Towing, slipping, living?
 

Newbie here. Just started wakeboarding last year and am really loving it. Luckily my neighbors slip their boat and are gracious enough to pull me around. Since I feel like a mooch, I'm kicking around the idea of buying a boat but was wondering to all of you how much of a PITA it is to tow and launch versus slip. Do most people out here tow and launch, or slip their boats, or are there a bunch of people that live on the lake?

Any words of wisdom are appreciated.

I would tow vs wet slip if those were my options. I do get to live on the lake though, so we have a lift.

I tow. It's about 15-30 minutes to the ramp depending on which ramp I use. It's a pain but it is what it is. If I spent the big bucks for a slip I'd probably be pulling the boat every couple weeks to clean the bottom anyhow, if not every day or two of use to fill with gas. I'm not paying an extra $50 for the convenience to fill on the water when there's gas stations within a mile of the ramp. lugging around 8 or 9 5 gallon cans seems like more work than pulling the boat out and taking it to the gas station. I'd love to have the boat in the water all the time ready to go on a whim, but to me I can't justify the expense of having it really be convenient.

As for your friends, they probably don't mind taking you with them so long as you throw down for gas. I know I'm always hurting for a third so I'm gracious to find reliable people who throw down money.

Once you get enough practice,unloading and loading on a trailer is fairly painless with a wakeboat.It's the waiting on the people that don't follow procedure or don't know it that makes towing a hassle sometimes.It will be the most economical way this year since marina fuel will most likely be over $4.00/gal.

yep, tow and launch every time. Would only store on a lift.

tow here. may put her on a lift when i get the chang for one. i have a perfect situation sin 2 neighbors are willing to give me pier space for free. Towing and launching are not hard, just have to figure out nuances of a particular setup and it is painless.

We tow and launch every time.

I tow most of the time but once I pull out of my boat space I can be on the water inside of 10 minutes. I also have bouy on our community beach. I've gotten comfortable with leaving the boat on it but it took a long time too. If I had my dreathers I'd have it on a lift or slip but I'd obviously not let having to tow slow me down.

Chris, throw a tower on one of these and no worries:

http://www.watercar.com/assets/image...-dave-fast.jpg

Alternative: If you buy a boat, you can keep it at my place and I'll personally launch it and load it every time we go riding.;)

I tow and launch and really prefer it. When a nasty storm blows through, I know that my boat is safe and sound. :-)

Hey Chris as long as you don't have some crap annoying personality, I agree that a third or even a ready to go second in Florida with some coin would be more than welcome on my boat. It's win win for all.

I bought a house 5 minutes from the boat ramp, made sure there was a corner gas station between me and the ramp and tow/trailer the boat. The boat sits in the driveway. No slip/storage fees, cheaper fuel costs, My house was $100k cheaper because I'm not on the lake and it works out just perfectly for my budget.

"I tow and launch and really prefer it"
thats the thing, I really do not mind towing the wakeboard boat and putting it in the garage when done(hopefully late at night when its dark)
if I had an I/O trailering would be a big hassle, so I would have to have two slips, and winterizing would be a big PITA.

I don't see how trailering an I/O would be any more hassle than an inboard, or winterizing for that matter. Ive done both and it's all the same to me.

Ideally I would love to live on a lake, have a lift, and an electric Wakeboat like Epics. Never have to lug gallons of fuel around, just plug it in at the end of the day like your cell phone, lift keeps it high and dry. But I don't have the money for that lifestyle yet...

So I live 30 mins from the nearest lake, get to pay launch fees, fill up at costco, and tow my 23V around town.

outside the ability to slip and leave as to towing home, but having your boat sit in the water for long periods of time is no good