Well, I'll give it a shot. BE FOREWARNED, I'm an engineer and sometimes i get into too much detail, but I'll try to keep it high level
Both my parents were teachers so they bought 2 lots near my dads hometown which was on Sand Point (near the tip of the thumb) on Saginaw Bay.
I never missed a summer up there and dad always had pontoon boats. They were multiple use. Summer was cruising and fishing. Fall was used for a layout tender for duck hunting. My dad was a die hard duck hunter, duck decoy carver, and collector. His passion was watefowl.
They had a builder build a shell of a cottage in 1978 and my dad being a wood shop / metal shop and math teacher along with his teaching buddies finsihed off the whole interior of the place. We had a view of Sagniaw Bay with a canal that ran in the front of the cottage to keep a boat out of the elements. When I graduated from college, my dad gave up the pontoon boats and I bought my first used boat. A 21' Pursuit cuddy cabin walk around fishing boat. A few years later, I bought a brand new Wellcraft 25' Center console boat that we would run the walleye touranments in Michigan and Ohio.. From 1999 to 2003 because of water depth, our seawall didn't have a boat "on station". We got dredged in 2004, and the Wellcraft was our home port at our cottage until I sold it in 2011.
My dad had many medical issues. His first heart attack occured when he was 44 in 1981 while laying in a cornfield hunting ducks. We followed the ducks from Michigan to Canada and then in the winter down to Texas every year.
Skipping to Sept 2009, my dad passed away from cancer. On Dec 23rd of that same year, my uncle (dads brother) called me and my sister need to get up to the cottage as a major flood had destroyed the cottage. 250,000 gallons of water went through the cottage from a broken hot water pipe in the upstairs bathroom. He had a natural gas powered generator that kept the hot water heater going and even the cathederial ceilings fell in due to humidity. Long story short, it took 7 months to rebuild the cottage from the studs up. Many memories were found during the rebuilding period as we found notes written in the drywall from him and his teacher friends to built the entire interior of the house. Scores from the euchre touranments, and insde jokes were written in pencil and pen on the walls. The only interior wall was the field stone wall around the fireplace. The biulders only did the shell of the cottage and he did the entire interior himself. His brother was his insruance agent and everything was covered with replacement costs. All new flooring, appliances, electronics were replaced with new ones. Old 40" projection TV was deemed at today's value for $2000 so we got a 50" flat screen for no money out of our pocket. Same with all appliances, cabinets, furnac e, AC unit etc. So now we have a modern day home. We call it a blessing in dsiguise.
When they fiinished the cottage, we held my fathers wake and put his ashes out in the bay per his wishes.
In Feb 2011, I was sent to Korea for a long time launching the new 2012 Malbu and when I returned home, my wife and kids had been taken by my uncle and oher family members to the detroit boat show and I came home to pontoon boat brochures spread out on the ottoman. My kids getting older had no desire to spend 8 hours trolling on non skid decking and no real good way to tow water toys or beach at the sand bar. We fell in love with Bennington and by April 2011 we ordered our Bennington and it arrived in June 2011. We never looked back.
My dad never missed a opening day of duck season from 1948 to 2008 (he missed 2009 before he passed away by 2 weeks). I only missed 4 opening day while playing football for Michigan Tech
Modern day. We still spend every weekend up there fishing, boating, water sports, etc. My cousins bought a place 2 cottages over and its been great. May thru September is home for fishing and fun and Sept to Nov its home to our duck hunting operations.
We look at the flood as one last great gesture from my dad making sure we didn't have to sink all our money in keeping up cottage as it was 33 years old and in need of updates.
I thank my family for introducing me to pontoon boats and they were never on my "bucket" list and I think Bennington for producing a versatile craft that we can still bring home limits of walleye, tube, ski, hang out at sandbar and swim with all the other boats. No longer do I dread on how I am going to fill the 150 gallon fuel tank on the wellcraft. And with the underwater LED, side LED, bimini top LED, and interior LED's, and rear loungers we can cruise in style and comfort. Not to mention the power and performance of a 150 Merc Opti Pro XS, its faster then what most people think a pontoon should be
Sorry for the long story, but its special to me and 90% of my childhood revolves around this cottage and the memories / opportunities my mom and gave me and my sister growing up as kids
Todd
