This 29-foot cruising vessel is used more for grandkid time than fishing

Kemah residents Carl and Colene Joiner have been boating for a long time — owning a total of four boats, including a 42-foot house boat they once lived aboard.

But their current marine toy, the 29-foot Century 2901 Center Console fishing boat, affectionately known as Deck Time, is their “grandkid boat,” they said.

“We think this is a good-looking boat,” said Carl Joiner, who is the mayor of Kemah.

With a “welcome aboard” mat and what looks like fresh paint, the 29-foot cruising vessel perfectly reflects the Joiners’ penchant for design. Carl Joiner is an architect while Colene is an interior designer.

On days when the weather is nice, the Joiners gather their nine grandchildren and cruise around the waters of Galveston County and elsewhere in the 2015 fishing boat, Colene Joiner said.

While their blue 2015 Century model with sleek gray trim is marketed as the ideal luxury fishing boat, in the Joiners’ case, it’s also perfect for fitting the family aboard and discovering everything the area has to offer, they said.

The boat is outfitted with a 300-gallon tank that gives the Joiners plenty of fuel to cruise for extended periods of time. Sometimes, they venture to Houston to attend an Astros game or to visit the Houston Yacht Club, Carl Joiner said.

“Basically, we can go almost all season on one tank of gas,” he said.

The Joiners’ perfect grandkid boat also boasts several other helpful features for navigating the waters near their Kemah home. Twin Yamaha 300 horsepower outboards provide more than enough oomph to get where they’re going quickly, Carl Joiner said.

The Century 2901 Center Console fishing boat also has built-in GPS navigation and depth-measurement technology, which is helpful for navigating some of the tighter areas, Carl Joiner said.

“It’s really nice going under bridges, where some of the waters might be shallow,” he said.

Perhaps most importantly, the boat also features a bathroom that doubles as a place for extra storage, Colene Joiner said.

“There’s even a way to make it where you could sleep down there,” she said.

The boat also features bow seating to accommodate plenty of visitors or, in the Joiners’ case, plenty of grandchildren.

The Joiners don’t use the boat primarily to fish, but it features a 62-gallon baitwell and other space for storage.

Each of the four boats they have owned were fairly different from each other — from a 42-foot boat they once lived aboard to the 26-foot boat that immediately predates “Deck Time,” they said.

But when they take out the 29-foot Century boat with grandkids in tow on a tube behind it, there’s nothing much better, Colene Joiner said.

“We try to keep it looking brand new,” Carl Joiner said.

Century Boat Company, which built the Joiners’ boat, was first founded in Milwaukee and moved to Michigan in 1928, where it remained for 60 years.

The company now is based in Florida, officials said.