About to purchase my first boat...excited and nervous.
What are some on the water mistakes you've made?
About to purchase my first boat...excited and nervous.
What are some on the water mistakes you've made?
Plug...and forgetting the keys at home. Lol
Well not me personally,but the transome straps,bow strap and motor totes come to mind.
Really looking for how people might have messed up on the water and damaged their boat.
1986 Mercury 200 "parts motor" waiting to be swapped out.
1987 184 DCB Fish and Ski. 1987 Mercury 175. JPL 6" Manual jack plate. JSRE Heads
23 Hi 5 ski prop. Croxton B&B 23 Tempest. Croxton B&B 23 Yamaha M. 26 Mazco RE3. 24 Mazco RE4.
What boat are you buying?
Write out a checklist of things you need to do at ramp, such as remove straps, drain plug, make sure kill switch is up, etc. Practice backing your trailer in a big, open parking lot. For the first trip or two out, DO NOT GO ON A WEEKEND!!!! Add first time boater stress to weekend at the ramp stress, and your chances of damaging your boat increase tenfold.
Do you have a good map card? I see your in Maryland so you may be dealing with tidal waters. Depth can change 2.5 feet every six hours. Running a ground and damaging your boat is a real possibility on any new waters. Go slow at first until you get more comfortable.
Boats do not steer like cars, or forklifts, at slow speeds the pivot about in the middle of the cockpit, so you actually may need to steer towards something your avoiding, like turning left pushes the motor and back of the boat to the right,
in reverse steering left will pull the back of the boat left. Do some slow speed handling in the middle of the lake so you don't dock rash the new glitter sled. Also take the throttle easy, the boat may not like to steer at a given amount of trim. So just take it easy, life jacket and kill switch tethered correctly.
Don't drive it beyond your experience. Take your time, learn your boat and what she'll do. ALWAYS wear your life jacket.
THIS SPACE FOR RENT
2nd trip out with first Ranger was on a 25 mph wind. Accidentally let the rear of the boat get under a bouncing dock.
Loaded too fast and jumped the front roller. Boat went to the side and hit the tailgate.
Don't do those things.
Launched the boat and for got to tie the rope...... in April............Lets say it was a chilly swim
Chopping the throttle at 80
Speed cost money. How fast ya wanna go? I have done so much for so long with so little. I can now do the impossible with nothing!
As long as you use common sense and good judgement you will be fine. Don't rush at the ramp. Take it easy until you get seat time. Always pay attention even if you are in deep water, you never know when you'll find a floating log (I know this from experience). I've also taken off with the trolling motor still deployed a few times. Try not to get distracted by people talking, that's what gets me and I get forgetful
Forget to stow the trolling motor and try to get on plane.....don't do that.
In almost everything concerning motor skills and especially launching and retrieving a boat or driving the boat remember this, "Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast."
In other words, doing it slowly and smoothly will get it done better and a lot of times faster than rushing.
ALWAYS have kill switch hooked to you when running big motor and WEAR pdf
Say your doing 45 or 50 ish or better , trim down just a bit going into turns.