I bought my first boat when I was 25 years old. I only needed to consult my bank account, I needed to consult only with myself, and I happened to readily endorse this idea.
What A great boating, fishing season that was (from what I remember.)
FAST FORWARD 20 YEARS. Not being able to part with my boats through the years, I now own three, one that runs occasionally. Let's just say all of my decisions regarding boats may not have been the best over the years. Although I must say, I have not regretted any time spent on a boat, regrets begin for me when I am entering the harbor.
My last boat was a 28 ft. Carver, it was an old boat but that boat was a yacht for me. My wife thought it would be a good idea to get a survey ( inspection ) beforehand. I didn't think that was needed at all, why spend 250.00 for nothing.Only after it was taking on water and the hull deemed not seaworthy did I think maybe she was right.
Did this stop me? Being a boat addict, I was driving by a boat dealer (happened to be in the neighborhood, 10 miles out of town.) My dealer had the good stuff right in front, a brand new 23 ft. PRO LINE, My Dream Boat.
Wasting no time, I took my wife to see this beautiful creature, to this day I don't know if she likes it or not.
Gentleman, Listen to my advice. My wife said "go ahead and try, they are not going to finance you." Well, I took this as an open invitation to get a new boat, they did finance me and 2 days later I came home with a new boat.
Don't ever take the challenge, when your wife says" go ahead and try" I am pretty sure that means " if you buy that boat I will make your life miserable for the next 5 years." I have owned the boat for 3 years now.
Speaking of boats, We run a shop called Good Tidings in Algoma, wi. and specialize in Nautical Gifts.
I have had several great trips with my sons on this boat and I have learned more about kids on these trips then I have learned on land.
My son Paul and I were headed out for an over night trip on the bay of green bay to catch perch, I have a few spots that nearly always produce. Well, as fishing goes all that was biting was a fish called sheephead, or, freshwater drum, these are considered trash fish around here, they do get to about 10 lbs. Paul was having a blast catching these while I was wasting my time being mad about not catching perch. If I would have been paying attention to the fun my son was having, we would have stayed there all day and caught those fish. Lesson learned.
Our next trip was an overnight adventure on the bay of Green Bay again, we started off on a beautiful day, with a twenty mile trip ahead of us. We stopped and swam on the way, kind of a tradition. By the time we got to the island it was early evening, we made camp, fished off shore and caught these gross little fish called gobies. We caught 50 - 60 and decided to have a championship, my son earned the title of goby master. It was hilarious, tied up to a dock with this beautiful boat, and catching these ugly things.
Morning came along with a strong wind that cut our day short, we had to head back 20 miles in 3-4 ft. waves, never pleasant. If we had not caught the gross fish the night before, we would have caught no fish. I learned again.
I guess the motto with kids would be, as long as they are enjoying it, it must be fun! I will still always prefer to catch salmon, trout etc, but a yearly goby/ sheephead trip is quite likely.
If You happen to be in Algoma, Wi., stop in and say Hi, we have a great selection of beach theme decor, nautical gifts for you to choose from. We are only minutes from door county, wi. and 25 miles east of Green Bay, on the shore of lake Michigan.
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