Spending Weekends on our Inflatable Pontoon Boats

We have new his and hers fishing inflatable pontoon boats. Saw them and couldn’t resist.

We spent a few weeks researching and buying all licenses and registrations we needed plus trolling motors and batteries. My stepson and his wife came over one day to help us put them together for the first time. This was not a cheap investment but it’s been totally worth it so far. These inflatable pontoon boats are really cool. We like them a lot.

Here’s a front and rear view.

     

The first place we launched our inflatable pontoon boats was on Turner Lake at Chain O’ Lakes State Park in Spring Grove, IL. It was a good place for me to start although now that I think about it, the sludge and stuff that we had to get through to get out on the lake was annoying.

I was not doing so well with rowing or using the motor and hoped that that I would get better at it instead of spinning in circles with the motor. And if only the spray sunscreen we used that day worked. That’s all we had so I need to get on Amazon and order our favorite family size Banana Boat Sport sunscreen. That stuff is so good.

It WAS peaceful and beautiful on Turner Lake though. So many dragonflies and lily pads. If I hadn’t been so stressed about learning how to row and use the motor, I might have stopped to take more photos.

I did much better on the 2nd lake we went out on thank goodness.

We packed up my Jeep again with our pontoons and headed out to beautiful Long Lake in IL. I just love that we can pack both of our pontoons and accessories in my Jeep Grand Cherokee. I hope one day we can add a trailer hitch to the Jeep AND get a camper. I’m already looking. It doesn’t have to be brand new although that would be really nice.

We spent July 4th on Long Lake and it was so relaxing. We used a portable waterproof bluetooth speaker like this and had music while on the lake. And I did much better with rowing and using the trolling motor. Kev is a pro at it but I’m getting better.

And of course he had to add a pirate flag to his boat. He’s addicted to all things pirate. We are going to look into getting a Newton’s Travels flag made for mine.

We met kayakers who were in awe of our inflatable pontoons. We watched sail boats, kids on rafts, water skiers and just enjoyed the day. I was surprised that it wasn’t crowded. Another couple asked us questions about the pontoons as we were coming to shore so with all these questions, Kev said I should write about our local adventures.

We bought our inflatable pontoon boats at Costco but you can get pontoon boats Amazon too. They have a nice variety of inflatable pontoon boats.

And don’t forget your trolling motor, battery and electric pump. Every time we go out it gets easier and faster to inflate and deflate. I found a trick though that made it much faster to deflate the pieces when we were done. A little press and turn of the air release button and it went much faster. We no longer had to hold the button down while it deflated. You remember that commercial, there has to be a better way? That’s how I felt and BAM.

This has been so much fun. We went out again last weekend to Sterling Lake at Van Patten Woods. Although it’s quite a ways from our house and we forgot our boat pump oops, it was the best time so far. Luckily I had a tire pump in the car so I used that for a bit while Kev ran to the Walmart that was 20 minutes down the road. He bought 2 extra pumps. At least it was better than having to go all the way back home!

     

We packed a lunch and enjoyed it on the water. We bring a brick to put in the anchor bag that the inflatable pontoon boats come with and drop it in the water to keep us in one place while we enjoy the peace and quiet.

It was the.perfect.day. I rowed most of time we were out on the water to get a great workout. There was a bridge that you could go under to go to the other side of the lake so we had to check it out. I rowed over (and stopped under the bridge to get a pic of Kev) and motored back. What a fun time! We can’t wait to go back.

We are most likely going to add a kayak and an inflatable boat to the mix so we can bring family with us to enjoy the experience too. We have already bought enough life preservers for all of them to be prepared. We look forward to it.

All this has given me the itch to get a camper and just go. I’m not big in to tent type camping but give me a camper or RV and I’m all for it. Hopefully one day we’ll do that. And who knows, maybe one day we’ll buy a waterfront home. Kev and I do love being on the water, whether it’s in the Caribbean or here on a lake in Illinois.

Here’s to many more good times on the water this summer.

Do you spend a lot of time on the water?