Many years ago I owned a rather large pontoon boat that I kept at a marina in the Mississippi River. The problem was that I was still in the corporate world and was away from home and the area a lot of the time. In fact the last year that I owned it I was never on it once. A lot of other people used it (friends) but not me. Of course the marina and fuel bill came to me per my instructions. Anyway, I finally sold it.
Fast forward 25 years - I ran onto a guy that simply had more kids and toys than he could afford so I made him an offer that I thought was unreasonably low for his boat. At first he told me that he had been offered three times that for the boat. I then inquired why he never sold it an he replied that they didn't have the money just yet. Then I used the old line "money talks and BS walks" and offered to pay cash then and there. Well, although I didn't need a boat and didn't even really want one he accepted my offer of $1,500 and I was a boat owner in late August of 2010.
The boat is definitely not new but appeared to be in great condition. It is a 1982 Ranger 375-V with a 1993 150hp XR6 Mercury outboard on it. I never got it in the water in 2010 but I did do a lot of work on it during the winter. I build a new dash for it (some of you might remember when I posted it) and added some additional instruments. Also, purchased a boat cover from here on Iboats and added a new fish finder. I also added new life jackets, cup holders, bumpers, a battery charger, etc. that I would guess all added up to approximately another $900. All of this was done with the great intentions of doing a lot of fishing and just cruising in 2011.
So much for the plans, I only go it in the water three times this year. Once in the Des Moines River when it was high, once in a small lake to do some limited fishing, and once in the Mississippi for just some fun (my normally non-water liking wife even enjoyed it). Obviously, not much time and fun in the water but I did enjoy working on it in my shop last winter. Although some of you might think that I have too much money in that old of a boat I really think that it was a good deal being it is in great shape and runs super (images attached).
That is my boating story and I am sticking to it.
Fast forward 25 years - I ran onto a guy that simply had more kids and toys than he could afford so I made him an offer that I thought was unreasonably low for his boat. At first he told me that he had been offered three times that for the boat. I then inquired why he never sold it an he replied that they didn't have the money just yet. Then I used the old line "money talks and BS walks" and offered to pay cash then and there. Well, although I didn't need a boat and didn't even really want one he accepted my offer of $1,500 and I was a boat owner in late August of 2010.
The boat is definitely not new but appeared to be in great condition. It is a 1982 Ranger 375-V with a 1993 150hp XR6 Mercury outboard on it. I never got it in the water in 2010 but I did do a lot of work on it during the winter. I build a new dash for it (some of you might remember when I posted it) and added some additional instruments. Also, purchased a boat cover from here on Iboats and added a new fish finder. I also added new life jackets, cup holders, bumpers, a battery charger, etc. that I would guess all added up to approximately another $900. All of this was done with the great intentions of doing a lot of fishing and just cruising in 2011.
So much for the plans, I only go it in the water three times this year. Once in the Des Moines River when it was high, once in a small lake to do some limited fishing, and once in the Mississippi for just some fun (my normally non-water liking wife even enjoyed it). Obviously, not much time and fun in the water but I did enjoy working on it in my shop last winter. Although some of you might think that I have too much money in that old of a boat I really think that it was a good deal being it is in great shape and runs super (images attached).
That is my boating story and I am sticking to it.
