www.iFourWinns.com

Just curious how many members here trailerboat with their Vista of any size instead of slipping? How far do you usually travel to get to your favorite/ usual destinations? What made you decide to trailer instead of wet slip?

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Our Boating Blog: http://ben-dana.blogspot.com/

2005 268 Vista "Sea Pickle II"
1979 AMF Alcort Puffer
Previous:
2003 FW190 Horizon
1973 Startcraft 18ft "Sea Pickle"

Hey Ben, when I wanted to buy our 268, we would of trailered a mile to launch from the campground. My wife didn't want to deal with putting it on th trailer, so for her, she made me get a slip. $6000 for a hoist, and $3800/year for the slip fee gives her peace of mind. Been a great year, so I wouldn't change it

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Current:
2000 Sea Ray 380 Sundancer "still Livin the Dream"

Past
2002 268 Vista 5.7 GXI "Livin' the Dream"
1996 Rinker 192 Captiva. "The Simple Life"
1999 Yamaha XLL 1200 Waverunner.
1976 Mercury Marquis tri hull 120 hp

I trailer my 05 288 vista about 20 miles to millerton lake and several times a year to the California delta about 150 miles I like having the boat stored at home so I can do maint. ect plus it saves alot of money. I may put her in a slip in the delta in a couple of years when I retire and have more time
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipN ... slDDkukzUS
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipN ... yWswBJFarL
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipM ... Qv7wdcvGXP

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2005 vista 288

We trailer our 268 every weekend for 5+ months in the summer in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. We normally launch 20 miles from home on Friday late afternoon, cruise the St. Croix and/or Mississippi rivers, and load up on Sunday afternoon. We have also taken a week and towed 4+ hours up north to the Apostle Island area of Lake Superior, or cruised down the Mississippi a couple hundred miles or so into Iowa.

We like having the boat at home to clean and work on it. I also like the idea of cheaper fuel in town. We do spend money on a tow vehicle & gas, and boat gas for cruising somewhere for the weekend. We see a lot of marina boats that almost never leave the slip, and that is fine. We just prefer to go cruise and do some sight seeing. This year has usually meant staying in a marina somewhere for the weekend. The puppy dog seems to want "shore leave" now and then.

My wife is very comfortable driving the boat, including on and off the trailer. One recommendation I have for any boating family is to get all family members involved. Being actively involved makes it more fun and interesting. One thing that helps us is to use bluetooth cell phone headsets for a hands-free communication link while putting the boat on the trailer. Its easy to talk in a quiet calm tone, and smirk with each other when we see something "entertaining" at the boat ramp.

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Surface Interval: A scuba diving term for that time between dives to relax and prepare for life's next great adventure.

Current boat: '02 FW 268 Vista
Previous boat: '95 FW 190 Horizon

Never...Never... You know me and we went to the lake last weekend in a pouring rain and spent the weekend in the marina under cover. Saturday had every kind of weather you could imagine from sun and heat with a 37 knot wind to rainy and cool again all to clear off to a moonlit night. Still was able to have a great time in the slip and was out early Sunday.

You're in a different situation though and I can see why you would consider that. That and you don't mind launching in the rain which brings back memories Petoskey and a night in the slip with great pizza delivered. Boy was that fun and it's still on my list of things to do again! Now I just have to get the admiral to leave the new granddaughter to make the trip. Got a feeling I'll be making a lot of trips to Florida in the future though.

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2008 Vista 278 Volvo Penta 8.1 Gi 375 hp
1999 Horizon 220 5.7 GSi

Thanks for the replies! Years ago I would have never considered trailering only but things have lined up in our personal lives that now make it a very appealing option for us. We moved earlier this year and our new house has a nice spot to park the boat which was something that wasn't an option previously. One downside to the move is we now live 10 minutes away from the marina and it no longer feels like much of a getaway, in fact we only stayed 2 nights at the marina the entire season compared to 50+ times in previous years. We are finding that we really just want to travel with the boat and see new places and with so many great boating destinations nearby it just makes sense to us to use the slip fees for gas money and hit the road.

Those are some great memories and I hope we have a chance to experience some more travels someday...if you can't make it up here we will just come hassle you on Lake Shelbyville

I was just watching this last weekend and thinking about our pizza and Words Against Humanity night in Petoskey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wak6KnmZsUE

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Our Boating Blog: http://ben-dana.blogspot.com/

2005 268 Vista "Sea Pickle II"
1979 AMF Alcort Puffer
Previous:
2003 FW190 Horizon
1973 Startcraft 18ft "Sea Pickle"

We have always been trailer boaters. There is definitely the social aspect of marina life that we do not see as much of. Trailering offers some advantages and some disadvantages. You start out with a cheaper tank of gas, but you have to tow the boat to the launch ramp and be able to park over night. You will want to work with the Admiral on launching and loading if she is not already a master or you have not already done so. We got in the habit of using bluetooth headsets as an "intercom" for loading the boat. It helps a lot if voices don't have to be raised. The launch fee and parking may cost. You can load or work on the boat during the week while it is at home, but you have the hook-up, towing, and launch time of a half hour to maybe a couple hours before the boat is headed out of the marina. On the other hand, if Lake Michigan is rough you can always go to another lake or river that is calmer, or to see friends at another location. There are a lot of factors to consider, but in the end it is what works for you. Hope the ramblings of an older boater help.

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Surface Interval: A scuba diving term for that time between dives to relax and prepare for life's next great adventure.

Current boat: '02 FW 268 Vista
Previous boat: '95 FW 190 Horizon

I bought my boat with the intention of taking it to some inland lakes here in MI. About halfway through the second season I realized that the slip was a better plan for us. I didn't like the time wasted putting in and out on my already short weekends and my wife is not good driving the boat or the truck with the trailer attached.
I really like having it in the water ready to go. Especially plugged in to shore power with beer in the fridge. It is nice on days when the wind kicks up too. We can still hang out on the boat in the slip. If it was on the trailer we wouldn't even bother putting it in.

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2004 248 Vista "Amante"
MC 5.0MPI/B3

Surface Interval-You hit on a key point that really helped our decision which is weather/lake conditions. For that last few years it has seemed like our end of the lake is sloppy most weekends and beautiful Monday-Thursday. With trailer boating we can be on an inland lake in just a few hours and not be concerned about which way the wind is blowing. I read in another post you covered something like 1800 miles last season , that is amazing and I would love to hear more about some of those trips! Do you anchor out most nights?

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Our Boating Blog: http://ben-dana.blogspot.com/

2005 268 Vista "Sea Pickle II"
1979 AMF Alcort Puffer
Previous:
2003 FW190 Horizon
1973 Startcraft 18ft "Sea Pickle"

I remember looking at our boat in the showroom and saying "no way in hell I would ever tow something like that", and now that is all I want to do...sounds like we had exact opposite paths You're lucky that you have access to Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix so you have options if the big lake kicks up, if I was in that position especially in beautiful Charlevoix I would probably feel the same as you. We used to hang out on the boat in any weather prior to having a toddler but now it's all about keeping him busy which can get tough on a 26 foot boat.

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Our Boating Blog: http://ben-dana.blogspot.com/

2005 268 Vista "Sea Pickle II"
1979 AMF Alcort Puffer
Previous:
2003 FW190 Horizon
1973 Startcraft 18ft "Sea Pickle"

Does anyone have or use a mobile pump out unit at home?

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Our Boating Blog: http://ben-dana.blogspot.com/

2005 268 Vista "Sea Pickle II"
1979 AMF Alcort Puffer
Previous:
2003 FW190 Horizon
1973 Startcraft 18ft "Sea Pickle"

Saw this set up on another site. See pictures on post #17. Not sure an adaptation would work for you.

https://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-fo ... -home.html

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Surface Interval: A scuba diving term for that time between dives to relax and prepare for life's next great adventure.

Current boat: '02 FW 268 Vista
Previous boat: '95 FW 190 Horizon

For our weekend trips we normally tow 20 miles to Hastings, MN, on the Mississippi just 2 miles upstream from the St. Croix River. We either cruise up the St. Croix to Hudson or Stillwater, or cruise down the Mississippi to Red Wing, Lake City in Lake Pepin, or ??? A burger at Slippery's (Grumpy Old Men movies) in Wabasha is a favorite stop. Our son joined us for a week in Bayfield, WI, in August to cruise the Apostle Islands. We toured light houses on Raspberry and Michigan Islands as we cruised around most of the islands. The Apostle Island Marina had a slip for us and we were able to park the truck about 5 feet from the back of the boat. We took the dinghy near some caves on Sand Island and into some of the caves on Devil's Island. In the past years since 2012 we did anchor or beach more often. This summer we wound up in marinas here and there most nights. The Admiral was on call and needing a good cell and internet connection too often, and the puppy dog seemed to need "shore leave" now and then.

The Minneapolis/St. Paul area has many boat-able lakes and rivers. From our launch point in Hastings we can travel 25 miles or more up the St. Croix River, approx 40 miles up thru St. Paul and almost to Minneapolis, or downstream on the Mississippi. We took a week in 2015 and went 200 miles down the Mississippi to Guttenberg. Iowa, and Lansing, Iowa, in 2016. We usually travel 40 to 200 miles in the boat on a weekend. The rivers may not be as scenic as the North Channel or the Apostle Islands, but the rivers are unique and interesting in there own way.

Ben, I really enjoy your boatinglakemichigan.com site.

_________________
Surface Interval: A scuba diving term for that time between dives to relax and prepare for life's next great adventure.

Current boat: '02 FW 268 Vista
Previous boat: '95 FW 190 Horizon

Somewhere I have a picture of a baby swing rigged up to the arch on a boat in Charlevoix. That kid was having a blast. Good Idea for you now. I'll have to look for it when I get home.

You are one of the few that understands why I drive 6 hours round trip every weekend. NW MI is a boaters paradise.
We just bought a trailer for the pontoon we picked up last summer. It will be our inland lake/day trip boat starting next summer. Much easier to tow than the Vista. We are already talking about a Torch lake and inland waterway trips.

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2004 248 Vista "Amante"
MC 5.0MPI/B3

Not a Vista owner but my cuddy is about as big as a small cruiser. We trailer boat but so far only to our local lake, my tow vehicle is a single cab truck which doesn't work for a family of 4 + dog.
Also, our boat/second home is about 2.5 hours from home. We had a slip for the first 4 years of boat ownership but it was an expensive place to park the boat for 2-3 weekends a month and one full week in the summer. Plus bottom wash after each season. We now store in a parking spot at a local u-store it place and rent a slip for the weekends we use the boat. Launch/retrieval can take time when its busy. Its only a mile or so from storage to boat ramp.

I miss being able to get to the marina and be ready to go in 10 minutes but the tradeoff in cost is worth it. Plus as kids get older it can get harder to get away as much.
I'd like to get a tow vehicle with more seating to be able to explore other lakes but having a second home makes it hard to justify spending time anywhere else. All sorts of trade-offs to consider.

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Terry
Current: 07 Crownline 255 CCR cuddy - 350 Mag MPI/B3 "Casi Cielo"

Previous:97 245 Sundowner 5.7GI/SX

Tow vehicle: 1986 GMC 2500 Camper Special 454/TH400