Hooked From The Start

We all have our unique stories about how we got hooked on boating. The first time aboard a pontoon can be pretty life-changing, especially if you’ve never experienced anything like it before. Here are some stories from real boaters about how they fell in love with boating right from their first ride.

Completely Sold
Bobby Ingol had been on boats a few times throughout her life, but mostly on large ships that transport vehicles. In any case, she had always loved the water and found herself drawn toward it.

“I find my peace and my center when I’m around or on water,” shared Bobby.

Then a few years ago her best friend and her friend’s husband bought a small lake place and invited Bobby to come and hang out. They’d recently purchased a new pontoon and wanted to take it out.

She spent the weekend with them and they took the pontoon out every chance they had. Bobby even got to captain it for a short time. After that, she was completely sold.

“That was it,” laughed Bobby. “Here I am a single woman in my early 50s with zero experience thinking, ‘I WANT A BOAT!’”

She was determined to find one that she could just pay cash for and be happy. It only took her a few weeks to find one that would work with her budget. She picked it up and with a brief lesson from her friend, she was officially off.

Bobby is still learning to navigate the boating lifestyle from the couple who first took her on a pontoon boat, several people at the lake, and some wonderful people in pontoon groups on Facebook, but she couldn’t be happier.

“The only thing I would change is finding out I loved boating earlier!” exclaimed Bobby.

Head Over Heels
Andrea Miller first discovered her love of pontoon boats in 2012 when her family was visiting relatives on the east coast. She had recently battled breast cancer and just finished chemotherapy, so they decided to make it a nice, long vacation so Andrea could relax and recover.

Her sister she was visiting owned both a pontoon and a speed boat. Having grown up with speed boats, Andrea already knew she loved them, but what she didn’t know was she’d fall head over heels for pontoon boats as well.

After that visit, she knew that a pontoon was exactly what she wanted for her family. After a couple of years of research and persuading her husband, they finally got their Landau Atlantis 230 which they built from the ground up.

Every since that visit to family in 2012, Andrea and her family have become pontoon fanatics and they couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out.

Finding Paradise
The first time Julius Magda ever went boating he was around 32 years old. Some friends invited him and his wife Colleen out boating on Folsom Lake, Calif. From the moment they left the dock, Julius knew this was something he wanted for him and his family.

“Boating sets the perfect atmosphere for friends and family,” shared Julius. “From cruising around to hanging out and eating sandwiches on the sandbar, I can’t think of a better way to relax and spend the day with people that I care about.”

Two boats later, Julius still feels the same way. After countless boating trips, he’s still just as much in love with boating as he was the first day he stepped foot on a boat all those years ago.

Love At First Sight
Kenny Huchko fell in love with pontoon boats after seeing them on a reservoir. They just looked so roomy and comfortable to him. Eventually he found his first pontoon boat in Tennessee, a 14-hour drive away. Kenny made the trip and brought back a 2008 fishing barge pontoon which his family loved.

He and his daughter Heather would set up a tent in the front for overnight campouts in Barnegat Bay, N.J., and they’d often see jellyfish glowing at night when they touched the anchor line.

Kenny and his family kept their old pontoon boat for about six years until they found their current Sun Tracker Party Cruiser. When they first bought it, the boat was in pretty bad shape but Kenny rebuilt everything. Now they can camp out with the whole family.

The Sun Tracker is very comfortable and Kenny and his family love having a kitchen, a toilet, and sleeping areas on board. It’s been an amazing ride for Kenny and his family and they couldn’t be happier they discovered the pontoon boat lifestyle.

Too Much Fun
Michael Joseph was thinking of buying a pontoon boat back in 2015, but before he did, he wanted to make sure his kids liked boating so they rented a pontoon on Lake Lure, N.C., before buying their Bennington.

Michael’s daughter Elizabeth Ann was 16 months old at the time and she was having so much fun that she actually fell asleep standing up while holding on to the front rail of the boat.

“It was the craziest and cutest thing I had ever seen,” recalled Michael.

Needless to say, Elizabeth Ann has continued to absolutely love boating, and the whole family always looks forward to taking out their 2018 Bennington 22GCW every weekend in the summer on Lake Lure.