Hey Love, I used to have a 24 foot pontoon boat! Dad and i went in halves(we used to always split boat costs up until the last 2 boats) figuring the rest of the family(my sis and her kids, and my mom) would come out with us and enjoy it. I think they all came out maybe 2 times at the most. After that I always got boats that suited fishing.
Bassman, thats sure a coincidence about your dad learning to swim at 57!
My mom learned at about the same age! Once she learned, she went to the pool every day at the Y for years! Shes 78 now!..So is my dad! Moms still walking and running! As a matter of fact she just did a "Walk for Life" walk this past weekend!( about 5 miles!) Every year she does this and usually outwalks EVERYBODY!!! Up until this year she always collected more pledges and donations than anybody else. This year one of the local churches got up a team of walkers to beat out my moms work...That sucked,...Teaming up against an old lady like that

..........dad still fishes with me most every time I ask him. Mom caught him smokin' a few months ago, but he still takes every opportunity to come over here( and doesnt smoke).
Poka bee,....I used to be content to just be in a boat years ago....Dad never got one until I made the move. I think, other than my rubber rafts and canoe, I was only in a boat once before 1985!
I was THRILLED to just look over the side and behind the boat and watch the water spray out to the sides! It was MAGIC!!! Unfortunately, as the years of boat fishing went by, All I focus on now is to see where the spot is with all the fish hiding below.
Well, there is an exception though( as giggling starts up......

Sometimes, when the wind picks up...heh heh......While under way, the boat will bounce!!!...and bounce and bounce and bounce!!!..and BOUNCE!!!!...It'll be SMASHING into the water!!!....And with the bigger waves, you also have WIND!!!...Wind and waves!!!
And the water BLASTS into the boat!!! I remember one time(And this is The Truth!!!) That water was coming in so fast that there were fish swimming around our feet in 6 inches of water on the floor of the boat!!!!..The bilge pumps were blowing water out but not as fast as it poured in!! It was like our own private monsoon!!!
This makes me laff!!
But another thing that makes me laugh(hysterically) is looking at the people in the boat with me!!!..You see, I have the steering wheel to hold on to......They just kind of sit there...and bounce! up and down, up and down!.. Dad usually doesnt think about holding onto the hand rail( both front seats have a hand rail over the windshields), so he bounces too!!.. Feet and butts are off the floor at times!!..But, What really kills me is when I look behind me and see whoever is in the back seats bouncing around witth lakewater pouring down their bodies!!! Kanna, with her almost black hair, hanging straight down in her face. soaking wet.....Paul, leaning forward to try to hold onto the back of my seat with one hand for dear life, with water pouring down his face, and his right side soaked and sagging and his other hand trying to keep water off his glasses(As if he could see through the water hitting him in the face!)..And then I begin to laugh....I laugh so hard I start to hyperventilate!!!..Then I laugh so hard because i think I'm gonna have a heart attack from laughing!!! Then I start to scream!!! Like a rat whats been stepped on!! Tears start pouring out of my eyes but nobody can tell because i'm pretty much soaked too!! And I wont let off the throttle because by this time I've lost all motor skills and dont dare let go of the throttle!!...Now, by this time EVERYBODY in the boat is laughing hysterically with me!!...BOUNCE BOUNCE BOUNCE!!!!LAFF LAFF LAFF!!! Ive peed in my pants now from laughing!!!..So has Kanna!!!!....Snots running out my nose, but who cares!!! THIS IS LIFE at its fullest!!! Dads laughing now! usually, when he finds something funny, his shoulders just pop up and down a few times, but NOT NOW! His mouth is WIDE OPEN and his eyes are slanted trying to keep water out!
Finally, we'll get out of the wind somewhere.....We'll check for lost poles, loose fishing lures....shoes.... We all check to see if any of us have broken any teeth or bit our tongues.
Then we fish.......we snicker and giggle and still laugh out every few moments. Friends of mine will come by and tell us that we've been heard from all over the lake!
Then we just sit,... catch fish,...and mentally prepare to cross back the same way we just came from and get another taste of "Insanity"!
Hmmm,...No wonder my boats not working right!
your friend,
john