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Just For Fun
Rating Details »
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
9 reviews for Just For Fun
There are a few places around town that tend to engender repeat conversations among my friends and I and this is one of them. Deep into an afternoon filled with sunshine, swimming, music, munchies and beer, one of us will pipe up and say "hey, why don't we just buy one of these? Then we could be out here every weekend!" All of us cheer and agree on the spot that this idea not only A) sounds plausible, but B) sounds like tremendous fun. None of us ever want to leave.
As it is, the reality of the situation is that for the time being it's much easier to head down to the lake, rent one of these bad boys for four hours and spent our afternoon tooling around and generally having the time of our lives. This go round a catfish was trolling for potato chips and a small dog named -- and I am not making this up -- Sparky ran down the side of the hill and proceded to swim out to several of us one at a time. I don't know what Sparky had been into other than the lake up to that moment, but word was that the dear boy needed a bath without some lake water in it.
But other than that sort of oddness, we couldn't have scripted a more fun and entertaining way to while away the hours with old and new friends alike. They're very good about walking through all the safety points with you here (and when the lake's down like it is this year, that's a very good thing for both them and you), though they do tend to blaze through the language in a fairly sing-song way. I guess if you had to say the same thing twenty times a day you'd check out on making it a real conversation too.
Either way, until we actually up and buy our own, I'm pretty sure we'll be back...just for fun.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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6/18/2007
Spent most of Saturday out on Lake Travis on "Club Fred," the Just for Fun Party Barge. Given that… Read more »
My first time out on a speedboat. I was surprised they just toss the keys over and tell you "just be back home on time, son (or else we'll charge you up a storm)." Like the dude didn't even ask me if I'd, like, ever been in a traffic accident before. And here I was about to go 60 mph in a marine vehicle I'd never even touched.
Yay!
--THE PONTOON--
Well, to backtrack a bit, our half of the party first headed out on a pontoon. It was pretty chill, being covered and all, and it moved at a nice pace. Watch out though, the deck is fairly low and hitting wakes can cause a nice flood of water to wash over it - so KEEP YOUR STUFF IN THE LITTLE SEAT COMPARTMENTS. Like your purse (sorry again Kelly!) and camera gear. Could be major ouchie otherwise.
However the pontoon maxed out at like 18 mph.
--ON TO THE SPEEDBOAT!---
The speedboat (they call it a 'ski boat') was simply...awesome. I stood up while driving, which was pretty cool (kind of like riding a horse) and then one of our boat passengers had the brilliant idea of hitting other boats' wakes...I was kind of apprehensive at first, but then shrugged, and said, Why not? And that is the way to GO people, let me just tell you. You can pretty much max the throttle out and hit the wakes hard (helps if you swing out and hit them more straight on). We got like 6 to 8 ft of air once. AWESOME. And don't worry, the dude said the boats go up to 60mph but we didn't (couldn't, though I tried) break 40, so it was pretty safe - and you can take hard turns in that thing and it won't even break a sweat. Amazing design.
It's like a roller-coaster ride, but better - because YOU'RE controlling it.
The counter ladies were very professional and nice (sorry Kevin N. for your experience with the inclement weather - I'll have to keep that in mind for next time!), and the deck guy who showed us around our boat was nice. There was another guy who fronted a 'I grew up on the water and know my starboard from my propeller so don't mess with me man' attitude when I asked him a newbie question, but it was alright, because hey, I'm about to go out on a SPEEDBOAT and have some serious fun. Gave the first guy a nice tip and so hope he spreads the good service love to the second guy.
--COST--
Now, about pricing: the pontoon was $65 per hour, the ski boat $75 (and it actually does come with water skis that you can use for free), but with a 2 hr minimum. Which is pretty standard, and as it turns out JFF is the only place that doesn't charge you for gas, which is pretty tight. It was definitely worth it, and when split among my buddies, wasn't even too bad, like about 20 bucks (pontoon can take 10 ppl, ski boat 8). I mean, there's no other place you can get the same experience (as opposed to a pricey steakhouse, which you can replicate pretty dang good at home with a few bucks' worth of CostCo Choice cuts). For the cost of 2 movies you can get about 100x the entertainment value as compared with, say, Transformers 2. Or whatever lame superstar vehicle is disgracing the screen these days =D
So, if the price is in your budget, and you want a seriously FUN time on the water at beautiful Lake Travis...hit up a ski boat.
---
Btw, in my next life I want to be a policeman on Lake Travis. An officer pulled my friend over when he was driving the boat, for a routine safety check (we think it's because we were having the most fun on the lake, hehe), and when he saw that we weren't drinking, and had our fire extinguisher and everything, he sent us away with a wave - and I got a view of the DUAL huge engines on his boat. Woah. I bet that thing gets some monster air. I was majorly jealous!
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I went on a party barge with Just For Fun over the weekend. The barge was as basic as it gets - two levels, some plastic chairs and a slide to take into the water. It was clean and the staff was fine even though they chain smoked while we were parked at Devil's Cove. I would have preferred to have cruised a bit in the lake rather then going 7 minutes - parking and then 7 minutes back after the allotted time was over.
Despite the great drought of 2009, they are very much in operation.
I just rented a boat from here last weekend and this was maybe my 6th time to use Just For Fun. The staff is fine, not really friendly but they're not rude either so no harm there. I think this is the most reliable place to get a reasonably priced boat on Lake Travis as long as you make a reservation like any normal person would.
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My family owns lots of toys - boats, house boat, jet ski's, etc.
Unfortunately, they live in California and I live here - which can be a bit of a problem when it comes to borrowing those kinds of things.
Whats a girl to do?
Rent.
I'm lucky to have friends who like to go out to the lake and include me when they go along. Grab yer floaties, sunblock, towels, hats and beer and you've got a day.
The great things about Just For Fun is renting was so easy. They didn't make us wait around for three hours while they did paperwork, nor did they do the nine hour "This Is How You Drive A Boat" speech. They did, however, make sure we knew enough to keep ourselves safe and happy.
The boat was great - never learned how to set the anchor, though. Clean, didn't have engine problems, cheap.
Gotta love Just For Fun.
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I would highly, highly recommend a two-hour plus pontoon rental from Just For Fun on Lake Travis. The lake is a hilly 25-minute drive from almost anywhere in Austin, making it a hot spot for boaters, beach bums, and party barges. Year round, many Austinites flock to the lake, so there is no lack of boat rental outfits on the water.
Twice I've done extensive research on Austin boat rentals, hoping to entertain friends and family in town for a visit. Just For Fun seems to be the best bang for your buck. While you won't see a ton of variance in the rental prices on the lake, you will see a variance in equipment quality and quantity. JFF has plenty of modern watercraft for whatever your interest. I suggest the pontoon boat because 1) it's cheapest, at $50/hour; 2) it allows for large groups; 3) it's great for swimming, sunbathing, and admiring the beautiful houses that sit above the towering cliffs; and, most importantly 4) it is safest to operate something that only goes 10-12 mph...especially when it doesn't belong to you.
They have ski boats and jet skis, in addition to houseboats and party barges. The staff is cheerful and takes care to give boater-illiterate instructions to renters. They are very good about accommodating your reservation needs. Also, they aren't sticklers about the time - if you're a few minutes late, they won't charge you. Alcohol permitted. Bring coolers. Hot tip: 10% discount on weekdays!
There are two JFF locations in Austin. Emerald Point Marina and Lake Travis Marina. I'd recommend Emerald Point because you can grab a burger and a beer before or after your aquatic adventure.
Cool off at Just For Fun.
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A great way to spend a hot summer day! Perfect for any occasion: birthday, company retreat, bat mitzvah, forth of july, labor day, memorial day, or just any 'ole random day or the week. Get a few friends together (make a reservation a week or so out) meet up with some floaties and coolers of beer and you have yourself a day at the lake.
I've rented a ski boat and pontoon boats and they've always been clean and ready when we picked them up. We've never had any mechanic problems or otherwise. (Though if you want to slalom be sure and ask for a slalom ski.)
The staff is pretty helpful. I've been on busy days and they somehow get you off in your boat quickly so you can enjoy the full rental time. Do make sure to get there a little early to fill out paperwork and get any instructions you may need.
Really there's not much better than driving around the lake, dropping anchor, cooling off in the water and floating around with a cold beer...for the next three hours.
Following up Sarah M.'s great review...I think they just have the one Emerald Point location now.
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Amazing.
Ive decided I want to be a beach bum. This is a bit of a problem considering I live in the middle of land locked texas. Imagine my amazement when after 20 plus years of living here some kind soul took me out on a boat.I fell in love. Now Im a chicken . Our boat went 25 miles an hour..and I screamed and giggled the whole way.
I would like to spend like 1 day a week on a boat, and I think then I would be truly happy.
Thanks for the pontoon heads up, Sarah M. Apparently my group paid in the hundreds for the same amount of time for a slightly faster boat that could fit less people.
Im going there as soon as I can get enough people and pitch in 50 more bucks.
Beach bum, here I come!
my experience with just for fun rentals was pleasant enough: making the reservations, bringing your own music to play on the CD player, docking and swimming. my only hesitation (and reason of giving 3 out of 5 stars) is their recommendation for margarita machines/beer.
they gave me the name of boris, who at the time i placed the order, was nice enough: he walked me through the needed alcohol amounts, generator issues etc. however, the day of my party barge, the employee assigned to my boat was less than helpful. he was rude on the phone when i asked about the machine sticking (we didn't talk while he was setting up). a simple check in would have been appreciated.
overall, just for fun is an A+; but i would suggest looking at the company they keep.
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