TOPIC: Want to take the boat out!

Here I am with 5 days and about 1300 miles in between me and my boat, a 1970 Correct Craft Barracuda. I'm walking around in a daze just trying to fill up the days until I'm at the wheel with this beast, roaring down the lake. Heads will turn.
I haven't seen her since last August. Now, my vacation is here again and the annual journey up to the lake in east central NH is about to begin full tilt. Family says it's been a hot summer there but kind of quiet around. I hope it roasts up there this year while I'm there. On the lake you want it hot and sunny.
On the lake I wish it was--oh, 1975 too. Who here wishes it was 1975 again? I bet alot. I was 11 and ignorant. Little did I know then that from here on out kid, the world of boats and boating will never be the same. But I guess that's true for alot of things. That's when the lake was just chock full of classics. Just good ole boats, quiet sterndrives, lapstraked outboards, loud, thunderous inboards, a sailboat or two. One by one they pretty much have all gone. Most replaced with those pontoon things and Euro-looking bowriders. Inboards nowadays make no sound. Waverunners buzz around in circles all....day....long. On a sunny Saturday afternoon there are seemingly hundreds of watercraft out on our lake. Back in the early '70's there seemed to be---just enough out there. The Boy's and Girl's camps towed around skiers, sometimes two at a time, on a set course and always had classic Correct Crafts. Now, they speed around the waters with big, ugly tubes and throw off huge wakes for wakeboarders. Pontoon boats putt all over the place and are always in the way. Always! Gimme back the days when the Girl's camp across the lake sent out its big and long Chris Craft-looking mahogany inboard full of chirpie girls for a sunset cruise around the lake, famous for its monstrous waves it rolled off.
Back here in 2010 alot has changed but for the better or for the worse, I just count the blessings and cherish my memories. If there is a heaven oh please let it be the summer of 1975 up at the lake. Forever.

Well - for me that's about 8 years earlier but I agree completely - on all points. If only I could go back there and then and savor those days as opposed to living them as they rushed past.

But that's how it is. Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans. Jetski's are a menace. Wakeboarding is an abomination...but it's not 1975 anymore - much less 1967.

Peter
in Denver

Well we have to take it back a little farther to 1957 That year I learned to Ski behing a Chris Craft with a 53 caddie in it. We skied the chanal out side of Stockton Ca and the only thing you had to look out for was the big cargo ships.
Yes 1957 hot rods and Rock & Roll I was 17.
Dam I'm getting old 70 this year.
Mike aka pathfinderz1

1957, 1967, it's all good! I can remember back to about the late sixties. I was 6 when my now current boat, a 1970 inboard was built. Things changed in the late '70's, boat wise, for me anyway. I'm so hooked on the early '70's that I plan on powering my outboard renovation project with either a Johnson V4 or Evinrude V4 anywhere from 1972---1980. I really love the sound of those engines.
Can't wait to ski behind my boat this summer! I love that V8 inboard exhaust aroma and throaty rumble as I maneuver side to side from behind the wake.

Peter_Crowl wrote:

But that's how it is. Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans. Jetski's are a menace. Wakeboarding is an abomination...but it's not 1975 anymore - much less 1967.

Peter
in Denver

Yeah whatever ya do don't waste yer time tryin to second guess "life". Life's gonna do what it want's to do whether you like it or not.

Jetskis as a "menace" I dunno. Truth be known the biggest menace to us SW FL boaters lately is the nonindigenous Manatee. And the kayaker. In that order, so far ...


Edit: Not to mention the massive oil spill headed our way. My how times have changed?

Pontoon boats putt all over the place

Gotta be careful about assuming that! (Voice of experience speaking here.) I got "lulled" into assuming this, as most of them appear to be in no big hurry getting anywhere. (Nothing wrong with that, I try to remember they have a right to be out there too.) There are some, however, equipped with LARGE outboards capable of pretty decent speed, and throwing a much bigger wake than I anticipated. (Wasn't ready for the "hard landing", think the whole lake heard my exclamation...) MY bad.

Jetskis - I've got no problem with sharing the water with anybody, just wish there was more courtesy shown to others on the water. THAT, in general, is what I miss most about the good old days!

Yes - courtesy - well put.
But today there's no sense of comraderie or responsibility to others. It's all about me. Pull up on the beach and crank the 1,000 watt sound system. Make the largest wake possible. Do Jetski 180's without regard to who could be behind you.

I've seen some of those pontoon boats that haul ass down the lake. They are still awful and i hate them! I'm allowed to say that. They just look so ridiculous out there. Its like being in a livingroom on the water and going 35mph...ugh!! I don't have to go far in NH to get away from waverunners though...Squam Lake banned them years ago...and this is a huge lake! Seems they were a nuisance regarding the wildlife.

I was 10 in '75, our little lake had a great bunch of kids aroudn the same age. By the time I was 12 I'd logged more hours behind the wheel than most adults ever do.
Oh there was always ridin bikes, hikin the woods, but mostly burning tank after tank of [afforadable] fuel in our boats. Some only had rowboats with 9.9's, others had inboards, and everything in between. I'm fortunate that the family hung on to my dads 1960 MirroCraft, that I restored.
I'll be at the lake this weekend, the thrill of the boat on the water has never died out,,, ahhh memories, old and new!

i dont think there is anything wrong with pontoon boats,my father in law has one,he has a wife,three kids and their spouses ,plus 4 grand kids,its nice to be able to get the whole family out on the water.
i love the custom craft sunray,but alot of times i like to relax and just fish,the pontoon allows us to do just that,besides most of the lakes around here are hp,restricted,to either 10 hp,or 20 hp.
the pontoon came with a 40 hp ,but he also has a 9.9 on it,for the lakes around here.
by the way whether we look ridiculous on the lake in a pontoon or not,its still,fun,and my little neice and my nephews love it,john,
p.s. mark said it best in my opinion.

my brothers ,cousin and i spent our summers on the delaware river, jersey side, at my parents summer cabin. they're were around 30 boats in our stretch between rapids (1 mile)most belonged to fisherman who were off the river by 10:00am. the river was ours with little to no traffic. it was beautiful. still is today only i can"t back my trailer down the winding road to the launch. i think the park service purposely designed it that way to keep runabouts off. it's only accessible by car-tops. i would love to get the mantaray on it. if i was younger i'd be more daring and probably give it a shot.