I bought my first Crownline just under 2 weeks ago and will be relocationg south of San Antonio in mid October for approximately 2 years for work.  I'm from Missouri and was wondering what the boating season is like down there or if it just continues mostly year round?  Also, I will possibly be looking for a good covered storage area and some suggestions for good mechanics, I have the 305 with the Volvo Penta outdrive?  Are there any types of cruises this late in the year, possible Choke Canyon or any other big lakes around the area, thats just the first one I came across?  Any information would be appreciated and I look forward to meeting some fellow owners in the area.

Thanks,

Kevin

2002 202 BR

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2002 202 BR
305 Volvo Penta

Kevin Koeneman:

I bought my first Crownline just under 2 weeks ago and will be relocationg south of San Antonio in mid October for approximately 2 years for work.  I'm from Missouri and was wondering what the boating season is like down there or if it just continues mostly year round?  Also, I will possibly be looking for a good covered storage area and some suggestions for good mechanics, I have the 305 with the Volvo Penta outdrive?  Are there any types of cruises this late in the year, possible Choke Canyon or any other big lakes around the area, thats just the first one I came across?  Any information would be appreciated and I look forward to meeting some fellow owners in the area.

Thanks,

Kevin

2002 202 BR

Hola Kevn! Welcome to SA. We keep our boat out until maybe November, just depends on how cold the water is.  Choke is not a good ski lake (great fishing), you will want to visit Canyon or Medina Lake depending on where you live. I prefer canyon just because it is larger (nothing close to Ozarks :-) ) and seems cleaner. We dry dock about 5 min away from lake.

Depending on where you live in SA, I can tell you some places to store your boat.

I like Boat Town as they are Volvo guys, been here forever (used to be Rays Marine). They are the local Cobalt dealer. The local crown dealer in sa sucks eggs. A short trip to Austin is much better IMO.

 I have met a three crownies (that visit this board) @ Canyon thus far. . .  as you can imagine, really cool guys - you know owning a crown and all . . .  :

Drop me a PM with your number, I will call you if you like.

 

 

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Limited Edition 230BR 8.2Liter/502CI (GSI Volo Penta) DP-S

LAKATION

Project(s) Completed:
2000 Watt Stereo Systerm
Swimplatforms.com

Coming Soon:
Wakeboard Tower and Speaker Setup
Custom Graphics

Thanks for all the helpful information.  I looked them both up on the maps and niether one is to terribly far, I'll be in the Devine/Pearsall area most of the time for work so Medina would be a little closer but if Canyon is nicer im sure its worth the drive.  I won't actually be down there till mid to late October but I will be sure to give you a heads up and try to get out a few times before the water cools down to much.  What are the winters usually like temperature wise in this area?

Thanks again,

Kevin

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2002 202 BR
305 Volvo Penta

SA Winters are not very harsh and we only "see" cold weather in Dec, Jan and sometimes into Feb. Really cold for us; is a joke for peeps up north. It rarely snows down here.  BUT, unless you store your boat in a garage with some  heat or fair amount of insulation I am sure you will want to winterize that bad boy. You don't want to end up with a cracked block from a small SA freeze.

This past winter was VERY mild, I don't think we got below 32 for more than a day or two.  I remember many spring like days in Nov and Dec.

Check this out - you will probably not believe how warm the winters are:

http://www.almanac.com/weatherhistory/oneday.php?month=12&day=2&year=2007&number=722530&wban=12921

In my younger days, we would ski till early Nov and then start again late Feb. I loved this time as no one was on the lake and it was "glass" for a good part of the day.

I have an uncle that develops commerical property in Castroville, Devine, Lytle and other surrounding areas. I am somewhat familar (used to hunt out that way) with your neck of the woods. I think the trek (from Devine) is about 1.5 hours to Canyon and maybe a hair over 1 hour for Medina. This varies with SA traffic as you wil be passing through the busiest parts of town to get to these lakes.

 Keep me posted, we will share a cold one on the lake.

BTW, what kind fo work do you do?

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Limited Edition 230BR 8.2Liter/502CI (GSI Volo Penta) DP-S

LAKATION

Project(s) Completed:
2000 Watt Stereo Systerm
Swimplatforms.com

Coming Soon:
Wakeboard Tower and Speaker Setup
Custom Graphics

That's good to hear, the worst part about Missouri weather is having to end the boating season so early and you usually can't start back up till mid april the following year.  I do still plan to winterize the boat, as being a new owner, I'd like to get a knowledgable mechanic to look it over anyways and know that all the fluids are fresh and how many hours is on all the changes since I'll be the one making them.  I'll definitaly be looking up your recommended boat shop and I also was looking into some of the area boat shows in the area next January and february for more info on boating in the area. 

I will be looking for an apartment or townhome (possibly with a decent sized garage) for my stay down there if he happens to develop any thing of that nature.  I work for a big engineering/construction management group and I'll be an assistant project manager at a project just north of Pearsall, TX.  It seems pretty small is why I've been looking to live more around Devine, plus that would put me 20 mins closer to the lakes :)

Thanks for all the helpful information,

Kevin

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2002 202 BR
305 Volvo Penta

Hey never even thought about that . . .

My cousin builds LARGE custom homes in the same area. Let me know how many SQ feet. I know some folks build some monster houses with rental space available. Some of the houses are crazy big and they have 3-6 car garages. Some with studios above them.

 

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Limited Edition 230BR 8.2Liter/502CI (GSI Volo Penta) DP-S

LAKATION

Project(s) Completed:
2000 Watt Stereo Systerm
Swimplatforms.com

Coming Soon:
Wakeboard Tower and Speaker Setup
Custom Graphics

Thanks for the info, I'll keep that in mind I'm hoping to go down later this week to check out some places to live.  Another quick question, I saw that you completed a custom stereo and have the swimplatfrom installed on your boat, what are some suggestions for marine stereo systems, including head units, amps, speakers, and subwoofers?  Also, what did you end up paying for your swim platfrom? 

Thanks

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2002 202 BR
305 Volvo Penta

Here are a few pics of my install:

http://picasaweb.google.com/robsatx/StereoPICS#

The platform was around $1,600 delivered. Before you purchase make sure they have an exact model. An aftermarket platform for my boat is not that common. Some crownlines are very common - as in quantity sold  / with or without platform. And they tend to have better "fit" for common models.

 I can help you with your system. I am somewhat into mobile audio.

 

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Limited Edition 230BR 8.2Liter/502CI (GSI Volo Penta) DP-S

LAKATION

Project(s) Completed:
2000 Watt Stereo Systerm
Swimplatforms.com

Coming Soon:
Wakeboard Tower and Speaker Setup
Custom Graphics