I grew up in Georgia near Clarke's Hill Reservoir, which was renamed Lake Thurmond.
None of the kids called it that.
The neighbor across the street had an old Chrysler Tri-hull sitting next to their house with an ancient Chrysler 75 horse outboard on the back. It sat there for several years, and one day I went over and asked them if they wanted to sell it. They were so happy to have that old boat out of their yard that they gave it to me! I got a few friends to help me haul it across the street and we put it in the backyard to see what I had gotten myself into!
It was a mess! The entire transom was rotted out and barely supported the motor, and the motor looked like it hadn't run in years! The entire floor was rotted and all the plastic was coated in a thick layer of moss and mold. Being young and a overly optimistic, I was ready to start!
And so we did! My dad helped (i.e. did all the hard stuff!) and we ripped out all the old wood and replaced it, replaced the fiberglass, polished the stainless steel and got that old Chrysler running. I even found an upholstery shop to redo the seats, and when we were done I was so proud! I was 16 with my own boat! It was so awful it was great!
And that was how I got introduced to boating!
Next I'll talk about how boating was on the reservoir!