Sometimes it’s best to just jump in with both feet when you know what you want. For this Indiana couple the decision to buy a pontoon to enjoy with their family was an easy one. They had recently purchased their lake home, the kids had grown up on the water and loved boating, so the couple considered buying a pontoon to be a very logical next step.

So they decided to jump in, but life has a way of altering your leap sometimes. The Gerstlers were in the process of buying a different pontoon when the lack of customer service had them abruptly changing their minds.

“We had a bad buying experience and we ended up backing out of the deal completely,” says Steve. “A friend then referred us to Wyland’s and it was a completely different experience.”

“We’re at the boat show and we’re in the process of customizing a boat with Wyland’s and we keep looking over at this Monaco on display and keep saying, ‘like that one, like that one,’” recalls Steve. “Eventually we questioned ourselves on what we were doing and decided to just get the Monaco that was the display boat at the show. We had done a lot of research prior to the show and knew Godfrey is a well-established brand and known for its customer service.”

“Pontoons can do it all, from one stage of life to another,” says Steve. “From tubing for 10-year-olds to just us hanging out and cruising, pontoons can do it all.”

Adds his wife Marcie, “We both have aging parents who we wanted to extend a welcome to with our boat and with a pontoon it’s easy for them to get on the boat. And with a big engine we knew the kids would be happy too.”

By going with the GTP 27-inch Center Tube package that was already on the boat show model, the max horsepower rating jumped from 150hp to 300hp so the Gerstlers were able to go with the Yamaha 200hp Super High Output (SHO) engine. The V6 V Max SHO four-stroke outboard turned out to be a great pairing.

Even during those rare times when all four of their kids are at the lake house together and using the boat, there is still plenty of room for everyone with plenty of features to enjoy and appreciate.

“The kids enjoy the dual flip lounge in the back where they can lay out,” adds Marcie. “They also love all the accent lights and the Fusion stereo.”

“With the whole COVID thing going on instead of traveling we decided to just plant a stake and start having fun locally,” recalls Steve. “It was something we had talked about earlier, but the pandemic clearly motivated us to do it.”

Steve is a radiologist, which he says still leaves him plenty of time in the summer to enjoy the boat with his busy schedule. At one point he also mentioned he’s a “master griller,” but based on Marcie’s reaction to this comment, there’s probably a deeper story behind that title. Grilling is a big part of the lake house experience.

The Gerstlers had such a positive encounter buying the boat they ended up coming back to the dealer for another purchase.

“We had a great experience with the boat so we came back a month later and bought more toys,” says Steve. “We decided to get a couple of Kawasaki Jet Skis from Wyland’s as well.”

“The older kids are transitioning into hanging out at the sandbar with the boat and taking it out with their friends,” says Marcie. “Our boat is a huge part of the lake experience and will keep our kids coming back for many years.”

While the Gerstlers were determined to have a great all-around boat for their kids to enjoy now, the parents might have been looking into the future with this investment as well.

“The reason we bought the pontoon is so we can create memories now with the kids so eventually they’ll want to come back with their own kids so we can be the really cool grandparents,” concludes Marcie with a smile.

Future cool grandparents indeed.

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