It’s Saturday morning and we’re towing our brand new - actually used - 2003 Sea Ray boat to the cabin. As we lurch along highway 99 Bill asks me, “So do you love the boat?”

“It’s nice,” I reply.

“What do you think?” I ask him back.

“Ummm, it’s OK,” he says.

And there you have it. We have just bought a new boat and we’re not excited. What’s worse - we both know it. Suddenly, a chrome blue Mastercraft wakeboard boat pulls along beside us. Its hulking frame dwarfs our little 17 foot Bowrider. “Now there’s a boat!” we both exclaim. It’s clear we’ve bought practical when what we’re both craving is something fun and totally irresponsible.

Seeing the Mastercraft sail on down the highway is like watching the cool, cute looking guy walk on by. Even at 42 I still want to be cool and apparently so does my husband. When it comes to boats - looks matter.

Don’t get me wrong our Sea Ray is a beautiful boat - a very distinguished, well coiffed lady. Our neighbour describes her as sleek, with beautiful lines. I gotta agree, she’s absolutely right. But I’m still feeling a little disappointed, that is until I take her for her first test drive and that’s when it starts to happen.

Initially, I like the way she handles. I’ve never driven a boat with power steering. Then, as I gently eased the throttle down, there’s no hesitation. We’re practically gliding across the water - her weight holds us steady and minimizes the bumps from the other boats’ wakes.

By Sunday at about 5 p.m. I’ve fallen in love - the Mastercraft’s long forgotten. Our new boat’s like a cougar -she’s been around the block and has got a few miles on her, but like any mature woman it only adds to her character.

This is the start of a beautiful relationship.

Cheers,

Julie

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 at 12:30 pm and is filed under Boating. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.