors at the seller's storage facility since then. He barely took it out but kept it up all these years. As the guy got older, he decided to part with it. He sold it to the storage owner who in turn, sold it to me! The owner said that he was more in the business of holding, maintaining and selling newer boats and had no real need for this one, hence why he was willing to drop the price. He asked me to grab my kids and bring them to a nearby marina. He dropped the boat in and I took it for a spin around the lake. I have only ever seen pontoons with smaller engines, resulting in them moving slowly, but this gal has got a Johnson 88 on her and when we hit full throttle, I was easily hitting 25mph! I looked back at my kids and the smiles on their faces was priceless. As we got about a mile out into the lake, my son shouted out to me and said, "Dad! You're going too fast! Please slow down!" With that statement, I knew the engine was just the perfect size!
We headed back to the marina. He showed me more of the boat and then we got out and talked business. I was in love. My kids were in love. All my question boxes were checked. This boat was about to be mine. There was no way I could pass on it now. True to his word, he sold it to me right there with the price reduced to my comfort level! Only other order of business....was that there was no trailer. He said, "No worries! I will store in indoors for you until you find a trailer, or deliver it to your home for free!"
He held on to it for a few days while I searched around marketplace for a bunk trailer.I was only able to find used scissor trailers and I want to travel with this girl. I needed a bunk. Against my better judgement, I gave into my impulsivities and ended up purchasing a new 2025 Mid American bunk trailer fully equipped with tie down straps in the back, winch and strap in the front as well as a ladder in the front.
I brought it home later that week and have been tinkering around with it, giving it some minor personal touches and adding some accessories and necessities this past week. I installed a train air horn system yesterday. The horns themselves are old and need a good sand blasting. I will work on that later. I added some boat guides yesterday and had a real good look at her belly as I was underneath. The wood deck is old marine grade, but in extremely good condition! I have no indoor storage option at my house, so I resorted to the next best thing...restoration and maintenance chemicals to keep it's luster. Haven't used any yet. I also threw a new cover over her to help minimize sun damage. She's registered, she's insured and one day, very soon.....I am hitting the water! More pics to follow!
With the repairs not happening and looking at my boat sitting vacant in my garage every day, giving me constant reminders that I can't get into the water as a result, I finally decided to bite the bullet and find myself a nice large party barge that I can enjoy with my friends and family right now. I searched high and low and waited patiently for the right boat to come along. You have no idea how hard that was for me as I am a very impulsive spender.......But I took the advice from you guys that I learned about buying a boat while I was working on the other one and just like a prize fish, I waited for the right boat to come to me......and I think I found it you guys!
With the introduction of a new dog into our lives and the need for space for my family, I decided that I wanted to search for a nice, large used pontoon. I found it! A1987 Crest III 25 footer! Funny thing about it, is that I passed on it on Facebook marketplace, at least 10 times, because it was about $1000 over what I wanted to spend. One day, it showed up again in my feed and I reached out and told the owner to take the post down because I couldn't handle staring at such a gorgeous old girl and keep on passing her up LOL. He reached back out and ultimately said if I was that serious and passionate about finding a boat and was that interested in this one, he would consider knocking the price down to my spending range.
I was sold and the rest is history. It was being held at a storage unit about 17 miles from my house. I asked 100 questions, thanks to you guys and he answered each and every one. Turns out some old gentleman purchased this gem about 30ish years ago and barely used it, yet kept it professionally maintained and stored indoors at the seller's storage facility since then. He barely took it out but kept it up all these years. As the guy got older, he decided to part with it. He sold it to the storage owner who in turn, sold it to me! The owner said that he was more in the business of holding, maintaining and selling newer boats and had no real need for this one, hence why he was willing to drop the price. He asked me to grab my kids and bring them to a nearby marina. He dropped the boat in and I took it for a spin around the lake. I have only ever seen pontoons with smaller engines, resulting in them moving slowly, but this gal has got a Johnson 88 on her and when we hit full throttle, I was easily hitting 25mph! I looked back at my kids and the smiles on their faces was priceless. As we got about a mile out into the lake, my son shouted out to me and said, "Dad! You're going too fast! Please slow down!" With that statement, I knew the engine was just the perfect size!
We headed back to the marina. He showed me more of the boat and then we got out and talked business. I was in love. My kids were in love. All my question boxes were checked. This boat was about to be mine. There was no way I could pass on it now. True to his word, he sold it to me right there with the price reduced to my comfort level! Only other order of business....was that there was no trailer. He said, "No worries! I will store in indoors for you until you find a trailer, or deliver it to your home for free!"
He held on to it for a few days while I searched around marketplace for a bunk trailer.I was only able to find used scissor trailers and I want to travel with this girl. I needed a bunk. Against my better judgement, I gave into my impulsivities and ended up purchasing a new 2025 Mid American bunk trailer fully equipped with tie down straps in the back, winch and strap in the front as well as a ladder in the front.
I brought it home later that week and have been tinkering around with it, giving it some minor personal touches and adding some accessories and necessities this past week. I installed a train air horn system yesterday. The horns themselves are old and need a good sand blasting. I will work on that later. I added some boat guides yesterday and had a real good look at her belly as I was underneath. The wood deck is old marine grade, but in extremely good condition! I have no indoor storage option at my house, so I resorted to the next best thing...restoration and maintenance chemicals to keep it's luster. Haven't used any yet. I also threw a new cover over her to help minimize sun damage. She's registered, she's insured and one day, very soon.....I am hitting the water! More pics to follow!
