Rate your 2023 boating season

[WiskyDan]

I did one of these last year in the Wisconsin/Minnesota regional thread and figured I would do one for the wider community - especially for those of us where the boating season is coming to an end.

If I was grading my season on an A,B,C,D,F scale I would give it an A, maybe an A+. I’ve only owned a boat for 5 seasons and last year was by far the worst of the bunch - I rated it a C-

This year started out normal with a chilly early May but it warmed up nicely at the end of the month and the water on the Winnebago chain was actually swimmable (for me) before June 1st. June, July, and August were great - mostly above 80 and hardly any rainy weekend days. We’ve even had a really nice September - we plan on going out on Saturday for our last voyage of the year and it will be in the middle 70’s. All three of the summer extended holiday weekends (Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day) had great weather and I can’t think of one negative from the whole season.

The only thing that would make boating better around here would be to get together with more Yamaha (or other) boaters. We always enjoy our time with @drewkaree and the occasional @Brad460 meetups so we are grateful for those.

For next season, we plan on getting up to Fremont more often - it’s an absolute blast. We may also trailer the boat down to Oconomowoc, Lake Geneva, or Pewaukee once or twice but I’m not a big fan of trailering the boat very far.

Since I got my new-to-me boat about a month ago, I’ve installed Cobra Jet fins, Lateral Thrusters, engine bay and engine step-over Marine Mat, and my new audio system is going in this week. Next season upgrades will be a two piece snap on bow/stern cover and maybe trim tabs. I want to do a little more research on the Nauticus Smart Tabs since they are so reasonably priced and they have an optional bracket that will allow you to retract them completely. I had LectroTabs on my previous boat and they were great but I didn‘t use them as much as I thought I would.

So, what say you?

 

[Babin Farms]

I would give my season so far an A. We have explored the waters around the area and have plenty more to check out. We cruised to Pensacola beach to watch the Blue Angels earlier in the year, plan on doing it again in November and went to Lake Martin for a long weekend. Been in the ICW, Gulf, Fish river, Mobile bay, Weeks bay, Perdido and Pensacola bays. Also been to multiple islands in the area There are so many places to take the boat that it’s going to take us years to see everything but we’re looking foreword to it.

 

[Joatmon]

I would give it a D starting out the year. Below average. In the spring the weather was great but after Ian wiped out Fort Myers it was like boating through a submerged obstacle course. I constantly had to be watching for sunken boats, cars and mobile homes that blew into the water. Major boat ramps are still closed a year later so limited on where to launch. Extreme and unusual hot summer. The temperature and sun were unbearable.

Now for the positive. The weather this fall has been great for boating. The water is clear and very few boats out. No red tide or green algae. Fishing has been good and my local boat ramp has not be crowded. Fall gets an A. Yankees will be coming south soon which is good for the economy.

 

[zpaul]

I would have to say B.
First season on jet boat and I put 40 hours on it so far.
Started Mid April and plan to use it till end of October if weather permits.
Rated B because had to miss several weekends, I wish I didn't miss any!

 

[mpecoraro]

I'll rate our season a B+. Fourth season with our 2021 195S. We typically boat from Memorial day to Labor Day, but try to add a week or two on to the beginning and end. As always, we did not get out as much as we'd like, but I think we were out the most this season. Averaged close to once per week. Most days and evenings on the boat were of high quality. The weather was near perfect for Western NY during the middle of the season. I'd love to get out one more time this season, but between the weather and our schedules, it is not looking good.

We launched at the following locations:
Lake Erie - Sunset Bay State Marine Park and Buffalo Harbor State Park
Chautauqua Lake - Long Point State Park on Lake Chautauqua
Canandaigua Lake - Canandaigua Lake State Marine Park

For the first time, we didn't get to the upper or lower Niagara River. As you probably guessed, I store the boat at home and trailer to those locations.

I have the NYS Empire Pass which allows me to launch at all the parks listed above without paying additional fees. When we aren't boating, it gets me into the NYS parks. If you are a NYS resident, give it a look.

Before the season started, we installed a WS amp and additional speakers. That made for a huge improvement to the audio system. Many thanks to this community!

 

[Scottintexas]

solid D
about 6 hours of tubing and 10 hours total boating time,

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Still in progress…29 boating days so far, I had set a lofty goal of 60 boating days this season, but otherwise an A though..

 

[MrBubbaGump]

I'd give mine a D even though we still have plenty of boating my boat has been nothing but problems all season. It has currently been in the shop since the first week of August. I had a great time out on it even though it was running about 10-12 mph slow but once I started having issues with it starting it became very frustrating to end a day on the water with trying to just get home.

 

[anmut]

For sure an A overall for the weather. Central WI experience warm weather for boating from late May all the way through ... hell, today's it 83F as I type this. If this is climate change, sign me the F up for more.

Put about 50 hours on the motors this year. For watersports (which I mainly do by myself because friends and family are sallies):

1. Wake Boarding: B-, spent a lot of time working on progressive edge. Got close to hitting a wake to wake this year, but couldn't bridge the HUGE dual engine gap. Unfortunately, I didn't learn anything new this year...
2. Wake Surfing: A, with 500lbs of lead in the boat this year I only needed to fill up my rear deck ballast. My 500lb bag and 750lb locker bag were unused this year. Not only that, but was able to get a buddy surfing for his first time behind the boat.
3. Wake Skating: B, I picked this up this year as something new. Lost my first wake skate when it fell of the rack on the road somewhere. Bought a replacement. Skating is super fun if you enjoy wakeboarding and carving. It's a way different feeling not being locked into the board, that's for sure.
4. Hydrofoiling: C, I didn't spend as much time as I wanted to this year on the foil. Mid-west guilt catches up to me quick when people in the boat start looking exhausted from watching me do water sports.

Most importantly: time with family - this year I made an effort to make sure some trips were just our family. As it's just the three of us, there's always a tendency to invite another family or friends - but I noticed this impacts our ability to enjoy being with each other. The trips we did just by ourselves was wonderful.

Boat status of 2023: only a few new small scratches.

 

[anmut]

I did one of these last year in the Wisconsin/Minnesota regional thread and figured I would do one for the wider community - especially for those of us where the boating season is coming to an end.

If I was grading my season on an A,B,C,D,F scale I would give it an A, maybe an A+. I’ve only owned a boat for 5 seasons and last year was by far the worst of the bunch - I rated it a C-

This year started out normal with a chilly early May but it warmed up nicely at the end of the month and the water on the Winnebago chain was actually swimmable (for me) before June 1st. June, July, and August were great - mostly above 80 and hardly any rainy weekend days. We’ve even had a really nice September - we plan on going out on Saturday for our last voyage of the year and it will be in the middle 70’s. All three of the summer extended holiday weekends (Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day) had great weather and I can’t think of one negative from the whole season.

The only thing that would make boating better around here would be to get together with more Yamaha (or other) boaters. We always enjoy our time with @drewkaree and the occasional @Brad460 meetups so we are grateful for those.

For next season, we plan on getting up to Fremont more often - it’s an absolute blast. We may also trailer the boat down to Oconomowoc, Lake Geneva, or Pewaukee once or twice but I’m not a big fan of trailering the boat very far.

Since I got my new-to-me boat about a month ago, I’ve installed Cobra Jet fins, Lateral Thrusters, engine bay and engine step-over Marine Mat, and my new audio system is going in this week. Next season upgrades will be a two piece snap on bow/stern cover and maybe trim tabs. I want to do a little more research on the Nauticus Smart Tabs since they are so reasonably priced and they have an optional bracket that will allow you to retract them completely. I had LectroTabs on my previous boat and they were great but I didn‘t use them as much as I thought I would.

So, what say you?

Skip Lake Geneva if you're going there on a weekend. Ramps are insane (do you like walking a mile after parking the truck?) and the water is just soupy chop. Sandbar is pretty meh too. Oh, and if you dock at the restaurant with the marina in it, they'll go move your boat without your permission or knowledge. Ask me how I almost ended up in jail over that situation...

 

[gthorson]

Best season yet. A- only because there could always be more days on the water. Seems like there is a standard new boat break in period where you have to work out the kinks for a year or two before things really go smooth every time, especially with some of the recent QC and electrical struggles. But all is well now.

 

[Chrisbert]

F - We had 3 months of 105+ temps; no rain, low water levels, and the water temp was nearly 90F. I'll probably delay putting the winter cover on and at least get some fishing time in off the back.

 

[steelhorse454]

A here at the North Carolina Coast. Island hopping mostly with many cool boats, dolphin, etc.
Boat ramp is one street over in my neighborhood and very easy/ assessible all the time, making the unload and load a pleasure. No waiting....

 

[anmut]

F - We had 3 months of 105+ temps; no rain, low water levels, and the water temp was nearly 90F. I'll probably delay putting the winter cover on and at least get some fishing time in off the back.

Besides low water levels, why was the rest of that bad? If Wisconsin weather was like that I would quit my job and go on the lakes and rivers full time.

 

[Babin Farms]

Besides low water levels, why was the rest of that bad? If Wisconsin weather was like that I would quit my job and go on the lakes and rivers full time.

Water in the mid 90’s sounds good but when the air temp is over 100 and you need to cool off by getting in the water, it’s not very refreshing.

 

[Acard7]

Solid C- we didn’t get to do much on our home lakes but we did have some good LOTO trips where we were on the water a lot. Next summer the wife won’t be working every other weekend so it should be a lot better. not to
Mention our baby will then be 2 so she will really start enjoying the water. We didn’t use the boat enough so I’m not gonna change the oil until next spring. I envy @Babin Farms and others who live down south, the boating year round would be phenomenal!

 

[WiskyDan]

Skip Lake Geneva if you're going there on a weekend. Ramps are insane (do you like walking a mile after parking the truck?) and the water is just soupy chop. Sandbar is pretty meh too. Oh, and if you dock at the restaurant with the marina in it, they'll go move your boat without your permission or knowledge. Ask me how I almost ended up in jail over that situation...

Good info - I wouldn't react well to someone moving my boat either.........

 

[WiskyDan]

Water in the mid 90’s sounds good but when the air temp is over 100 and you need to cool off by getting in the water, it’s not very refreshing.

This. I have a colleague that lives in Dallas and said the exact same thing

 

[Bluewater272]

Pretty crap season here. Basically zero good days until June, had an issue with our lift that cost a couple weeks, crap weather all summer, and some other crap that got in the way. I think we got out 5-6 times, which sucks. Hoping for some warm october weekends, and a better season next year. C-.

Our last trip was an oceanside ride down to AC for the boat show, which was a good time - and I just may have found my next boat. At least a new boat would force us out more, lol.

 

[JSchneider]

WhiskyDan, we are just down the road from you in the Sheboygan area. Haven't been on Winnebago in about 25 years, but I do want to get the boat out there maybe next year. If we do, I will let you know. Tomorrow I am dropping it off in Oshkosh to get it ready for winter...unfortunately.

Aside from sucking a turtle up in the right engine over Labor Day weekend I give the season a A-. The weather was great, but it seemed like we had something going on almost every weekend and didn't get out as much as I had hoped.