Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 24, 1991 TAG: 9102250382
SECTION: BOAT SHOW PAGE: 4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN / OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Joseph and Catherine Sharp liked their new pontoon boat so well they had an artist draw a picture of it so they could put it on their Christmas cards.
Shopping for his first boat, Gary Doss was out to buy a used craft but saw a new one he couldn't resist.
Billy Dunbar says he is picky when it comes to cars, boats or anything mechanical, so when he purchased his fifth boat the brand name wasn't as important as design and price.
All of the above boaters purchased their craft within the past year or so, some at the 1990 Southwest Virginia Boat Show. We asked them to reflect on their year of ownership.
For Humphrey, a Salem insurance man, it was a first purchase. He had cruised the boat show in Roanoke a couple times, but "I went to the boat show in Annapolis and just really got the bug."
Humphrey purchased an 18.5-foot Hunter from American Marine & Sail Supply on Smith Mountain Lake.
"I jumped in and did it last year, because it looked like there were some good values out there; some good deals.
"In my mine, it was sail all the way. I had no desire at all for power. I wanted something I had to work at a little bit; to be a challenge."
He went to Florida and spent a week learning the ropes of sailing at the Annapolis school. It proved to be an excellent vacation.
"There were about 20 of us on four boats, and we just had a real good time. For about $500 you can go down for a week and it is a classy hotel and everything."
Humphrey had his boat trailered to North Myrtle Beach where he cruised the Intracoastal Waterway. Then he figured he'd get more use out of it and have more fun closer home, so he had it returned to Smith Mountain. The mild winter weather has given him many occasions to sail.
"It is large enough that it feels like a big boat, but not too large or too expensive for upkeep," he said. "I didn't overbuy. I tried to buy something that I felt like if I needed to sell I could sell it. A lot of people could afford this boat."
Right now, Humphrey said, it isn't for sale.
The 20-foot Suncruiser pontoon boat purchased by the Sharps is ideal for a couple living on Smith Mountain Lake, they believe. Last March they bought the boat, their first, from Dockside Marine after moving from Long Island, N.Y., to Smith Mountain.
"We are absolutely delighted with it," said Catherine Sharp.
People who live on a lake can expect lots of visitors, and a pontoon boat provides the space and comfort to give them a tour, she said. There's even a table and chairs for taking along a lunch.
The craft is powered by a Johnson outboard.
"We still get Yankee Magazine," she said. "In the back was an ad by an artist up in Connecticut who made note paper, cards, whatever you want, from photographs. My husband sent her a photograph of us on our pontoon boat. So she did the drawing, and we got both note paper and Christmas cards."
The pontoon, as a result, has been showing up in a lot of places beyond Smith Mountain.
Most people buy a fish-and-ski type boat because they are more interested in fishing than skiing, but that wasn't the case for Gary Doss of Dublin.
"I really don't like to fish that much; my wife does. But I like the fishing-boat style, because it has decks and you can lay out in the sun. It is just more practical, because you have the deck space and you have more storage space."
Then, too, the fishing-boat hull will get up and go, he said.
"It is a real good ski boat," Doss said. "You know how it is with kin people. Whenever they get to go, everybody wants to ski."
Doss had never owned a boat and figured his best bet was to start with a used one.
"I had looked around at some used boats, and then I saw this particular boat. I thought, `If I am going to buy a boat, that is what I want.' "
The craft that won him over was a 17 1/2-foot Ski'N'Fish by Nitro powered with a 150 Johnson outboard. He purchased it from Harkrader Marine in Christiansburg.
Doss has used the boat on Claytor Lake, but he recently bought a pickup truck, which gives him the option of trailering it elsewhere. So he'll be headed for Smith Mountain some this season.
Billy Dunbar, who lives in Roanoke, bought a 178 Pro Sport Cajun, a bass boat rigged for tournament fishing. But competition wasn't a part of his decision.
"I don't believe in tournament fishing," he said. "I fish for relaxation."
Dunbar's definition of relaxation may differ from others.
"I fish hard, but I don't fish under pressure."
So he wants a hard-charging boat under him, one rigged for serious fishing, and that's why he bought the Cajun, even through it isn't as well know as some bass boat brands.
"The boat has surpassed my expectations. It rides terrific. It already is running about 10 miles per hour faster than they said it would run. It has good gas mileage. It has plenty of storage. It is easy to handle."
Dunbar likes the idea of buying a boat from a shoreline dealer. He purchased his from Bay Roc Marina and Yacht Club on Smith Mountain Lake.
"If I have any problems I don't have to bring it back to town to try to explain it to anybody. I can pull it up there and say, `Get in here, I'm going to show you what is wrong.' I am very picky."
When Dunbar purchased the boat at last year's show, his wife played a major role on what was taken home. She likes a dual console, and that's what they bought. She picked the color, too.
"My wife likes to water ski, so we do that."
While Dunbar and his buddies delight in heading to Kerr Lake for serious bass fishing, the Cajun also works well for family outings at Moomaw Lake and for father-daughter fishing trips to Carvins Cove, he said.
by CNB