MANY moons (and approximately 8 Toyota 4Runners) ago, I was using my AOL dial-up internet to hunt for a boat. I was a 22 year old newlywed at the time, and we had just bought a tiny little house with an awesome, giant man-shed only a block from the nearest boat ramp on Lake Travis. Since our driveway featured an old 22R Toyota rock crawler, a Toyota 4Runner, and a Toyota Tacoma, it was no surprise that I became obsessed with finding a Toyota boat the moment I learned they existed.
Call it bad timing (in about a million ways,) I finally found one in Florida for sale on eBay. It was
glorious. A 2001 Toyota Epic SX Gravity Games towboat. It had been owned by the factory, and was used to pull legends like Darin Shapiro and Danny Harf in competition before Toyota Marine Sports closed its doors. The gentleman we bought it from, formerly an employee at TMS, said he had to jump through some hoops to have the boat assigned an HIN prior to being able to purchase it. Fast forward a little bit, and that very same boat (with an HIN ending in 001) was listed on eBay with the irresistible "Buy It Now" option.
I knew we had JUST bought a BRAND NEW inboard/outboard boat with a lovely stainless steel wakeboard tower, but I had absolutely zero self control that day. I did the unthinkable. I clicked the "Buy It Now" button, and not long after there was a car hauler with a 2001 Toyota Epic SX pulling into the little town of Lago Vista, Texas -all the way from Florida.
What a pickle that created.
That boat may have been cursed from the beginning, but I sure did love it. It wasn't long before I felt like an expert at rebuilding Rule Pumps and troubleshooting gauges and sending units. -Even a freak lightning strike (that fried every electrical component on that dang boat) wasn't enough to make me give up on my "unicorn".
Unfortunately, divorces can be a bit harder on things than lightning strikes.
Fast forward another ten years, two kiddos (and a couple more 4Runners) later to the present... I'm driving to work and notice something that grabs my attention from the corner of my eye; it's the familiar profile of a Toyota boat. Not too many of these things are around in Austin, so I managed to dodge traffic and pull into the neighborhood where the boat was parked. It was, indeed, a Toyota Epic. It also had a For Sale sign taped to the side. When I peeked beneath the boat cover, I almost threw up from the massive amount of butterflies I felt in my stomach.
An HIN ending in "001".
Long story short, she is now sitting in my driveway as I type. While my more well-grounded husband was convinced I was out of my mind to even think of buying a boat, my younger brother (and partner in crime) didn't have to think twice about what to do next. He had been looking for a V-Drive, and had loved that boat since he was a kid. I can't think of a more deserving owner, to be honest.
So a big congrats to my partner in crime, Jacob. It sure feels good to be back in the Toyota Epic family. Welcome to the "Cool Club", buddy. I'm not sure what on Earth I did to deserve all the awesome things in my life, but I sure am one grateful human being.
