Send It!

David Johnson and his wife Annie find themselves using the phrase “send it” more and more these days. The couple purchased a cabin near their home in Wyoming, Minn., over four years ago, but admit it has a less-than-desirable access path when you leave the paved road.

Based on the steep slope that leads to their now renovated cabin, first-time guests leaving their property are encouraged to “send it,” or in other words, get a little vehicle momentum going before heading up to the top. A less aggressive approach might lead to tearing up the dirt path with spinning tires when momentum is lost. The Johnsons hinted about their steep driveway before we actually met them and we learned quickly they weren't kidding. After three attempts at the hill after our visit, the couple was probably wondering if we truly understood what “send it” really meant, but we're happy to report that we made it out.

For the Johnson family and other regulars who have learned to master the challenging terrain it's no longer anything they think twice about. But for new guests, it most likely becomes a fun story to tell...after reaching the top safely.

While “send it” has become the family's new buzz phrase, it doesn't only apply to their preferred method of getting up their hill. When it comes to enjoying their hard-earned days off they take a similar approach and are all in on their fun. After purchasing the cabin that overlooks Linwood Lake and taking notice of the number of pontoons on this body of water, it was probably only a matter of time until they joined in, but not everyone was convinced at first.

David, who bought his first boat over 20 years ago, has always been on the water, but fishing boats were more of his style.

“When we bought our place on the water we didn't think we needed a pontoon, but that changed when we ended up borrowing one for the summer. I found myself on our fishing boat pulling the kids around on tubes while everyone else was in the pontoon having fun. I quickly realized what I was missing out on.”

On The Hunt
The couple started shopping for a pontoon about a year before taking delivery of their 2024 Premier 230 Sunsation. This is the family's first pontoon, so a lot of time was spent researching to make sure they bought the one that would be best for their needs.

“Our local dealer is Hallberg Marine and I started there because I prefer to buy from them, but I also was looking at other dealers an hour south of here who offered different brands of pontoons,” recalled David. “We were leaning towards Premier when we got invited to their public open house where you could tour the factory.”

At the Big Lake, Minn., event, Premier had a couple of dozen pontoons on display. Several dealers, including Hallberg, were there as well.

“In conversations with Jeremy [Tetrault], the sales manager at Hallberg, I was really impressed how knowledgeable he was and how he was able to give me answers on what performance we could expect with the boats we were considering and what horsepower he would recommend. Hannah is a sales rep there too and she was awesome to talk with as well.”

Suzuki Powered
Linwood Lake is considered a smaller-sized lake, roughly 600 acres, and all David and Annie were looking for was a pontoon so they could tow the kids on a tube around the lake and enjoy sunset cruises. The couple custom ordered their Premier pontoon instead of going with an already built model so Annie could select the interior and exterior colors. Another advantage to ordering a pontoon is the couple was free to do more research on which brand of engine they wanted.

“The boat came un-rigged so that was our next conversation,” said David. “I like to grab the shop guys and ask them their thoughts on outboards because everyone has their opinion. With Suzuki it just seemed a little quieter than the others we were looking at, not that it was the defining thing, but it also has a five-year warranty. In the end we went with the Suzuki 150hp four-stroke and it has been perfect so we can all be on one boat. It has plenty of torque while still being fuel efficient.”

Sunsation 230
Looking back now the factory tour was a big incentive that led to the Johnsons ordering the Sunsation 230, but there was a lot more that factored into their decision.

“What stood out as a high-end pontoon was all the little details such as the see-through bow gate for docking, the power Bimini that comes standard, the raised captain's chair, speakers in the seats–added features like those,” said David. “You start putting those together and something as simple as the little door stop you notice. We were looking at another high-end model and it didn't even have door stops. These little things started to add up for us. Premier was the way we wanted to go and no regrets after a full summer on the water. We love this boat.”

Adds Annie, “I like that there are a lot of cupholders and I love the layout. Plus the vinyl seat material is very soft. Our friends joked that we got leather seats on our boat when they first saw it.”

Going with their local dealer was another choice they look back on now with appreciation. The service after the sale including when taking delivery assured them they had made the right decision.

“Hallberg does all of its engine tests on this lake so when they were done with our boat they just left it,” said Annie with a smile. “It was nice to be able to walk through the boat with the guys when they delivered it. That was above and beyond.”

Final Touches
With a lot of their favorite features being standard, there wasn't a lot left to upgrade. They did opt for hammered rails and upgraded flooring and they did decide to go with the optional TurboSwing instead of a traditional ski/tow bar. The TurboSwing was probably one of the easiest decisions based on how often they tube.

“The TurboSwing is even better than I thought because you can swing the tubers out past the wake and you have such a wider range of motion,” said David.

The other add-on actually came from Amazon and it's a bow table that doubles as a drink cooler below. The top spins to help rotate the food and the only thing the family feels is missing would be a built-in cribbage board on top of their table.

It's not too late, but one “do over” for the family would be a different ladder than the stock one that came with the boat.

“We have a 100-pound German Shepard who loves to look through the gate and be out on the boat but it's not easy to get him back in the water if he jumps in,” admitted Annie. “A ladder with wider steps or a different pitch would be better, but that's really a minor thing when you look at all this Premier offers as is.”

Friends Welcome
The couple have two sons, Braycen (18) and Davin (17), who absolutely love the boat.

“Braycen is here at the lake more than any of us, but we haven't turned him loose on the boat with just his friends quite yet,” said Annie. “We wanted a chance to break the boat in ourselves first.”

The family lives two miles away from their cabin, which means they use it frequently.

“We're close by so friends can be over here on whim, which is the whole point of it,” said David.

Yes, friends are always welcome at their cabin, and having a Premier pontoon makes it even more inviting. Just remember if you do come for a visit, you are encouraged to “send it” when you leave.