A typical Saturday on the sandbars

You could have fooled me!

There are a lot of rumors out there that people aren’t boating; that they’re staying home because of the economy, gas prices, bad weather, and other reasons.  That’s not what it looks like from this side of the boat landing.

Every Saturday morning, the roads are host to a continual stream of cars and trucks pulling boats of every shape and size.  The gas stations keep busy with people topping off the tank in their boat and picking up snacks and refreshments to take along.  The boat landings are filled, and there’s a line of anxious boaters waiting their turn to launch.

The photo above was taken at one of the sandbars on the Wisconsin River last weekend.   There were others just like it–packed full of people with barely any room left to squeeze in another boat.   These people were out having fun.  They were using their boats to get there.   After all, it’s rather difficult to get to an island without a boat!

This wasn’t a special event, either.  This is how it looks every weekend on the river.

Farther down on the lake and the river above the dam, the water was full of boats; fishermen anchored in a favorite spot or slowly trolling along, pontoons gliding along at a slow cruise or floating out where their passengers could relax and soak up the sun, and sport boats of every shape and speed running along–often with a happily-screaming friend being pulled along behind.

For what it costs to drive to the theatre and buy tickets and snacks for the family, you could be spending the entire day out on the water, having fun and staying fit.  For a fraction of that, you can pull up to a sand bar and share your day with dozens of others who understand–just like you–that boating is a way of life.

A few friends enjoying the sandbar

Blaze, our Creative Director, and Cory, our rigger, spent the day out on the water with the crew from Q106.   It was a great time for everyone.  We did a short tour of Lake Wisconsin, then headed up-river to the sandbars.  Q106 supplied the partiers with t-shirts, can coozies, water bottles, and beach balls.  Don’s Marine supplied the transportation–a 2008 Southwind deckboat.  We got a lot of interested looks, and met a lot of new people.  This was a definite success for everyone.  This was the only scheduled outing for this summer, but look for us next summer.   We expect to be spending a lot more time out on the water where you can get a chance to see how our boats perform “in the wild”.

Stop in this week and see what we’ve got.   This is the best time of year to buy.  The prices are the lowest they’ll ever be, we’re including your first winter’s storage for FREE, and if you buy now, you’ll be the one out there turning heads on your first day on the water–and all through the summer.

To see a more photos from our cruise, check out our gallery.

This Saturday (Aug. 16th), we’ll be supplying the “Party Barge” for the Q106 Saturday Cruise.  We’ll be on a Southwind Hybrid Deckboat.  Just look for the Don’s Marine signs on the sides.  Come on out to Lake Wisconsin between Noon and 3:00 to see us.  Meet the Q106 on-air personalities, have a soda, get a coozie or a beach ball, and enjoy the lake.

After your day on the water, stop in to Don’s Marine and check out the Southwind deckboats for yourself.  Southwind deckboats give you the space of a pontoon with the handling of a sportboat.

We’re having our year-end blowout, and all boats are priced to sell.  These are the lowest prices of the season.  And, as a bonus, buy a new boat now and get your first winter of storage Free.

Come see us on the water this Saturday and see how much fun a Southwind can be.