New boat

[WGPuckett]

Hey guys. I bought a boat today. It's a 91 Challenger 197 with a 98 Mercury 150 EFI, all original owner. Serviced in May and used twice since. Used 3 times last year. Garage kept. The engine looks brand new and starts with a twitch of the key. Hardly a scratch on the boat and the carpet looks great. Electronics work but could be upgraded. 2 huge live wells. 2 chairs, 1 saddle. 3 new maint free batteries. 3 bank charger. Fairly new looking trolling motor. Jack plate, looks like 6" or 9". Fairly decent cover. Transom is solid. Couldn't find even a hint of stress. Almost no evidence of nicks and scratches on outside hull. Trailer is solid but doesn't have brakes.

I was prepared to wait until deep winter to find a decent buy. But this one came knocking and I felt I couldn't do any better if I waited. Soooooo... BANG!!!!

This is my first bass boat so I have a ton of things to learn. First thing I need to do is get the boat equipped. All I have is the fishing equipment you normally use for bank fishing. What do I need to start thinking about? I've read that fall fishing in Kentucky is very good. So I need to start planning for that. I don't care about tournament fishing or setting records. Just good fun and the occasional trophy on the wall.

Can't say I'm not excited. Been on my personal "wish list" for about 30 years. Finally made it happen. Now it's time to get serious and learn how to fish from a boat.

[Rodney Bledsoe]

Congrats Glenn, the fun is just starting

[AmesHusker]

Congrats on the new boat, Glenn!!

First, make sure you have all the safety gear that the state of KY requires (life jackets, throwable, fire ext, etc..)

Then the sky is the limit, but here are a few essentials:
jumper cables
small tool kit w/ elect tape, elect connectors, wire ties, spare fuses, wrenches, etc..
tow rope
extra gallon of oil
extra SS cotter pins for the trolling motor prop and the big motor prop.
bassboatsaver (to really make her shine)

[cmclairday2]

Congrats on the new rig!
A spare drain plug, good duct tape(in case a through hull fitting busts or a hose cracks) among the other things mentioned, and a waterproof camera to take pics of the big bass your gonna land

[unklenew]

Congrats on the new boat Glen. Here is a link to another thread that may help. Some of this will be overkill if you are not tournament fishing, but some of it is stuff a new boater might not think of.

http://www.bbcboards.net/zerothread/268976

The best advise I can give you is to get a copy of the boating regulations and read them to make sure you have everything required by law on board your boat. Here is a link to the Kentucky boating regulations.

http://www.kdfwr.state.ky.us/N...d=102

Stay safe and welcome to the BBC

[Sldrvr]

Congrats on the new boat. I would agree with everything they are saying in addition I would recommend taking a boaters safety course as well. They are several out there and in you can even take them on line. I would just make sure what ever you take make sure it is USCG approved. I fish alot of recreational bodies of water and I can tell you there are lot of ingnorant boaters and PWC drivers out there. Education can do the mind and body some good! Good luck and enjoy.

[Wreck_em_AU]

Next on my list would be updated electronics. New graphs with GPS helps make a good trip better IMO. I've been fishing in my F-I-L's boat and wish I had better graphs but don't wanna spend the $$$ on his boat .