Who's been on the water the longest.

Gofirstclass

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,669
Tri Cities, WA
Boat Info
Boatless in WA
Engines
No motor
A new member's posting got me to wondering how long many of you have been boaters.

I'll start this out. I'm now 71 and got my first boat, a 9' rowboat on Lake Huron when I was 5. So if my math is correct, that's 66 years.

Next up?????
 
I was 2 when my grandpa bought his first boat and I was on it every weekend. I am now 40 so 38 yrs.
 
A new member's posting got me to wondering how long many of you have been boaters.

I'll start this out. I'm now 71 and got my first boat, a 9' rowboat on Lake Huron when I was 5. So if my math is correct, that's 66 years.

Next up?????
Pifff.....that's nothing, my mother went fishing the day after I was conceived, in a 12' wooden boat made by my grandfather. That's 68 and 3/4 years.:cool:
 
Kind of hard to compete when the first poster has been boating longer than I've been alive.

But anyway, we used to go canoeing down the Delaware in the summer starting when I was 5 or 6. Then borrowed a Sunfish for a trip to Hilton Head when I was 9 or 10. I got my first boat - an 8' aluminum john boat for our pond - when I was 11. Our first "real" boat came when I was 14 or so - it was a 1978 O'Day 22 sail boat

So depending on your definition of "boating", I've been doing it between 29 and 38 years. My kids, on the other hand, were on the boat 10 days after being born.
 
Well I think the spirit of the thread is based on how long you have been the operator of your own boat.
That being the standard, I bought my first boat, an 83 Sundancer in 1993 and five boats later I've been boating for 25 years which makes me a relative juvenile.
Carpe Diem
 
Boating 47+ years and boat ownership with my name on the title 31+ years... And that 1st boat I just sold last Friday.
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Well, I've always boated. My dad had a car topper that we would fish out of. I can't remember the first time on it, I was too young, there are old family photos of me in my mothers arms aboard it.
The first one I bought and owned was in late '78. I was 23. A used 16 footer, this was the Inaugural picture, new '79 pick-up and just married. Thought I had it all (and I did)
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That boat lasted us a long time. Had two other Larson's, then came the Sea Rays listed in my signature.
The two of us have never not had a boat our married lives. We completed America's Great loop last year on our 400. We are in our 60's now, so we have been at it a little while.
 
I’m 41 and I had my first aluminum boat when I was 20.
One of the reason I joined this site was to be able to bounce things off of the veteran boaters.
My father always told me “Nothing beats real world wisdom”
 
Let's go with 42 years of active (independent) boating, and 35 years of ownership. Started sailing Sunfish on Lake Michigan when I was 10, and haven't been without a boat since then.
 
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I grew up in Seattle and got hooked on boats at 5 (1955) when I saw my first unlimited hydroplane race. Got my first boat at 15 and had one mostly ever since....53 years.
 
It's like a big dick thread lol......I built my first boat when I was 13.....a 7.5' plywood and fiberglass with a 3hp!! I did title it with DMV so that counts haha. After my taste of salt water, i can say im a life'r.

The real question with all the many years of wisdom, do you still learn? After 30 some odd years on the water, the more I learn, the more I realize how much more there is to learn.
 
40+ years boating for me, but that includes fishing tinny’s That don’t count. About 22 years of “real” boating starting with my first cuddy.
 
My husband and I started boating in 2000 on a 12' Porta-bote. We quickly moved to an 18' Bayliner, then a 30' Chaparral that we owned until 2016. We are now in a 2010 450 DA. All three of our kids went boating with us with various degrees of interest. Our son is now 18 and working for a local boat company which I think is pretty cool. So even though he's not that excited about boating with his parents anymore, we seem to have instilled some knowledge and love of the water and boating. He's a very capable dock-hand and a good captain on small vessels. He knows more than most adult boaters regarding navigation rules and best practices on the water.

So, only 18 years for me but I've learned so much in just the past 4 years or so, with a significant spike in knowledge after joining this forum. :)
 
Grew up spending summers at the family lake cabin in the NC mountains. I can't remember a year when I did not have a boat of some sort. I purchased my first "all my own" boat in 2000 with the 290DA. From the biggest most expensive boat (the 290DA) to the smallest cheapest boat (wooden 12' skiff with a Merc 9.8) to the one I really which I could get back (1948 Chris Craft) I just like boats and being on the water. Actually started operating the little skiff alone when I was 8 or 9, also learned to water ski behind that same boat when I was 6 - so that would be 45yrs.

Here is an old picture - I wasn't born yet, but that is my father driving the second boat from bottom - it's the 1948 Chris Craft we had. It was the first boat I ever ran - shifter in the floor and throttle in the middle of the steering wheel.
ChrisCraft_crop.jpg
 
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Born into this, 43 years old and on the water the same , 3rd gen boating and my boys make it the 4th gen .... The stories of me and my cousins being in the playpen on the back of the 38 Richardson is legendary ,then my father bought a 36 Chris craft constellation 1965 that was a great boat there is a picture of me in there i’m the little herb next to my sisters on the bow And I believe the first boat that my family bought was back in the 50s it was a Chris-Craft run about 24 maybe some of you will remember the model well I’m happy to share this with my Sea Ray family you guys are the best I love these kind of posts
 
View attachment 57685 View attachment 57683 View attachment 57684 Born into this, 43 years old and on the water the same , 3rd gen boating and my boys make it the 4th gen .... The stories of me and my cousins being in the playpen on the back of the 38 Richardson is legendary ,then my father bought a 36 Chris craft constellation 1965 that was a great boat there is a picture of me in there i’m the little herb next to my sisters on the bow And I believe the first boat that my family bought was back in the 50s it was a Chris-Craft run about 24 maybe some of you will remember the model well I’m happy to share this with my Sea Ray family you guys are the best I love these kind of posts
great pics....
 

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