Offshoreonly.com - Some "Old School" Photos

I grew up on Lake Simcoe and spent every waking moment on or around the water. My parents were not interested in powerboats, they liked sailing. I, however, was obsessed with boats - the faster the better. My brother was the same.

From the age of ten or so and through our teenage years we covered every square inch of his room with pictures of boats from magazines, sales brochures, shows, etc. At some point after we left home it was all taken down - we still refer to it as "the archives" as it chronicled every make and model we lusted after in our youth.

I've been lurking here for years and have made only a few posts. I came across some old photos and figured I'd share 'em here.

Early on we were willing to do anything to get close to feeling an offshore thrill. At one point we decided that putting two 9.9Mercs on the back of a fishing boat was a good idea.

Here it is in action, the coordination of the steering was very important.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...sc0231674b.jpg

As time went on my parents finally gave in and bought us a ski-boat. I think our constant nagging wore them down but they also wanted to get rid of the flotilla of boats that were often hanging around our dock.

There were a lot of very cool boats running around the lake in the '80's, a couple of my favorites were owned by the Ivans across the way.

This is a (poor)shot of a couple of boats parked in front of our house - a Challenger 21 and Rough and Tumble, I don't recall but I think I remember Mark saying it was a 28 Maverick? Someone on here said it was most likely a Magnum.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23.../Simcoe-87.jpg

There were Sidewinders, Chargers, Hydrostreams and Bahas but the Challenger was my favorite.

An older cat painted with the SUNKIST colors ran up and down the bay for years - it may still be there for all I know. One season a race prepped Apache 41 appeared for a few days then disappeard just as fast.

Here is my first 100MPH ride. This is Mark Weigl's 24 Skater, the boat he made is offshore debut in for 1988 * Tuff Marine

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...sc02313e27.jpg

One day I'll get back into the sport - but for now I enjoy reading about and watching through magic of OSO.