Irie_Vibes
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Hello all!
Well...due to Covid and the job I have, I am fortunate to now be able to work from home full-time. This has enabled my wife and I to try to realize some of our retirement goals sooner than later including to moving to a waterfront home and getting a boat. We've had a ton of fun just researching all the different options and learning about boating in general since I am a complete noob to boating even though I've been a Florida boy all my life. I appreciate this forum as it has already helped me narrow down some of my options and answered many of my questions already, though I still have many more and I'm sure there are questions I do not even know to ask yet.
We will be moving to a home right on a canal that leads straight out to the Gulf. The house has a floating dock and no boat lift. It's on a wide canal that I believe is deep because on the other side of the canal is a large marina (just guessing). I do not know if the canal floor is muddy, rocky, or whatever. The location is in Hudson, FL, and our boating goals are primarily leisure boating, finding sandbars/islands to stop at to chill, grill, have fun. Most of the time it will just be my wife and me in the boat, though I'm sure there will be times with friends/family as well. I don't know if it's realistic or not, but I would also like the ability to boat from Hudson to Clearwater/St. Pete area as well, which is around 60 miles or so. There is no need for pulling skiers or anything like that. I will not be going out "deep sea" or anything like that.
I would like to have some confirmation on some of my initial purchasing thoughts:
Thanks
Well...due to Covid and the job I have, I am fortunate to now be able to work from home full-time. This has enabled my wife and I to try to realize some of our retirement goals sooner than later including to moving to a waterfront home and getting a boat. We've had a ton of fun just researching all the different options and learning about boating in general since I am a complete noob to boating even though I've been a Florida boy all my life. I appreciate this forum as it has already helped me narrow down some of my options and answered many of my questions already, though I still have many more and I'm sure there are questions I do not even know to ask yet.
We will be moving to a home right on a canal that leads straight out to the Gulf. The house has a floating dock and no boat lift. It's on a wide canal that I believe is deep because on the other side of the canal is a large marina (just guessing). I do not know if the canal floor is muddy, rocky, or whatever. The location is in Hudson, FL, and our boating goals are primarily leisure boating, finding sandbars/islands to stop at to chill, grill, have fun. Most of the time it will just be my wife and me in the boat, though I'm sure there will be times with friends/family as well. I don't know if it's realistic or not, but I would also like the ability to boat from Hudson to Clearwater/St. Pete area as well, which is around 60 miles or so. There is no need for pulling skiers or anything like that. I will not be going out "deep sea" or anything like that.
I would like to have some confirmation on some of my initial purchasing thoughts:
- Pontoon vs. Bowrider - I've seen some say pontoons don't belong anywhere but on inland, calm waters. However, I wonder if those people lump all pontoons together without taking into consideration some of the extra "rough water" features the Bennington's have. I believe a pontoon will be fine for our needs (of course, will not go out in bad weather), but I do want to be safe in the event we are caught in a storm. I would like confirmation if you feel a pontoon would be good in this coastal environment or if a different boat design would be better/safer.
- Sport Performance System vs Yamaha Twin Elliptical Saltwater Packages - I've searched these forums extensively, and I think I've come to conclusion that for my environment, the Yamaha Twin Elliptical Saltwater Package would be best suited because of the extra buoyancy/speed and not doing water sports. However, I've read the SPS package does help in rough water. My primary concern is safety in the event I happen to get stuck in some rough waves. I don't think I'm too concerned with tight cornering the SPS package provides. SPS does have more fuel capacity, which may be handy for longer trips. I would be going with a 150HP (maybe 200) Yamaha. Thoughts on this?
- Docking and Cleaning - I see Bennington and other manufactures recommend to thoroughly wash down the toons, exterior, interior, and motor flush with fresh water after each outing. That seems like a lot to me being a noob to this. I can see my wife an I putting around in the boat several times a week, so that would get old quick, it seems. Plus, not having a boat lift will make cleaning the toons impossible. In the real world, what do you guys do? I see some without boat lifts on this forum simply take a hand scrubber to wipe down their toons while parked at a sandbar or other shallow water every once in a while. That seems reasonable. What's your thoughts? Am I going to be in trouble without a boat lift?
Thanks
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