Do you enjoy boating in small crafts?

Elsie

Elsie

Senior Member
When a preteen I was taken in a canoe that was so loaded down with a couple of heavy guys, the water was right up to the top edge of the
canoe and I was scared witless. To this day I won't go boating in anything smaller than a Criss Craft.
 

I love my canoe. It is wide and very light, weighing less than 65 pounds. I fish in it alone so it does not sit too low in the water. It also has flotation so it is unsinkable. It is great for small lakes and is so stable I can stand in it if I am careful.

But for large lakes I agree that small boats can be scary to be in.
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My childhood friend had a lake and a row boat with a leak. We would try to get back to shore before it sank. One time we didn't make it and had to walk back. We worried about the snapping turtles but the worst thing was the waterlilies. The flowers look like a Monet painting but the stems are long and slimy.
 
If itā€™s not big enough to have a bathroom, Iā€™m not going! šŸ˜‰šŸ¤­šŸ˜‚

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The only boats I really enjoy anymore are pontoon boats. The lake we lived on tends to get very choppy in the afternoon and I felt totally safe on it-even on the couple of times we got caught in waves so high that they were washing over the entire deck. All I was worried about was hanging onto the grandkids!!
 
Pontoon Boats are great for a safe family afternoon of sun, fishing any time of day, sightseeing, pulling tubes / rafts and beaching for swimming.
They have great Shade under the large Bimini Awnings when up. You can anchor under shade along the lake shores.

"The Old Man on Pawn Stars used to say, "we buy Gold, Silver and Airplanes --- not boats! "
 
Mrs. Robinson said:
The only boats I really enjoy anymore are pontoon boats. The lake we lived on tends to get very choppy in the afternoon and I felt totally safe on it-even on the couple of times we got caught in waves so high that they were washing over the entire deck. All I was worried about was hanging onto the grandkids!!
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I ran up onto the beach several times due to high winds and bad thunderstorms that pop up.
The waves still helped back off of the sand into deep water after the bad part of the wind has
passed by. The Bimini top went right back up once. The rest of the times it rode out the weather
cause its very well made / strong.
 
I'm good on a motorboat that keeps moving; no sloshing around in a canoe or paddle boat for me. My uncle had a pontoon, and when I was a kid, he took me for early evening rides in the summer, and I loved it!
 
Decades ago on calmer days with lower swells, up to 4 people could rent for $40/8 hrs a 16 foot skiff with 8hp outboard motors at Capitola, and Santa Cruz, California then motor out a few miles to fish. We did so several times and at times caught nice fish. But on days before forecasting when the swell started small and got large, one quickly grew respect for how some puny some boat ought not be in large Pacific Ocean swells, way way way way UP then way way way way down, where one cannot see what else scary is coming.

Today the same skiff rental service will cost over $200 and has been way too costly for a long time. I once hooked something really huge. We were all thinking some huge king salmon that would be a real feast.

...Nope, as I eventually got the beast close to the surface, we saw it was a scary looking batray about 4 feet across, so we cut the line. Fishing in a small craft off our Pacific Coast is incredible fun as there are dozens of colorful species of rockfish alone one never quite knows what is being reeled in. But alas, no longer an outdoor activity for we peons,
 
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I have spent a lot of time in boats, water skiing, tubing, fishing, kayaking, always enjoyed it. Until last summer, suddenly I started getting seasick, no idea why, three times in a row was enough to convince me my boating days are done.
 
As far back as I can remember I always loved boating . . . motor, sail, or human powered. Owned my first motor boat at age 12. Crewed in sailboats form 12' to 42'. Did a lot of canoe camping.

My boating days are behind me now. <insert "wistful" emoji here ;)>
 

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