New Owner - Chicago

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buzzn56

Active member
Joined
Jan 1, 2015
Messages
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Location
Chicago, IL & Sherwood, WI
Greetings to Parker Boat owners from the Windy City! I recently purchased a new Parker 2310 WA (last one of this model I believe) through Happy Days Boating in Port Clinton, OH. We'll be finalizing details and getting orientated before transporting the vessel to a Chicago harbor.

Looking forward to joining you in the Forums - already learning about "Seaspension" pedestal systems!

Brian
 
Welcome to the Parker family!
Post up some photos once you take delivery. :)
 
Welcome! Parkers are great Lake Michigan boats. What harbor or ramp do you plan on using?
 
Thanks for the welcome. I researched a lot of boats and read a lot of on-line forums. I think Parker is a good match for Lake MI especially considering that it's built for the ocean. It's a quality boat - haven't found anyone that has been critical.

I plan to lease a slip so I can maximize access - daytime or evenings. My harbor preference right now is Belmont, Diversey, and then East 31st Street. While Montrose is nearby, it does not have a fuel dock. I've also heard that when the police shut-off vehicular traffic to the Park at Montrose-Wilson-Lawrence because of over-crowding, boat owners can find it difficult to gain access. I also understand that Montrose has security problems early and late in the season because the harbor area is isolated. Burnham Harbor is wonderful, but the proximity to the Museum Campus, Soldier Field, and Northerly Island with First Merit Bank Pavilion presents traffic congestion considerations.

Looking forward to participating in the forums!
 
I fish with a guy on Erie out of Dunkirk NY. He runs a 2320. It amazes me that there are very few parkers up that way or we just arent seeing them, not sure which. Its nice to see the GL's with Parkers though. For me, it seems like a perfect match. Good Luck with your boat. Gotta get out to fish Lake Michigan, I've only hit Erie and LSC hard.
 
I have some photos that I took when I inspected the boat at the dealer's in early December. Now just have to figure out how to compress them so I can upload them here.

It seems that a lot of powerboats in Chicago Harbors are used for boating and swimming. In addition to a lot of sails, most are inboards. I'm defintely in the minority when it comes to having an outboard, but with the ease of maintenance and repairs, no worries about temperatures, quietness and good gas mileage, it's fine for me. I'm used to Lake Erie walleye fishing - don't really know Lake Michigan so a learning curve, especially if I decide to fish for salmon in the summer... looking forward to getting out there though!
 
Response to the last post... the dealer was Happy Days Boating in Port Clinton, OH. The transaction went smoothly. I had obtained some preliminary figures from the dealer so I knew what to expect. It was when I followed-up about some of the options that I learned that the 2310 WA with canvas cockpit cover was being phased-out. That was the point, obviously, at which I had to buy the boat I had soundly researched or find some kind of runner-up vessel. It helped that I had already connected with the CA lender that is now handling RV/boat loans for CostCo. Can't say enough about their professionalism and responsiveness. Just tremendous!

In honesty, follow-up information from the dealer has been a little spotty. I've also reached-out to Parker directly on some issues.
 
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