Ed wrote:
-% of income spent on a hobby that is really only available 3 months and
even in that 3 months, the water is COLD!!!

Our seasonal cycle means even (cross-country) skiing or snowboarding is
available just 3 months in Southern Finland, but the point about water
being cold is good. Even in late July it can be a bit tough to find
water that's really warm enough to swim in comfortably. Rivers are a
good bet but large lakes are a different matter altogether. Considering
you are somewhat protected from the winds and mostly quite dry in your
average runabout, it's not so extraordinary to choose to stay in the
runabout instead of hopping out in skis.

-Pontoon boats/bass Boats etc are fresh water lake boats, there are a
lot of lakes in Finland but I don't think the culture has embraced boat
fishing (bass boat) and lounging (Pontoon)

The concept of lounging got me thinking and maybe when we want to
explain things like pontoon boats it's a good idea to take a closer
look at the local peculiarities. Boating is a part of the geography,
climate, culture and traditions of a region... So take the concept of
lounging and ask what a Finn does when he wants to relax and spend a
day or two with good friends?

The answer is that he heads for the cabin for a weekend of relaxing
(and drinking, in many cases). Cabin culture is something which pretty
much exploded in the latter part of the 20th century. A cabin somewhere
a bit more into the mainland is a kind of a must have for a
self-respecting middle class family. Typically you own a little patch
of land on the shore of one of those numerous lakes in Finland, you
have a cabin there and usually a separate hut/cabin with a sauna -
right next to the water of course. That way you can head right in to
the water from the sauna and back. Doesn't matter if the water is not
warm enough for swimming, you don't have to stay long and the sauna
will be pretty warm anyway.

So, the most important competitor of the pontoon boat would be Finnish
cabin with sauna. Typically it's an already existing piece of
infrastructure with little additional costs for usage. It can serve
large groups, doesn't require much maintenance, can be combined with
other activities at the cabin, and is fully usable even in late
September... It's not only tradition but given the geography with
abundant shoreline inland, you can construct a sauna-by-the-water
almost anywhere where you might use a pontoon boat.

I think this relates to bass boats as well. Many cabin owners have a
some kind of a boat, and they often like to use it for fishing. But
it's mostly an unglorified little boat (dinghy? - about 12') with a
small outboard (10 hp or less) or even with oars only. Cabin owners
don't want the expensive construction of bass boats with raised decks,
performance etc. Usually the boats can double in a hauling/passenger
role as you may need to transport stuff over the little lake to your
cabin. So instead of a costly, involved, and specialized boat - the
performance fishing boat, the bass boat - the cabin owner goes with a
simple, low-end, convenient and all-around solution, the little
cabin/cottage boat. A Terhi 385 could be typical:
http://www.terhi.fi/static_2003/eng/boat_385.php (Make sure to read the
ad blurb/description there, btw

I suppose we solved a few mysteries there...
Risto