I spent the first 12 years of my life on a boat. Only time not, was at school. Out of school for 3 months, on the boat for 3 months-straight-groceries at the marina, etc. Ate a lot of fish (carp, catfish, whatever).
It's not all it's cracked up to be
from 14-30, I could've cared less about being on/in a boat and can't remember too many times I was if any at all. At 30 I bought a little flat bottom and used it locally. It was small, but fine for the smaller lakes. The bigger lake, was typically a 3-8 mile trip to "the hole(s)" depending on which one(s), and that little boat going 6.5 mph was a LONG (and eventful) ride. Opportunity came, to buy a $700 18' bass boat that needed a good bit of work, so I bought it and fixed it. Used it quite a bit. Discovered a local world-class river full of trout (among other things) and tried to use the bass boat there...no way!! I could go maybe a half mile either direction of the ramp, then the motor was dragging bottom, or rocks, or sometimes the hull itself drafts too deep, gets hung up, etc. Sold it and bought another flat bottom, 25hp, and it does everything I need. It's also small but big enough for two comfortably and just barely big enough to take the bigger lake......in the middle of summer when the wakeboard moron's are out it can get a little unnerving but I try to stay FAR away from them people. I had one guy this past summer, drove right past me at the no-wake zone, he was on the throttle, flipped me the bird and when we get to the dock he told me to get my little piece of trash off of "his" water. I just laughed. I loaded up in under a minute, and waited on him at the entrance to the park. One he was behind me, it was a 10mph ride from there to the highway, about 9 1/4 miles, 2 lanes, nowhere to pass.
