We just wanted you to know that we visited the plant last Friday and had a 3-hour tour with Daryl Johnson—it was unbelievable. At the end of the tour we saw the black and tan 400 SS that was back from the Miami Convention Center and we bought it! Delivery will be at the end of this month after they put teak on the swim platform. Our sea trial with Vic Spellberg, from Formula, an integral part of our decision process—thank you for giving us such a wonderful day. We are also grateful to Tom and Mike Raguso, owner’s of Sun Sport Marine, for taking such good care of us. We are very excited. Although we have had boats all our lives, this is our first brand-new one!
Recently, I had the pleasure of boating on the Salamonie reservoir on my aunt and uncle’s (Chuck and Nancy Hamilton) Formula 242 LS. The ride, the decor, the finish and just hitting the waves on the Formula was a thrill. It might be a vintage Formula, but the way it handles the waves was perfect—it made the weekend just that much more fun! I wish everyone had the opportunity to ride a Formula!
The boat has timeless lines and although vintage it still looks good in the water. We get a lot of great comments as we idle through coves. Our family and our yellow lab enjoy our lake life and we are loyal Formula owners.
I moved to Incline Village, Lake Tahoe, in 1984 as a high school freshman. A friend’s dad owned this boat (a 233 Hardtop), and I saw it frequently. Fast-forward 20 years—I was looking on Craigslist for a boat and I e-mailed the owner and had some correspondence back and forth. A month or two later, I got a call from the owner. He said, “My daughter is getting married here at the house, and I really need the boat gone,” so my wife and I went to look at it in person. It was under a huge tarp and as he peeled away the cover, it looked pretty good. My wife liked the lines and approved the purchase. We had enough season left to get out about eight times. The kids just love it! My 5-year-old daughter begs us to go tubing, which is just a crack-up when you’re out with her!
I am the second owner. I bought the boat in 1984 and it’s always been rack stored inside. I met my wife Kathy in 1985, married in 1988 we now have two children in college. All of us have great times boating and this is the only boat I have ever owned. We still use it every weekend that we can. We boat on Lake St.Clair. The hull and engine are original. Even the swim platform and cockpit cover are original. The interior was replaced using Formula vinyl and it still runs very strong and smooth.
Because Buzz was able to set us up with not only an incredible purchase price but also a forgiving financial package, we have not been restricted on funds and enjoy our boat each and every single weekend. The efficiency of our twin engines use less gas than our single. When we fill her up we smile and say, “Where to next?” The Formulator saw 100 hours this summer at five different lakes! That’s 100 hours of cruising, not floating. We are very grateful to Buzz and his Hayden Lake Idaho branch manager, Jason Sanford, for taking such great care of us. There are no memberships that we have belonged to that match not only the security but also the joy of being a member of the Formula boats family.
We want to thank the Formula designers and engineers for their futuristic design and forethought in development and producing their final product. After the sale, Steve Tester and Karen Reinhart handled concerns promptly. Their knowledge of Formula boats and all accessories is amazing.
Our summers are all about destinations on the water and having all the amenities of the great 34 PC to take along with us is a dream come true. Now we just have to make it through another Michigan winter while we dream about next year’s boating trips!
After 9-11, my wife, three children and I took the leap and bought our first boat. We looked at a lot of boats and settled on a 1990 Formula 26 PC with twin 4.31 motors. The boat offered a lot—a galley, two beds, collapsible dinette, camper top and best of all, it was fast! We took the boat out every weekend on the Navesink River and Raritan Bay in New Jersey. In June, my wife, three kids and our dog were going out into the bay—you have to head down the river, which is a “no wake zone.” There was a lot of boat traffic that day so I stayed in the channel and got in line behind all the other boats. I found myself behind a large 42-foot Azimuth which was moving too slow for my liking…
