Let's Go Boating TV: September 23, 2026

Show Notes

Good morning, and welcome to Let's Go Boating TV. I'm Franklin Pillsbury, and today we've got two things worth your time if there's a first boat somewhere in your future this fall. There's a regional boat show...

Franklin Pillsbury IV is joined by Chloe Dawn for the September 23, 2026 edition of Let's Go Boating TV. Practical, plain-English boating for families getting their first boat on the water in Southwest Florida.

Follow @LetsGoBoatingTV for more tips and helpful hints about boating.

. . . | Strategy and creative are mine. AI helps produce it.

What is Let's Go Boating TV?

Climb aboard and discover the stories, people, and passion that make boating more than a pastime, it is a way of life. Hosted by Franklin Pillsbury IV, this podcast celebrates the heritage of boating, the joy of life on the water, and the lessons learned from family, faith, and community. Each episode brings you engaging conversations with boaters of all generations, industry insiders, and everyday water lovers. From first-time boaters learning the ropes to seasoned captains sharing legacy stories, we explore how boating connects us, teaches us, and changes lives.

Whether you’re here for inspiring stories, practical tips, or just the sound of waves and dockside wisdom, Let’s Go Boating TV Podcast invites you to join the journey. Because at the end of the day, we are all united by water.

Franklin Pillsbury IV: Good morning, and welcome to Let's Go Boating TV. I'm Franklin Pillsbury, and today we've got two things worth your time if there's a first boat somewhere in your future this fall. There's a regional boat show opening Friday just up the road, and I want to talk about how to walk into one of those without getting steamrolled. Then we'll talk about renting before you buy, and why one day in somebody else's boat might be the smartest money you spend all year.

Chloe Dawn: Chloe Dawn here, and I'll tell you right now, I've never set foot in a boat show. In my head it's a fairgrounds full of salespeople waiting to pounce on me. Is that what it actually is?

Franklin Pillsbury IV: It feels like that for about the first ten minutes. Then you realize it's the only place on earth where you can climb into thirty boats in one afternoon without making thirty phone calls.

Franklin Pillsbury IV: So here's the calendar. The Tampa Bay Boat Show opens Friday, September twenty fifth, at the Florida State Fairgrounds, and it runs through Sunday the twenty seventh. That's a tow up the interstate from Cape Coral or Fort Myers, and it is very much our part of the world. The people walking those aisles are families from right here who are going to buy something in the next month or three.

Chloe Dawn: Okay, so if I'm going Saturday with two kids and a husband who's nervous about the whole idea, what do I do differently than just wander?

Franklin Pillsbury IV: Three things, and the first one's the hardest. Leave the checkbook at home. Decide before you get in the car that you are not buying anything this weekend. That single decision changes every conversation you have all day, because you stop being a prospect and you start being a student.

Chloe Dawn: That's a relief, honestly. So what am I studying?

Franklin Pillsbury IV: Fit. Not horsepower, not top speed, none of that. Fit. Get everybody in the boat. All four of you, in the seats, at the same time. Sit where your nine year old would sit. Ask yourself where the cooler goes, because there is always a cooler. Then go sit in the next one and do it again. By the sixth boat you'll start noticing things you couldn't have described that morning.

Chloe Dawn: Like what? Give me one, because I would have no idea what I was looking at. I'd be looking at the cup holders.

Franklin Pillsbury IV: Whether you can step off the dock into that boat without a hand. Where a kid grabs when the boat rocks. Whether there's a spot for a life jacket that isn't the floor. Those are the things you live with. The engine on the back is the thing you brag about, and you'll stop bragging about it in a month.

Chloe Dawn: I like that. Bring the whole family and let them vote with their bodies.

Franklin Pillsbury IV: That's it exactly. And here's the second thing. Take your phone out and photograph the hull sticker and the model name on every boat you liked. Not the pretty shots, the boring ones. On Monday night you will not remember which one had the seat you loved, and you'll want to look up what that model sold for used two years ago.

Chloe Dawn: Okay, photograph the boring stuff. I can do that. What's the third thing? And be honest, is this the part where I have to talk to somebody?

Franklin Pillsbury IV: Ask what breaks. Straight out, to whoever's standing there. On this model, what's the first thing an owner calls you about. Most of the good ones will tell you, because the good ones would rather sell you the right boat once. If somebody dodges that question, walk. You just learned something more valuable than a price.

Franklin Pillsbury IV: Now, the second thing, and this one's been rattling around in my head for a while. There's a real shift happening in how Florida families get into boating. Dealers around this state are starting to rent boats and sell boats out of the same building. Same lot, same service bay, same people.

Chloe Dawn: Wait, the place trying to sell me a boat will also rent me one for a day?

Franklin Pillsbury IV: More and more of them, yes. And I think that's good news for a family in your shoes, because it lets you find out what you actually want before you sign anything.

Chloe Dawn: Why does that matter so much? A boat's a boat to me right now.

Franklin Pillsbury IV: Because there's a fear nobody says out loud at the kitchen table. It isn't the payment. It's the boat sitting on the trailer in the side yard all year while everybody feels guilty about it. A boat that never gets used turns into a gym membership you drive past. That's the one that ends a family's boating, not the purchase price.

Chloe Dawn: And a rental day tells you whether you'd actually go.

Franklin Pillsbury IV: It tells you three things. Whether your Saturday really has six hours in it, because launching, running, loading and rinsing takes longer than anybody thinks at first. What your kids actually do out there. And what size you need. Plenty of families rent a pontoon once and find out they don't want a bowrider at all, they want everybody facing each other where they can talk.

Chloe Dawn: What about a boat club? Is that the same thing?

Franklin Pillsbury IV: Different shape, same purpose in the beginning. A club is a monthly commitment for access to a fleet, and a rental is a day at a time. The clubs are worth looking at, but read the terms like you'd read a lease, and go in knowing you're buying practice, not ownership.

Chloe Dawn: So rent first, always?

Franklin Pillsbury IV: Rent twice. Once in the spring when the water's flat and everything feels easy, and once on a choppy afternoon when it isn't. If your family still wants to go a third time, you've got your answer, and whoever was most nervous in the passenger seat has hers too. That's worth a lot more than a brochure.

Franklin Pillsbury IV: So that's the week. If you're anywhere near Tampa this weekend, go walk the aisles with your family and your hands in your pockets. And if you're not ready for that yet, find a rental outfit near you and give the four of you one full day on the water before anybody talks about payments.

Chloe Dawn: I'm actually going to go sit in some boats now. That part I can handle.

Franklin Pillsbury IV: That's the whole job at this stage. Follow at Let's Go Boating TV for more tips and helpful hints about boating. We'll see you tomorrow.