Pontoon

Beau ready to board!

Nothing says country on the lake better than a pontoon boat. Ours is our little house on Squam, and we’re quite enamored with it.

We started our boat family with a sailboat, a used O’Day sailor that had lovely classic lines but required more wind in the sails than Squam would provide on a regular basis. The bigger lake, Winnipesauke, with its enormous wide-open broads is the better choice for sailing, but it’s also the busier, more commercial lake, and we love the peace and calm of Squam.

Pontoon Granny!

When we attached a tiny motor to the sailboat and began putt-putting in it without even raising the sail, we took it as a sign that it was time to look into an actual motorboat. Four stroke engines are quieter and less polluting than the old two strokes, so we didn’t feel like Hoggish Greedly from Captain Planet. (Yes, we raised a son in the ’90’s!)

I quickly got over my teenage obsession with a ski boat, and we opted for one that would be a floating lounge and playroom, providing enjoyment for passengers ranging from my wheelchair-bound octagenarian mother to babies and four-legged passengers, too.

Beau and Gracie enjoying the view

Merganser play group ~ there are more than 20 ducklings in that line!

The pontoon boat opens up the lake for us, and we enjoy poking around in Squam’s many bays, checking out the islands, searching out a Bald Eagle nest and the Great Blue Heron rookery, and admiring the beautiful loons, all with the utmost respect for the natural world and those in it.

With doors at both the bow and stern and a ladder for climbing back onboard, the pontoon boat is perfect for swimming and water play. We toss out an anchor and the fun begins. Little Big Town (the country group) has a pontoon boat song, but I like Craig Morgan’s Redneck Yacht Club better. (Take a look and a listen, if you’d like. Of course, we don’t look like that!!!)

The end of an evening ~ pontoon kick line!

We also love to picnic on the boat, eat supper on quiet evenings, and watch spectacular sunsets over the mountains of the Squam Range. (Perhaps enjoying an adult beverage — not the boat operator, of course, that would be illegal!)

Come ride with us!