Summer decisions. How about a pontoon rental on Lake Austin?

The summer is quickly coming to a close. For some boaters and boat lovers, the feeling is bitter sweet; specifically for those of us with children in the school system. Not to fear as there are still several weeks of summer left for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere.

Question

How should you spend those remaining precious weeks of summer? Easy. Spend it with friends and as cool as possible.

The Solution

An ideal choice for many will be getting on the lake. Even though the drought is still alive here in Texas, there are many options in the Highland Lake System. Inks Lake, Lake LBJ and Lake Austin all are constant level lakes. Lake Georgetown, while low, still has all of its ramps open.

So you choose to go to the lake. What do you do there? How about renting a boat?

A pontoon rental on lake Austin would satisfy the requirements above. While Temptoy has multiple pontoons to choose from for rent, one stands out right now due to capacity and price. Kevin Dinh's 2013 Bentley Cruiser Pontoon should definitely be considered and here is why.

Capacity

This pontoon is a 24' long. It is rated to hold 16 people. It has a 115 HP engine pushing it through the water; so it is good for kids tubing as well. The boat is also available on Walter E Long and Canyon Lake.

Price

Where can you find a boat on lake Austin that holds up to 16 people for $350? For this price, you get the use of the pontoon for 4 hours, life vests, tube and a cooler with 20lb worth of ice. See Kevin's pontoon listing for the most current pricing.

Lake Georgetown Review

Due to the beautiful aqua colored deep water, the rocky shore and massive size, Lake Travis is my personal favorite lake to visit on a hot summer day while out boating with other +Temptoy owners and renters. However, the extreme Texas Drought and the lack of open boat ramps has caused me to look at other bodies of water. Lake Austin is always an option since it is a constant level lake but it is growing increasingly busy and the hydrilla does not seem to be letting up.

Recently, my family and I decided we would give Lake Georgetown a try. Here is my take on what we experienced.

Distance from Austin: 8 out of 10
Lake Georgetown was easy to get to. From Austin, I took Parmer until it turned into Ronald Reagan Blvd (nice road with beautiful hills by the way) then took a right on FM3405 and followed the signs to Russell Park.

Bottom Line: Not too far but far enough to get away from the hustle and bustle.

Facilities: 7 out of 10

Russell Park had bathrooms, a very open 4 lane boat ramp and plenty of available covered areas for a picnic. However, nothing was even remotely close to the water. I am sure that this is in large part due to the drought. However, they could have at least allowed us to take our portable grill to the shoreline. This is forbidden as we were told that we would be fined if we brought our small grill down to the shore. We settled for setting up on the shoreline, letting the kids swim and then one of us schlepped up to an open grill provided by the park (200 yards away - I drove the truck to an open spot) to cook the food and then schlepped it back down once cooked in the hopes that it would still be warm by the time i reached the shore where everyone was.

Additionally, Russell Park lacked any area for us to beach the boat. We had to anchor the boat off the shore a bit due to the high wind and the rocks in shallow water.

Bottom Line: Plenty of areas to picnic and clean bathrooms but distances from picnic area to shore and lack of an actual beach made room for improvement.

Beauty: 9 out of 10
Just like Lake Travis, Lake Georgetown had a similar color water. I think this has to do with the rock bed versus mud. The lake had many cliffs and the lack of houses lining the shore made it seem more serene.

Bottom Line: If you are like me, you love the aqua color of water in lakes where the bottom is rock lined versus mud. Lake Georgetown will not disappoint. No houses on the shore = more nature.

Open Spaces for Boating: 7 out of 10
This is one of my main reasons for visiting Lake Georgetown. Before lunch, it was quiet and pretty open. Unfortunately, after lunch, the Lake was overflowing with boat traffic. Granted, Lake Georgetown had less traffic than Travis but a whole lot more than I thought it would have. The four lane ramp at Russell Park stayed busy and we had trouble finding a quiet area where we could tube behind the boat without worrying about the kids getting run over.

Bottom Line: Do all your boating prior to lunch. Although, the lake is large enough that even after lunch, we still found room for tubing.

Lake Level: 9 out of 10
While we were there the lake was down 14 feet from its normal 791 feet (Current Levels). Aside from the distance from shore to the facilities, this was not noticeable. I do not know if it is the fact that this was my first visit to Lake Georgetown but while on the boat, I did not notice any issue with the water level.

Bottom Line: 14' shy of the full pool amount of 791' but unnoticeable. Still deep enough to do a back flip off the back of the boat.

In conclusion, Lake Georgetown is a wonderful lake to visit if you would like to experience a Central Texas Lake. This beautiful body of water shares many similarities with Lake Travis.  If you want to give the lake a try but do not have a boat you can always rent one from Temptoy. At the time this post was written, Temptoy has two boats that can be rented on Lake Georgetown. Zack Pennell has his 2008 Centurion ENZO 240 which comes with a captain and free lessons and seats 16 people or you can go with a smaller more intimate watercraft with Wayne Turners Mini Power Boat. Regardless, I hope to see you out on one of our states beautiful resources sometime.

Dustin

The power of NO

Sometimes, no can be a fun word. Like when a dad is swinging his five year old for the first time and the child wants to go higher but can't stop saying no. No can also be an exciting word. Like when it's shouted in disbelief after winning something. Unfortunately, for most of us, no is a depressing word, a sad word, a word that ultimately means rejection.

I don't know about you but I hear it every single day. I hear it at home when my 5 year old daughter is screaming at her older sister in an attempt to stop her from trying to take back her iPhone. I hear it from my friends who are often too busy with their own lives to get together for a game of basketball. I hear it from the policeman when asking for a warning, the DirecTV call center agent when asking if I get ESPN3 and the mechanic when wondering if my truck checked out okay. I even hear it from my own mom when I ask her if I was her favorite. Kidding aside, no is a popular word in my circles.

While hearing no from these and similar individuals does have a negative effect on my mood, none hurt quite as much as hearing no from a customer. Why is that?

Starting and running +Temptoy is a blast. However, each time a potential investor tells me that altering the mindset of boat owners is a goal unlikely to succeed, my mood turns melancholy for a day or two. When a boat rental facility gives me a no when asking if they would list their boats, it's like a knife in my back. And every time a potential stakeholder fails to return my email, I start to question the business. Bottom line, every no is accompanied by a desire to quit.

I will of course evaluate my methods and constantly improve the business plan. These items could certainly play a significant role in the number of times any entrepreneur hears the word no but what else can I do?

I recently realized that I control these negative thoughts. Just like getting teased in middle school for having an abnormally large head, I should use each no as a tool to thicken my skin. I tell my kids that they will get rejected but that also getting rejected will make them stronger. Why can't I apply that to business? Temptoy is moving forward by securing investors, receiving more listed watercraft and getting more customers; so why stop? If getting a no only makes me stronger, moving forward my new mantra will be bring on the no's!

I think what makes a person truly successful is not determined by the frequency in which they hear the word yes but rather the number of no's they survived.

What every Startup CEO needs to survive

Seems everyone has a blog these days. I figure why not me as well right? Now that all the technical work is done regarding layout, colors and even a bit of CSS, what should my first post be about? Should I write about my startup +Temptoy? Who couldn't use another dofollow backlink in their efforts to please the Google gods (ehum!...http://www.temptoy.com for good measure)? My business is certainly important, sure, but I think my first post should be more meaningful and existential. Must. Dig. Deeper. Yep, I've got it! My first post will be about what I believe is the reason I continue to open my eyes every morning: my family.

My home is filled with a precious boy, two gorgeous girls and a beautiful wife of  almost 18 years. Oh yea, and a Yorkie too (sorry Benji). They are there when I wake, when I get off work and when my conscience mind finally gets a chance to clock out. They are a tremendous source of love, joy and even anger. What a fantastic feeling it is when I see my personality in them or that my fatherly/husbandly advice changes them in a positive way. What an even better feeling it is when I realize that they have in fact improved me.

Any sports guy, ex soldier, employee, Sci-Fi lover, reader, writer, and entrepreneur needs a support system of some kind to maintain their quality of life. I am confident that my attitude, my business, and my life will thrive thanks to the one I have.