Two weeks before my family was due to go on a one week trip to Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee, someone ran into the back of our boat on the way home from one of the local lakes we frequent. The boat was totaled, which left us going on vacation without a boat.

With some luck I found a 1996 656zp Stingray at a local boat dealer and fell in love. They had just taken it in on trade the day before and we signed the deal two days later. This boat has the 5.7L V8 and is in mint condition with only 83 hours of run time.

I had not heard a lot about Stingray boats before this time and was a little leery about buying a boat without first testing it, but the dealer assured me that this boat was well taken care of.

We were on the lake for four days straight and it performed flawlessly. It reminded us of riding a fast roller coaster at an amusement park. Its top speed is 55 mph with 7 persons, a full tank of gas and equipment.

I think I will name it "BLUE BAYOU" or should it be "BLEW-BY-YOU"?