Well, looks like it's finally going to happen!

[haknslash]

As you guys saw in my other thread, I visited the dealership yesterday to do some demo rides. I got the call back from the dealer this morning and got approved for a boat! Yamaha was only going to approve me for 35k with the current offers they have at $0 down, 4.99 rate and 4 years of YES and if I wanted more boat I'd have to come up with a down payment, which I would prefer to avoid since we're currently spending money on home repairs and upgrades. I really wanted to get the 212X but after talking with the wife I think we are scaling back to the AR192.

For starters it has taken me years to get my wife to come around to purchasing and owning a boat. We are also in the middle of trying to fix up our house to put it on the market next spring so we can move into a larger home for our family. Those factors are playing into what we can comfortably afford on let's face it, a water toy luxury item purchase. I also can't store a boat outside of my garage as we live in a garden home community with a strict HOA, so any boat we buy must be able to fit in my 7' garage. The practical side of me agrees with the wife and get the boat that doesn't put us in a financial bind and one can fit in the garage versus buying the larger boat now and have to deal with storage somewhere not safe in my home or store it outside in the weather at my parents home which is about 10 mins way. Not having a boat at home kills some of the fun of garage boating where you can tinker and install things or just admire your boat.

So my plan is to buy the 192, enjoy life without it impacting our annual splurge spending much at all plus be able to do garage boating any time I want. Once we get into a bigger house I'm going to make sure it's on that can have room for a larger boat. Maybe in 5 years or so we can be in a better position to upgrade to a larger boat and this will give the wife and family a taste to stick their toe in the boating lifestyle. I'm pretty pumped and excited! Dealer is currently looking for me a 2o16 white/blue 192 that he thinks he can have ready by Monday or Tuesday. They have a 2015 he wanted to sell me but I like the newer forward sweet tower and articulating rubber on the 2016's.

It will look like this one...

 

[ruztew]

I keep my 190 in the garage... my two at garage is actually a little short to fit the boat straight in and I have to caddy corner it... just something to keep in mind

 

[haknslash]

Yea I'll have to put mine in at an angle as well. It's a 2 car garage with a little more to spare but my header is like 84" so it should clear I believe. Hopefully without having to deflate tires or caster modding it in. What is your header height?

 

[ToddW850]

Awesome! Congrats!

 

[Mainah]

That is a nice looking boat! The following advice is unsolicted but with the best of intent.

Don't forget to deduct insurance, maintenance, boat care products, gas, accessories, and mods from the leisure/entertainment budget as well. Those things do add up. Try to be disciplined when reading this site as it has a way of making you want to spend more money. Lots more money but also invaluable in what you can learn.

If new to boating make sure to read up on local laws and take some time on slow lake/ramp traffic days to get accustomed to launching, retrieving, docking, and handling.

Don't forget to stock with beer and show it off in the driveway. Nothing wrong with showing off the fruits of your labor once and a while.

Most of all be safe and have fun. Congrats!

 

[itsdgm]

Congrats. Hopefully they can find a boat ASAP and get you on the water soon.

 

[haknslash]

Congrats. Hopefully they can find a boat ASAP and get you on the water soon.

I hope so too! I plan to take it out Friday as those are my off day and I live about 45 minutes from the lake I grew up on. We also go down to Panama City Beach at the end of the month for a week vacation. Looks like I won't be having to rent that slow pontoon boat at the gulf after all!

 

[Mainah]

Since your wife obviuosly wants to make you happy return the favor by having her help you name it if not already picked out. When on your vacation your may want to find a spot to float or weigh anchor around sunset with some wine and tunes without telling her what the plan is and see where it goes from there. You just may scare off some wildlife.

 

[2nazt]

Congrats! Just make sure it is the boat you want so you don't take a huge hit trying to upgrade in a year. Also a large purchase may hurt trying to upgrade houses as well next year. I do not known your financial situation but may want to consider that. I know the excitement can cloud thinking at times. But if you can make it work and know you will get a few years or more before upgrading than congrats once again! Just wanted to make sure you and your spouse have thought through and not rushed in your final choice. Hope I haven't offended and can't wait to see photos of the new boat.

 

[haknslash]

I don't see myself being able to get out from it within a year, so at minimal we'd be keeping it for a couple of years, do a few mods to it and then upgrade later when it's time. Financially I could get the bigger boat but it requires me dipping into money we are saving for a down payment on our next home and I don't want to do that. With the 192 I'm able to get into boating without it really affecting much since I'm paying off a loan that is more than what I would be paying for the boat. This is a way for our family to dip our toes into boating and if we like it as much as I hope we will then we'll grow into a larger one down the line. I know everyone says buy your second boat first and trust me, I would if it meant momma would be happy too AND I could store it at my house, but right now that's just not feasible with other projects going on. So I'm willing to sacrifice boat size to keep momma happy and store in my current home. Not offended at all man. We've been talking about boats for a few years now so it's not a rushed decision really, it's just that I don't want to have a boat with some massive payment looming over my head and stretching the payment out allows for flexibility and to pay it off earlier if we can double down from time to time on payments.

 

[2nazt]

Glad to see a lot of thought you have put in already. Can't wait to see the photos! Happy momma happy house!

 

[haknslash]

Just got off the phone with the resort we're staying at in Panama City Beach at the end of the month and they gladly allow for free on-site boat parking! Woohoo

Also just called the dealer and they located my boat for me. It's in Mississippi at another dealer so he is going to let me know when they set up arrangements to go get the boat. I told him to ensure the boat is a non-CARB model as I do not want a ultra low emissions version for obvious reasons heh.

 

[ruztew]

I live in PCB, let me know if you have any boating questions about here... free boat ramps and whatnot

 

[haknslash]

I live in PCB, let me know if you have any boating questions about here... free boat ramps and whatnot

We will be staying at The Princess condominium https://www.google.com/maps/place/Princess+Condo+Rentals+Inc./@30.1615974,-85.7716014,3955m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x30b083482f0fc88b!8m2!3d30.1511379!4d-85.7678429.

I did some google searching for nearby boat ramps. It looks like there are 4 ramps very close to the condo https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1y5xen2dJG3TAW0VfUZwYqG6yECg&hl=en.

Would you recommend any of those? Obviously the less crowded the better

 

[ruztew]

I use Quail and then if there's nowhere to park I'll go down to Safari... people park along the vacant lots around there so there's always parking. Quail's ramp is a better ramp for my sx190, the safari ramp gets too deep to quick and makes it more difficult to get the boat on the trailer straight. There is a long no-wake zone area you'll have to go through using these ramps and there is a pontoon and Waverunner rental places along there so there is a lot of traffic to be careful of. Your can avoid it by paying to use the ramps at St Andrews state park, but it's a very busy ramp. If you have military base access, NSA Panama City has a nice ramp.

 

[haknslash]

Yea I'm aware of that long no wake zone as we usually rent a pontoon each year from a rental company just past the bridge near Captn. Andersons. Thanks for the heads up on the ramp info @ruztew. What about that one that is off Dolphin Road? I'll probably try the one at Quail and see how it looks.

How does your boat do leaving the jetties and out in the gulf? You guys had any of that green algae bloom some areas of Florida are experiencing or worse, that fecal bacteria crap?

 

[ruztew]

dolphin is one of the nicer looking ramps, I've just never used it because it looks busy.

 

[haknslash]

dolphin is one of the nicer looking ramps, I've just never used it because it looks busy.

Yea it looked nice from the aerial imagery. I edited my post above probably before you saw it but what about the other questions?

We usually do the shell island thing as we've always been limited on time to explore With the rental pontoon but any good areas in the bay to check out on the boat me relax that you recommend?

 

[ruztew]

PCB has crystal clear water with no algea or water quality issues. We've gone through the pass and into the Gulf, but you have to be careful of the wind direction and how rough it is, 19ft jet boats bounce around more than other similarly sized boats. Last fall we were in the Gulf weekly , but the water is much more agreeable in the fall. Hanging out at shell island in the bay side is our normal summer weekend.

 

[ruztew]

As a new boater you should consider taking the state boaters safety course for you home state

https://www.boatus.org/courses/?_ga=1.5568499.1590657643.1448292797

Your insurance might also give you a discount for completing it