In my opinion, nothing says summertime like backyard barbecues and long days spent at the lake. For years these two activities were mutually exclusive for me, as I lived hours away from any significant body of water. But last year my family relocated, and within a four-mile radius of our house there are three well-sized lakes.

Unfortunately, I can’t afford a high-powered speedboat, but my wife and I recently invested in the next best thing: an inflatable pontoon. Inflatable pontoons are just a fraction of the cost of traditional vessels and are infinitely most convenient. Just last weekend we went down to a friend’s house on the lake and enjoyed a massive potluck barbecue and a few hours trolling coast around the lake on our pontoon.