Ok I woke up like this the other day So talk to me about buying a boat. Spare me the discussion on whether I should or shouldn’t though. That’s not the point. Let’s assume I’m gonna do it so now I’m just trying to get smart on how to go about it. Backstory is I’ve never owned my own boat. But was on various boats plenty as a kid. In my late 20s good buddy had a 21 footer open bow we took to Lake Lewisville every weekend for about 3 years. Then he graduated to a 32’ Sundancer he kept at Highport at Texoma. Those were fun weekends. I’m generally familiar with how things work etc. but obviously a lot has changed since then. Month or two ago different buddy of mine invited me and my daughter out to his house at Lake Havasu and we spent the weekend on the lake with him and his daughter. Me and the kiddo really enjoyed it. Now that I am divorced from funzilla it has occurred to me that I can make unilateral decisions on fun stuff to do. Kiddo is 16 and we’ve talked about it and it seems like something we would both enjoy together while we can before she’s gone. So I think I’m going to get a boat. What I think I want is a wet slip, preferably covered. Of course those all have a waiting list at the Phoenix area lakes, along with uncovered wet slips, dry storage at the lakes, covered storage away from the lakes, and dry storage away from the lakes. There is literally no place to put a boat today. But that’s ok I’m on a bunch of waiting lists now and I’ll find something. Budget is in the $30-$50k range. And I want something comfortable and roomy, for my daughter and her friends, GF’s daughters and their friends (no pics, fuckos), and other adults. So not a fucking jet boat or any type of speed boat. Bimini top/partial shade is a must. Hard core wake surfing not anticipated to be a thing, but want to be able to pull tubes, wakeboards, etc. Probably don’t need a cabin cruiser because I’d rather have the room up top and in the open. At that price seems like there are a number of older (some with pretty low hours) open bow, deck boat types in the 25-28’ range that look fun. Kind of thinking something like this: https://www.boats.com/power-boats/2008-chaparral-284-sunesta-8749979/ But you don’t want a salt water boat, correct? Or is that not a thing anymore? This doesn’t have to be the boat of my dreams, just needs to be clean, functional, and reliable. And not look completely dorky if possible. Idea is to try it out for a while. If we like it and use it might trade up or it might end up in Havasu with a lake house. I have a truck that is rated to tow 13,000 pounds so I could drag something around but as stated above would prefer to leave it at the lake. There are three within an hour of my house that would be convenient for now. Ok so now I’m ready for everyone to drop their knowledge on me. What to look for, what to stay away from, what to expect, dumb shit new boat owners do that I should not do, etc etc etc. School me up. I’m all ears. Thanks in advance. Go!