What was your favorite boat ?

[kenboat]

Loved my 1988 22 Talon with 2.5 Merc offshore until the fuel injector on number 5 cylinder failed and welded the piston to the cylinder.
Rebuilt the power head and kept a few years then sold it and went boatless for 20 years.

[AlliStan]

Never have had that many, unlike my son who has owned too many to count. But, my fave is still with me. 1986 Allison XTB with a fresh 260. Took me quite a while to figure out how to get it balanced so that it rides level on the pad, but the "trip" was fun, and learning how to prevent chine walk with tiny steering and trim corrections was such a rewarding experience that I almost wish I could go through it again. Almost, but not quite. She drives like a dream now, thanks to a couple of my buddies encouraging me to hang in there and keep trying stuff, that I was trying to learn to drive the hardest Allison design to drive at speed ever built. She's a 90 mph ride now.

The journey through refurbishing and repurposing it was fun, too. The floor locker is gone, and to the uninitiated the only vestiges of it actually being a bass boat are the front and rear seat holes in the deck. Of course the overall side steer design is obvious. Smoothed of the big, side Allison decals, the original gel coat was wet sanded to 6000 grit, buffed and polished twice, then ceramic coated. New carpet, AutoMeter gauges, and now in the process of adding a 16 gal. auxiliary fuel tank that's made to fit the center rear live well, just in front of the factory 18 ga. tank. You CAN teach an old boat new tricks!!



Before deleting the floor locker and installing new carpet.



After deleting it and new carpet installed.

[Onetime]

My favorite boat was my 24 Skater. Fast and drove like a go-cart.

[skipe]

My favorite was my 87 STV, 2.4 Merc EFI. 2nd favorite would be my 73 15' 8" Beismeyer with a Merc 1500.

[Turtleherder]

My first boat that I bought as a kid, a flat boat with a 20 hp Chrysler. Total freedom to run it around to any place the gas would take me. Left in the morning, back before dark. No responsibilities other than to not sink it.

[JPEROG]

My first boat that I bought as a kid, a flat boat with a 20 hp Chrysler. Total freedom to run it around to any place the gas would take me. Left in the morning, back before dark. No responsibilities other than to not sink it.

Those were also great times I can relate to. My 12' flat bottom with a 6 hp Evinrude "even better then my first bicycle". We are lucky to have these visions floating in our heads--makes me smile every time.

Joe

[Onetime]

Those were also great times I can relate to. My 12' flat bottom with a 6 hp Evinrude "even better then my first bicycle". We are lucky to have these visions floating in our heads--makes me smile every time.

Joe

My first was an 8’ monoplane built from Mechanics Illustrated magazine plans. First motor for it was my dad’s 3 hp Duck twin. Then a Mercury Mark 22. At 13 years old weighing around 75 pounds at best, the boat ripped. As you said it was total freedom.

Funny, I remember talking with Peter at skater and his first was a 3 point hydro version in Mechanics Illustrated.

Then I built a Glen L TNT.

I attribute my career to these beginnings. Learning how to read blueprints and building from them.

The engines I got were from Dave Merklin in Freeport and were cheap as they didn’t run. I had to work on them to get them running.

Boats and engines gave me my beginnings of being in business as a machinist fabricator. Been building engines ever since those days in my other business, engine building.

Fond memories and a great livelihood.

[doug7488]

Sorry to say my favorite isn’t a performance boat per se
1976 25’ Nova
350/260 alpha drive
full teak trim
That boat was CLASS
Drove like a Cadillac through 3’ chop
Great picnic boat
Emergency over nighter
Got “ Thumbs Up” wherever we went

[kelvin523]

24' Superboat

[P man]

V-King all the way!
Always exciting to drive, very forgiving and relatively capable with some setup!

[JBS]

21 Paramount

[RADER]

21 skater/twins nothing like it.

[ZiemerSTV]

STV Pro Comp Ski. Color was Red and Black. It had a
very stock Merc 260. Scary fast.

[CUDA]

1979 Hydrostream Venus, it was not the speed, it was the Cutty Cabin

I won the Grand Island marathon and it got me into racing,

But being a 20-something kid I made good use of the stabbing cabin, also up top, nice flat area out in Lake Erie.

Just bought a 55ft 3 beds 2 bath 1 with tub, full-size kitchen, dishwasher even trash compactor.

Watermaker, It's HOME wherever

Yes, it's a money pit, aren't all boats

We will all be DEAD soon, enjoy what you have left, no guarantees.

[1954bmw]

How bout some pics of this 55 footer???