Your First Boat?
 

As a very young offshore enthusiast who has been around the boating world growing up, just thought it would be an interesting thread to hear about everyones first boat, and the age which they purchased it. Anyone got any good stories, or just care to share about their first experience and what made them a boat lover?

Personally I have grown with a house at LOTO and have had the need for speed my whole life. I have had the luxury of riding in my dads boats (first a fountain, then a couple cigarettes, and now an outerlimits) and hope that I will someday be able to afford a boat in such a great category as these.

So anyone that cares to share, let's here some stories!

My first boat was a 22ft. Checkmate with a small block 350 and thru hull exhaust. We took that thing everywhere in the ocean. Then the following year I bought a 30' Baja with twin 454's and thought it was bada$$ until we where in big water one day just keeping it on plane when a Cigarette Top Gun went flying by. After that day we sold the Baja and bought a Cigarette Cafe Racer, and could not believe how the Cigarette handled the rough water. We boat in Long Island Sound and it is always choppy. After owning that boat for 8 years I sold that and bought my Tiger which I am going to be enjoying for my 3rd season this year. I started boating at 27 with the Checkmate, I can't even fathom how much money has been spent boating over the past 14 years.:eekdrop::poopoo:

My first was a 1997 sea-doo challenger 1800 with twin 110 hp rotax. Bought when I was 20 (now 31). Learned pretty quick it could do full speed 360s. Also learned that its not a smart idea to take it in Barnegat bay while an approaching Hurricane is on its way as snapping an impeller shaft makes for a long ride back on one motor.

Past list
97 18ft Seadoo challenger
93 18ft Ebbtide sport/ski
88 24ft Chris Craft 245 limited
85 31ft Chris Craft 312 Stinger
85 13ft Mini Hawk
85 10ft Cougar Cub
88 29ft Fountain Fever
<----- Current

early 80's checkmate playmate i was prob 10
84 sea ray bow rider
91 checkmate 21' pulsar 350 small block
97 baja outlaw 454
02 outlaw 496ho
91 24' skater
2001 28' skater
2003 32' sea ray sudancer (for sale)
2007 32' skater

I bought my first boat when I was 20 or 21. Me and my best bud went in partners on it. I think that we paid a whopping $3,000 for it. BAD mistake!!! :D .....but a good learning experience.


1984-1987 15' Mitchell bowrider w/ Merc 115
1988-2001 18' Sutphen 18 GranSport w/340 Mopar
2001-2003 223 Formula w/HP450 Merc
2003-2006 31' Cigarette Bullet w/600+'s
2005-Present 38' Cigarette Top Gun w/800's
1982-Present 13'Boston Whaler w/30 Merc 4-stroke (2012)
2008- Present 19' Pro-Line Sport w/115 Merc

2000 29 powerquest enticer with twin 7.4mpi's.run 70 all day no matter how many people.bought it the week i graduated high school in 09.just moved to a 38 cig

My list...

12' Beall boat with 9.9 Evinrude (wooden row boat)
14' McKee Craft 70 Merc
18' Checkmate 235 Evinrude
22' Velocity 454
30' Concept twin 225 Johnson's
20' Yamaha FS2000 20' twin engine jet boat
36' Concept twin 250
40' Formula 400SS
39' Cigarette Top Gun Unlimited Staggered 525's


Pat

Grew up in Toledo Ohio on my parents 19' Lyman that would hit maybe 30 for a top speed. They then moved on to a 21' Rinker that would do 35 on a good day, when I turned 24 I bought my first, a 21' Rinker Captiva with a 350 MAG, it was a real sleeper for the day after I made a prop change and some minor tweaking it would hit 62-63 downriver, lol. My parents could never understand why I needed a boat that would go that fast until one day we were out fishing around Little Sister Island in Lake Erie on a perfect 1' or less day and a storm started rolling in, the weather radio was forecasting 6-8' waves during the storm. We got our lines in quick, I hammered it and we ran close to 60 all the way back into Toledo staying just in front of the storm, as soon as we got a mile into the Maumee River the wind started roaring, it started pouring, and I remember my Dad saying now I understand the speed thing, we would have never beat the storm in their boat. Turned out like 15 boats swamped and had to be rescued by the USCG because they couldnt get in fast enough. I had been shopping for like 3 years when I stumbled across my dream boat, the Donzi 38ZR I have now, and have been happy ever since, even though I dont get to use it near as much as I would like!

I started out with <<< 1983 Glasstream 1550 ProBass at the age of 19. I bought it the summer after my freshman year in college. I built boat docks all over the southeast and was gone 6 days out of 7 every week living on stipend while on the road. So for a 19 year old flushed with what I thought was "tons of money....lol" i bought my first first boats. I actually still have the boat. It still runs like a top but a little soft in a couple places. You couldn't pry that boat out of my cold dead hands although i only take it out maybe 5 times a year.

Next boat i had was a 1991(?) 19' Regal that I somewhat inherited through girlfriend now wife. It was her old families boat that no one took care of so we took it over for about 2 years until it was $200ing me to death every weekend on mechanical issues.

So then we bought a 212 Baja Islander which we loved but never used the bowrider part, liked the sound and speed but the ride was not all that great a fast speeds. We were bit by the performance boat bug BAD!

Then I found a guy in Lebanon TN who was somewhat of a horse trader who had a super cool car lot with nothing but cool stuff there. He had a Fountain 27 and I traded my Baja and an old Harley I never rode for it. I remember when my wife first laid eyes on the boat. She looked at me and said wide eyed "can you drive a boat this big....lol". I said sure! I never had driven anything over 21 foot but damnit I could learn as I go.

So in 13 months we owned three different boats:


Regal > Baja > Fountain

Love my current boat but I guess as everyone you always have that "Two-Foot-Idus". I am thinking more along the lines of 8 foot this time. It will be a while but I can always dream. For now I love my 27.

Been on boats since I was 4 years old.
At 9 I had a 12' sears gamefisher with a 3 hp johnson
12 Dad sold the his egg harbor and downsized to a luhrs so I got a 13' whaler with a 30hp evinrude out of the deal.
Sold that when I thought drag racing was cool
20 bought a 19' caravelle with a 4.3 and alpha
24 crushed my hand and was bored bought a red 23' stingray with a big block
Been way too many since then to keep track lol

16'7" Glastron Carlson w/ a 115 Rude hang'n out back!!! fun little boat!!!!

First boat 19' Sanger flat bottom V-drive 454 dual quad tunnel ram, basset headers, acceleration like you can't believe! hooked up like now!! it would launch so hard!! BUT could only use it in the morning and at dusk, had to be real calm to run it and WHAT FUN IS THAT? That was 1978. mid 90s MPH

In 1998 I bought my first boat, 1993 27' Mirage Intimidator w/twin 502 Mags, Bravos, Kiek planes, Captains Call, Kiek controls and mechanical indicators. I bought it at 200 hours and ran it to 540. It GPS'd 73MPH although the original owner reported it to go 83, typical. They took me for a test run to top speed then let me drive it. I might have hit 50 for my comfort level. About a month later it went 73 every time out. lol It was turn key from start to finish. There couldn't have been better boat to get me sucked into this world.
In 2004 I bought a 2002 38' Lightning w/twin 575's. Same thing, owner went 93, topping his all time high by 1 mph, and I did 70 for the first month. Over the years it's gone 93, 0, 96, 0, 102.5, 0, 104MPH, every time out. NOT turn key but I sill love it. This is definitely a sick persons hobby.
Next boat will likely be a Trawler, 6 MPH.

1975 16' Browning tri-hull with a 70HP Rude slingin' a 19p stainless .
1988 FourWinns 210 Horizon open bow / 383 stroker .
1999 Warlock 25 Sxt Cat / Merc Racing 500HP .
First non powered boat was a home made raft floatin' on 6 innertubes / carpeted seats / attached garden hose for diving excursions and lived to tell about it . Rocked that biotch up and down the creek ! :lolhit:

Grandpas 16 ft monarc 50 hp merc driving by my self from 8 years old then 1979 24 Sea Ray omc stringer ( was a "big" boat on LOTO back then" lol).Then 25 Regal 454 alpha "bad combo" I bought my own boat when I was 27 and still own it 35 Fountain twin 502.

First boat was a used problem plagued Sea Sprite I bought impulsively and drained me financially.
ed

First boat I was 18 (2000) Bought a Baja 280 sport twin 330 bbc's, pd 21k for it drove from MI to Iowa to get it. Probably some of the best times of my life were made on that boat. Had it for about 7 years bought A LOT of fuel for that ole girl.


http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...101_0540_3.jpg

I was forced to part with it after a bad car wreck ( hence my user name ) it was a 06 GTO hit a house close to 100 mph without a seatbelt & airbags failed to deploy.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i..._duke/Car5.jpg

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i..._duke/Car6.jpg

5 years later physically & financially recovered I recently drove from MI to Tx to pick up my current 31 Ocean Express Cat which is in process of being upgraded. There is a nice thread in the restore sec. if you have not seen it.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/r...tons-pics.html

Glad to be back on the water!!

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...33739363_n.jpg

First was an 8' plywood sailing pram when I was 8.
The next year I got a folding shaft Evinrude 3hp.
Threw away the sails and never looked back.
12' molded ply runabout w/Merc 20. white. awesome motor. my dad put a trailer hitch on his 68 Camaro 396 SS/RS
15' Lyman w/40Johnson. slow. wet.
15' Starcraft SS w/60Evinrude. push button shift. great jumper
10 years of high and dry in Denver
Couldn't live without a boat anymore, back to Lake Erie
16' Donzi 150 Merc tower of power. great jumper
18' Donzi 350 mag. better jumper.
24' Pantera 454 Mag. really great jumper
27' Mag Sedan 2x 350 mags. not as big air as the Pantera, but at least I've never stuffed this one. great ride.

Inflatable dingy no motor.
Got a 7ft dingy put a 3.5hp on it
Then got the 13' Whaler with 25hp
Then picked up a 13' Mini Hawk with 25hp
Then picked up a 23' Chris Craft Scorpion 230 with 350hp (under restoration)
While that boat was being worked on, I picked up a 17' Whaler with 70hp.

We still have the WHaler 17, the 7ft Dingy, and the Scorpion.

23' Sea Ray cuddy cabin - probably would hit 40 mph, if you dropped it off a sufficiently high cliff....
28' Powerquest with a 502
29' Powerquest twin 454's

Currently boatless...

16' arrowglass w a 120 merc I/O setup my buddy and I bought it together for 1200 at 21. We ran that thing every weekend and everything broke but we had a blast. Great water sport boat as long as somebody didn't mind crawling up on the bow to get it up on plane

Hey Dock.... Long time!!!! Hope all is well!! :)

18 ft bayliner w/ 125 outboard when I was 16.

First boat was 22' Donzi when i was 23 or 24.
2nd and current is a 30 cig when i was 30.

The first boat I bought myself was a 1994 Caravelle 176. We had a blast on that boat and learned a lot about boating, hull design and more of what we wanted in future boats.
Now I have Formula's and don't see me buying anything else in the future.

My boyfriend and I bought a 1988 27' Mirage with twin built 350's and Alpha 1's with a custom paint job. I was 22 and he was 23. We slept on that boat every weekend (don't know how now with the luxury of a cruiser). We were always afraid of breaking the drives so we would take it easy. Thinking back now how much cheaper it would be to replace an Alpha compared to a Imco.:lolhit: Then we got a 272 Baja single screw. Only had that for a week. How did we ever think we could go from twins to a single? Then we got a 32' Caliber with 454 MAG's. Had that for about 2 years. Then we got our current 33 Outlaw with procharged 500EFI and Imco's. Also when we broke our drives in the Outlaw we bought a 27' Powerquest for a short time while the drives were getting fixed. Then 2 summers ago we bought a 40' cruiser to be more comfortable sleeping and staying on. That is the slowest thing we have ever owned!! At the rate we are going (I am 28 now) we are due for a new boat anytime soon!!

From about 14 on anything that would run and was cheap. We would strip it out and go find barge waves to ride. In 1985 me and my brother bought a new open bow 19.5 feet with the big 140 mercruiser. 1997 I bought a 223 Cobalt with 350 and still have it and it's for sale. Fall of 2011 I bought a 27 Fountain and now looking for a bigger one.
It's nice to be 50 and the kids gone. Well they still stop by when the need arises$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

8 ft plywood hydroplane with a 10hp Kiekhaefer Lightning, found it at a yard sale for $50.00. It was water logged and totally awesome! I was a working man with a boat and 12 yrs. old.

Started out boating on small lakes with my father as a Kid. He had a 14' flat bottom Starcraft with a 50hp merc hanging of the back. That started my love for water.

At 21 I took a summer job working at a local marina. They had the 41 Apachee race boat War Hawk. Plus several people in the marina had performance boats. 33 Powerplay, couple of Formulas, Fountains and Powerquests that we were a dealer for.

I got my first boat at 25 a 1990 Baja 190DSR.
http://i1087.photobucket.com/albums/.../Boat_Side.jpg

fixx
 

first boat is a donzi x 18,bought iy in 1985 ish,still have it..

first boat was a 84 24' checkmate enforcer with a 420 merc and had a 150 shot of nitrous boat ran 85 with the shot and 75 with out, had that in 86 no GPS so who knows what the real speed was, no boat for a while fast cars, than in 98 41' CC slow condo boat...had that for 13 years, docked at the REDEYE dock bar, would drool everytime the go fast boats would come into the bar, so in 2011 bought the Cig and been working on it ever since, never had it in the water yet....this year it will be...

25 outlaw had a little over a year now looking for something in the 28-33 range with twins.

My first boat was a sea doo xp if that counts. My first and current boat is my 10 meter. I always love when people ask me about the boat and I tell them its my first boat. When they give me a weird look i say I had a sea doo before this.

Parents gave me 12' aluminum w/ob when I was 10
Chapparal 195- 18
22 Checkmate- 22
25 Sunsation- 25
33 Powerplay- 32
Next ????...

18ft jet boat
30ft panther
30ft vlocity
31ft viper
28ft cigarette
38ft cigarette se
38ft cigarette race six man
38ft cigarette race three man
38ft cigarette topgun
41ft apache race six man
41ft apacherace six man
41ft apacherace three man

KID APACHE?!?!?!?!?!
best you tubes ever!
thankyou 4 that!

First (only) boat was a 2002 Baja 302 w/ 496 HO's. Had just turned 27. Sold it after joining the ANG in Toledo, Ohio and will be looking to purchase when my training finishes up this summer. Spend most of our time up at PIB.
[IMG]http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...s/P8090224.jpg[/IMG]

14' Meyers Aluminum fishing boat w/ 9hp Johnson. Had it in College to fish on all the man made lakes at State parks in Southern Ohio, man what fun times those were.

My first was this 1970 16' Donzi back in 1972. One ride was all I needed to become addicted to powerboats. :party-smiley-004:
Fifteen + powerboats later still love them.

Been boating whole life also.
Growing up, dad had:

Invader 16 ft(I think) Merc O/B
Donzi x-18
Magnum Marine 27ft twin 355 Sm blocks

Then, when I was 24, I started my own fleet:

22 Donzi Classic 550HP
19 Sunkist Jet 454
22 Larson cuddy cabin (Most fun...cause I didnt care!)
22 Eliminator Euro 454MAG
28 Checkmate 283 320HP small blocks/Bravo
219 Checkmate B/R
27 Carrera SS8M 540 700HP
31 Cig Bullet 575's
40 Excalibur Hawk 700's
38 Formula Fastech 700's
38 Cig Top Gun...same 700's