BobStackFan4Life
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My wife grew up on boats and has been kind of agitating to get one for years. I have come around to the point where I am seriously considering it. I have many questions and I'm hoping there are boaters here who can help me.
1. The boat will need to be based at a lake because I've no place to keep it at home and no desire to trailer it. I live in Greensboro. I am looking for good information on slips for rent and marinas who will store and maintain the boat for me.
2. Which lake? Probably boils down to Badin, High Rock, or maybe Smith Mountain. Needs to be close to home so we can get to and from the boat easily, so about an hour or hour and a half from GSO is the max to get to the marina where the boat lives.
3. Dealers that you have had good or bad experiences with.
4. The boat will probably be a moderately priced triple log pontoon suitable for partying, family stuff and possibly towing a skier. Good brands? Brands I should stay away from?
5. Other general tips and advice. I plan to take a Power Squadron or similar boating safety course.
My advice with a pontoon is don't be swayed by the fancy décor. There are some models that look really nice at a boat show, but at the end of the day it is still a fucking pontoon boat. Especially if you keep it outside (and I wouldn't pay to dry dock a pontoon), it is just going to get dirty and mildew and depending on the lake you're probably going to be beaching it and hitting logs and shit so expect that it will get dinged up. Benningtons are nice, but can get pricey. Bentleys are cheap but serve their purpose, and there isn't really too much to a pontoon to go wrong other than the engine. If you put a Yamaha 150 or 200 on it, it should be relatively maintenance free (basically like the Honda Accord of boat engines). And while not ideal, it should have enough power to pull a skier especially if it is a kid. But yeah, with a pontoon I would focus more on the engine than the creature comforts. A boat is only fun when you can use it, so if you don't keep it at the house to work on it then you want one that is going to start every single time without having to worry about it. Nothing worse than getting the wife and kids and all the gear loaded up and the boat won't start.
ETA: and definitely go to a boat show so that you can see lots of makes/models at once. Most dealers don't have a whole lot of showroom inventory, so it can be tough to compare apples to apples at dealerships. You missed the big one in Charlotte about 2 weeks ago, but there might be one in the triad or triangle coming up, I don't know.
One thing to realize with boats is that, unless you are paying somebody carte blanche to handle everything, you have to enjoy maintaining it. The maintenance (engine repair, winterization replacing seats, cleaning, fixing holes in the cover, working on the trailer, etc.) has to be your hobby. In my experience people who complain about boats are people who normally do not like to do things like that. For people who enjoy that sort of thing in their free time, it is a great hobby because the payoff is fun for everyone.
One thing to realize with boats is that, unless you are paying somebody carte blanche to handle everything, you have to enjoy maintaining it. The maintenance (engine repair, winterization replacing seats, cleaning, fixing holes in the cover, working on the trailer, etc.) has to be your hobby. In my experience people who complain about boats are people who normally do not like to do things like that. For people who enjoy that sort of thing in their free time, it is a great hobby because the payoff is fun for everyone.
Over $300 per month just to store it? Plus all the other costs associated with upkeep? F that.
there appear to be some options for storage on Baden and north Norman that run between 1500-2400 per year and include a slip and dry storage during the winter, including transport to the lake in spring and from the lake in fall.