Exploring Boating as a Family

I remember learning how to water ski when I was 7 years old. I had snoopy skis that were tied together so I wouldn’t end up in the splits. I started off standing in about a foot of water and taking off from the shore line. Over the summers I continued to improve and by high school I was able to ski slalom. We had family friends with an awesome lake house and we spent every Labor Day of high school on the lake inner tubing and skiing.

The Mister and I have talked about investing in a boat for some time. He has always been a boat lover. I remember a story his dad tells about tiring him to the mast of a sail boat when he was just shy of grade school. What I would give to see a picture of that. As he got older he continued to spend time on the water;skiing, canoeing, kayaking and rafting. For a summer during college he guided in Big Bend National Park for a rafting outfitter. 

When we started dating we spent many weekends canoeing various canyons in Big Bend National Park. In just a few weeks he will be rafting the Grand Canyon with my father in law. It seems natural that we would want our children to grow up loving boating and the water. 

Back to buying a boat, so we can’t decide what kind of boat fits our family needs currently and we can’t decide what fits our budget right now either. I’ve been doing some research on DiscoverBoating.com to see if we can figure it all out. What I love about this site is that it tells me all about various boats, has a calculator to help me break down the cost of owning a boat and bonus, allows me to search for local boat rental companies. 

Since we are in the beginning stages of this decision we thought it would be fun to take JDub out on a boat for the first time and see what he thinks. I used the search feature on the site and located a reputable rental company in our area. Reservations were made and we had an amazing day of family fun out on the lake.