New boat for first time boaters!

[JASinIL2006]

Hi all, I've been hanging out here for the last several weeks, reading and learning a lot, and I've already received some great help. My wife and I (and our 3 kids) are first time boat owners, having just bought a '97 Larson SEi 186 I/O bowrider from a nearby dealer.



With the mild winter and warm-ish weather we've had in the Midwest, we're itching to get the boat out for our first cruise. I've completed a boater education and safety course (which was very helpful) and I'm going to take the boat and trailer to an empty parking lot to practice my backing up. (I'm really lousy at backing up the trailer...)

I've found an owner's manual for the Mercruiser 350 Magnum Alpha 1 drive, and I recently started looking at the service manuals (thanks to some kind folks on this board!). Besides reading up on this forum, can you recommend any other good sources of info for a first time boater? Any launch/retrieve checklists that you find especially helpful? I have a friend who has owned boats for years who volunteered to take me out the first time to help me learn, but any other information that might be useful would be appreciated. It keep me busy while I wait for warmer weather...

Thanks in advance, and thanks for the wonderful forums here.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: New boat for first time boaters!

congratulations on your purchase! you are going to have a ball, and you are approaching things the right way.

There are dozens of launch/retrieve lists in "stupid human tricks." Why there? because someone posts about Bad Ramp Behavior, then someone Discusses It Thoroughly, then someone contributes his Ultimate and Only List of How to Do It Right.

Taking an experienced friend is one of the best things you can do.

Do not take the family on the maiden voyage, and do not try a crowded public ramp for your first try. Unless you have freeze issues, go now. You may even be able to practice several launches in one day.

On the water, practice lots of "touch and go" on an object such as a dock or piling, from different directions, to get an idea how wind and current affects you. Practice picking stuff up out of the water without grinding it in the prop (when I teach children, I just keep heaving stuff overboard and make them go back and get it). Practice approaching and touching a dock without using reverse as a brake.

be sure your children participate in the whole process, including prep and clean, but make it fun for them; don't be a slave driver. Give them small tasks they can handle. Teach them all how to operate the boat (in case you fall over). Get your wife to learn the whole ramp thing as well as boat driving.

And if you worry about bumping the dock or the color of the children's drinks in your boat, you should take up golf instead.

While this is a great site, you can't replace local knowledge. Look for a local forum. Support the local bait and snack shop at the marina even if it's more expensive than elsewhere up the road. get involved with some conservation groups.

Then drive it like you stole it.