By Mike Cuffe
My wife found her dreamboat by accident, and I even had a part in its construction!
We saw a purple and tan Crestliner pontoon boat on lead display at the 1998 Boat and RV Show at the Spokane Fairgrounds. Wife JoAn and I were dazzled by its beauty as we entered. We climbed a few steps and were mesmerized by the plush naugahyde seats and soft purple carpeting.
JoAn quickly said, “If we ever get a boat, I want one just like this! We both chuckled at that because she has always been fearful of water and tippy boats. In addition, we had always lived frugally with no thoughts of buying any pleasure craft.
At that time, we were empty nesters on a quick getaway from our stressful jobs in Montana’s northwest corner. With time to kill, we pulled into the fairgrounds to look at campers. But as we wandered, our eyes and conversation kept turning back to the pontoon boat.
I hate the big initial depreciation of new purchases. At lunch we reviewed used boats for sale in the newspaper classified ads, then drove around to check them out.
As part of the plywood plant management team at Libby, Montana, I knew we furnished plywood to several boat manufacturers. So, I began crawling under boat after boat in hopes of finding the grade stamp of our mill on the decking.
Now on a mission we repeated the 4-hour drive to Spokane weekend after weekend, each time returning home disappointed.
Feeling dejected near the end of the last weekend before Memorial Day, we decided to stop at Tobler Marina near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. We found a pontoon boat that caught our eye, but it only had a 20 HP Evinrude and we wanted a bigger, quieter 50 HP Honda.
But we loved the looks of the boat, and took a ride on the lake. It met most of our requirements. To seal the deal, I crawled under and there it was, APA mill stamp that certified the floor decking came from our mill.
Then came the amazing part! In chatting during the paperwork, the salesman told us this boat had been the central display at that Spokane Boat Show!
JoAn got the boat of her dreams, and we have enjoyed many hours and cruises on Lake Koocanusa, the international reservoir behind Libby Dam. Frequently we take others out for an afternoon picnic on board. Usually, we watch Osprey and Bald Eagles shopping for trout, occasionally we see deer and bear on the shoreline.
So, that is the story of how JoAn Cuffe landed her dreamboat. MSN
