1st post on this forum:
So, I am an avid flyfisherman and love to fish trout waters in the rocky mountain area. Occasionally I do some lake fishing, but it is either in a canoe, a floattube, or in my pontoon boat. I have been in a ski (type) boat about as many times as I can count on 1 hand. So I know absolutely nothing about boats. In fact the only boat I have really been on, is the boat that was just given to me. Yes.. given to me.
My father-in-law has had a 1988 Bayliner Capri 19 foot bowrider. And he has totally babied the boat. He never put too much gas in, for fear that the gas would sit over the hard Utah winters. He would grease the trailer bearings religiously. He bought a 22 foot long tuff shed, just to keep the boat in between trips and thru the winter months. So sufice it to say the boat was well taken care of. That is.... Until he had a stroke about 7 years ago.
Ever since that time the boat has sat. The tires on the trailer went flat. His other (idiot) son-in-law took the boat out last, and left gas in it, that has sat for the last 7 years. The batteries never got taken into the warm garage, so they froze and died.
Then a total surprise.... My father-in-law, out of the blue, just gave me the boat. Not his other son-in-law who knows about boating... He gave it to me. Needless to say I am honored and excited!
I pumped up the tires and took the boat to have it checked out at a local repair place. They raved about how it was in fantastic shape for a 1988 boat. They said that it had great compression, good spark, and that the carburetor (to their surprise) didn't need any work, it shifted well, the prop was in great condition, and the boat as a whole, looked like it had very little time out on the water. They did recommend that I change out the water pump to be safe and they found one fuse that had blown.
So $200 later, they tell me that it needs some fresh gas and new batteries, and it will be ready to launch.
Only one problem....: I don't know what the heck I'm doing! The limit of my knowledge is that the motor needs to be submerged in the water before it's started (and I don't even know why.) Any way, I don't know the rules of the road when it comes to boating. I don't even know what some the switches do. I know.. I'm sad!
I would turn to my father-in-law, but his stroke hasn't left his brain in to good of condition, and I would turn to my wife's brother-in-law when heck freezes over. So.. I came here. help!
Richard "Fishtech" Evans
So, I am an avid flyfisherman and love to fish trout waters in the rocky mountain area. Occasionally I do some lake fishing, but it is either in a canoe, a floattube, or in my pontoon boat. I have been in a ski (type) boat about as many times as I can count on 1 hand. So I know absolutely nothing about boats. In fact the only boat I have really been on, is the boat that was just given to me. Yes.. given to me.
My father-in-law has had a 1988 Bayliner Capri 19 foot bowrider. And he has totally babied the boat. He never put too much gas in, for fear that the gas would sit over the hard Utah winters. He would grease the trailer bearings religiously. He bought a 22 foot long tuff shed, just to keep the boat in between trips and thru the winter months. So sufice it to say the boat was well taken care of. That is.... Until he had a stroke about 7 years ago.
Ever since that time the boat has sat. The tires on the trailer went flat. His other (idiot) son-in-law took the boat out last, and left gas in it, that has sat for the last 7 years. The batteries never got taken into the warm garage, so they froze and died.
Then a total surprise.... My father-in-law, out of the blue, just gave me the boat. Not his other son-in-law who knows about boating... He gave it to me. Needless to say I am honored and excited!
I pumped up the tires and took the boat to have it checked out at a local repair place. They raved about how it was in fantastic shape for a 1988 boat. They said that it had great compression, good spark, and that the carburetor (to their surprise) didn't need any work, it shifted well, the prop was in great condition, and the boat as a whole, looked like it had very little time out on the water. They did recommend that I change out the water pump to be safe and they found one fuse that had blown.
So $200 later, they tell me that it needs some fresh gas and new batteries, and it will be ready to launch.
Only one problem....: I don't know what the heck I'm doing! The limit of my knowledge is that the motor needs to be submerged in the water before it's started (and I don't even know why.) Any way, I don't know the rules of the road when it comes to boating. I don't even know what some the switches do. I know.. I'm sad!
I would turn to my father-in-law, but his stroke hasn't left his brain in to good of condition, and I would turn to my wife's brother-in-law when heck freezes over. So.. I came here. help!
Richard "Fishtech" Evans
