Editor’s Note: Last inour 2012series that journals our feature writer’s new experience with some of the Jersey Shore’s best choices in summer recreation.

Growing up, my family owned a small fiberglass boat, perfect for fishing and crabbing in the bay. But it didn’t always work properly. It didn’t go in reverse, for example, and it often stalled, forcing us to call Boat U.S. to tow us in if we were far out at sea, or too tired to paddle back in with the one oar we had stored on the boat, for when desperate times called for desperate measures.

I hated that boat. Every time the motor clicked off, I immediately began balling my eyes out.