Kaoru
Member
- Jul 20, 2009
- 122
- Boat Info
- 2009 270 Sundancer w/ Zodiac 240 Air Cadet
C70 Ray240 RD218 STV33 DSM30 SPX10/ST70 CLB1000 iMux W35
- Engines
- 350 Mag Mercruiser w/Bravo III, Side-Power SE40 bow thruster, Kohler 5ECD, 4HP Mercury
I've been reading CSR for awhile now, ever since I began researching Sea Ray boats which began just after Father's Day this summer. I've decided to share how I became a proud owner of a brand new 2009 Sea Ray 270 Sundancer with all the bells and whistles. Believe me when I say that I'm still trying to figure out how it happened.
To start the story, a little background first. I grew up in the land that God gave to Cain, namely Northern Labrador. Though winters are in the -40's (doesn't matter if its Celsius or Fahrenheit; it's the same at that temperature :grin, I've always enjoyed boating/fishing in the summer since there's more lake than land. Even though boating consists entirely of sport boats/runabouts and the odd pontoon boat, I've always dreamed of having my own boat. Of course, my expectations in terms of a boat was no more than that.
Fast forward to just before Father's day. I'm now living in Ottawa (Canada's capital) married to the most wonderful wife who has given me two beautiful daughters. My dream of owning a boat, unfortunately, was always pushed aside for other priorities. Then a strange fortunate string of events took place.
It started with my younger brother and his family coming from Labrador to Ottawa for summer vacation. Prior to their arrival I suggested to my wife that we do something different. That suggestion was to rent a pontoon boat and spend the day on the Ottawa River. Of course, it wasn't taken seriously since my wife tends to be nervous around pretty much any mode of transportation. The suggestion, however, was revisited without my knowledge with my wife's classmates, as she was taking a course on how to deal with stress. It was suggested to her that boating is an excellent way to learn how to deal with stress (of boating/flying, etc.). As the eminent arrival of my brother approached, as well as Father's day, I mentioned the boating idea again.
This time my wife jumped at the idea, which of course left me bewildered but happy. Since we were already in the car driving around, we passed by some marinas to see how much it would cost to rent a pontoon boat. The $500+ per day sticker shock made me utter the words "at that price I'm better off buying a boat". Imagine my shock when my wife said "why don't we look?" I was beside myself. Once that passed I realized that I should seize this opportunity because it may not come again. I quickly said that we should see what wares the local boat dealers have.
At that point, we were looking for a pontoon boat. The first dealer/marina we went to sold pontoon boats and had a beautiful marina with a park, the works. My wife's exact words were "I can see myself relaxing in a place like this". I thought that I had it made, it was a done deal, boat here I come. Nope. "We'll only get a boat if we can get a slip" issued my wife. The marina was full. Crap. "Why can't we just trailer the boat?" I asked, trying to save things. Nope. "I don't want anything in the garage" was the reply. As I was processing this, the salesman chimed in that a pontoon boat wasn't really practical for trailering. Crap. We left with a cloud hanging over my head.
On the drive back to the house, we passed another marina/dealer namely Hurst Marina in Manotick. I knew of it before but I dismissed it out of hand since they sold high-end cruisers/yachts, and as I found out is Ottawa's only Sea Ray dealer. Of course, I assumed my wife would insist that it's beyond our price range. To my surprise, "Hey! That marina looks nice" my wife chimes in.
We enter the large indoor sales center, my eyes wide like a kid in a candy store. After a brief conversation with the sales staff, I find out that they don't sell pontoon boats. But that fact seemed to evaporate as my wife was staring at the shiny new Sea Ray's. Add to that the statement by the sales staff that if we buy a boat, they will provide a slip in the marina. Before you know it me and my wife were proud owners of a "2009 Sea Ray 175 Sport"... (that was identical to the below)
The story continues in the next post.
Cheers,
Kaoru
To start the story, a little background first. I grew up in the land that God gave to Cain, namely Northern Labrador. Though winters are in the -40's (doesn't matter if its Celsius or Fahrenheit; it's the same at that temperature :grin, I've always enjoyed boating/fishing in the summer since there's more lake than land. Even though boating consists entirely of sport boats/runabouts and the odd pontoon boat, I've always dreamed of having my own boat. Of course, my expectations in terms of a boat was no more than that.
Fast forward to just before Father's day. I'm now living in Ottawa (Canada's capital) married to the most wonderful wife who has given me two beautiful daughters. My dream of owning a boat, unfortunately, was always pushed aside for other priorities. Then a strange fortunate string of events took place.
It started with my younger brother and his family coming from Labrador to Ottawa for summer vacation. Prior to their arrival I suggested to my wife that we do something different. That suggestion was to rent a pontoon boat and spend the day on the Ottawa River. Of course, it wasn't taken seriously since my wife tends to be nervous around pretty much any mode of transportation. The suggestion, however, was revisited without my knowledge with my wife's classmates, as she was taking a course on how to deal with stress. It was suggested to her that boating is an excellent way to learn how to deal with stress (of boating/flying, etc.). As the eminent arrival of my brother approached, as well as Father's day, I mentioned the boating idea again.
This time my wife jumped at the idea, which of course left me bewildered but happy. Since we were already in the car driving around, we passed by some marinas to see how much it would cost to rent a pontoon boat. The $500+ per day sticker shock made me utter the words "at that price I'm better off buying a boat". Imagine my shock when my wife said "why don't we look?" I was beside myself. Once that passed I realized that I should seize this opportunity because it may not come again. I quickly said that we should see what wares the local boat dealers have.
At that point, we were looking for a pontoon boat. The first dealer/marina we went to sold pontoon boats and had a beautiful marina with a park, the works. My wife's exact words were "I can see myself relaxing in a place like this". I thought that I had it made, it was a done deal, boat here I come. Nope. "We'll only get a boat if we can get a slip" issued my wife. The marina was full. Crap. "Why can't we just trailer the boat?" I asked, trying to save things. Nope. "I don't want anything in the garage" was the reply. As I was processing this, the salesman chimed in that a pontoon boat wasn't really practical for trailering. Crap. We left with a cloud hanging over my head.
On the drive back to the house, we passed another marina/dealer namely Hurst Marina in Manotick. I knew of it before but I dismissed it out of hand since they sold high-end cruisers/yachts, and as I found out is Ottawa's only Sea Ray dealer. Of course, I assumed my wife would insist that it's beyond our price range. To my surprise, "Hey! That marina looks nice" my wife chimes in.
We enter the large indoor sales center, my eyes wide like a kid in a candy store. After a brief conversation with the sales staff, I find out that they don't sell pontoon boats. But that fact seemed to evaporate as my wife was staring at the shiny new Sea Ray's. Add to that the statement by the sales staff that if we buy a boat, they will provide a slip in the marina. Before you know it me and my wife were proud owners of a "2009 Sea Ray 175 Sport"... (that was identical to the below)
The story continues in the next post.
Cheers,
Kaoru
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