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101 things a new boater should know?

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Old 09-27-2011 | 05:03 PM
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As far as tabs & drive angle... it takes some practice. If your tabs have an indicator, on the trailer run them till they are flat and note the position of the indicator. Then run them slightly down so that the tip of the tab just extends below the bottom of the boat and note this position.

When I take off, I set the tabs to the lower position, where the tips are just below the boat. The drives are all the way down or "In". Roll the throttle on until you are on plane and cruising, then bring the tabs up to the "Level" position... anything higher than that is pointless for the most part.

Run just like this for a minute and see if the boat is leaning left or right, if it is, bump that tab down a hair (if leaning to the right bump the right tab down)

The tabs for the most part now are just for list (leaning)... if you start to get into big water you can drop them back to the lower position to make the entry of the bow into the waves a little softer.

Now let's talk about the drives, so you've got the tabs level, the drives are still down or ("in") and you are on plane. Bump up the drives a little. You will feel the speed pick up, the boat will lift up out of the water a little more, not bow up but like the whole boat is a little less in the water. Bump up the drives again, continue doing this and watch the speed. When the speed stops climbing or you start wasting prop energy by throwing a rooster tail out of the water too much then that is your limit of trim up.

If you start to hit any big waves or it starts to feel hairy at any time, drop the drives down FAST! and slow down. The boat will calm right back down.

This is just a beginners lesson, but it should get you to where you can then play with it a little to see what works and what doesn't. As far as your speed and RPM's, I want you to write down those figures after you play with this a little and find out what prop size and gear ratio your bravo 1 is and report back to us. I think you may have too big of a prop or not the correct prop from your previous RPM and speed numbers.

Last edited by Chico&Zeus; 09-27-2011 at 05:09 PM.
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Old 09-27-2011 | 07:41 PM
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Just take things slow and enjoy your self - it is supposed to be fun, not stressful!!!
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Old 09-27-2011 | 07:47 PM
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You are very likely to hear someone say...the 2 best days of a boaters life is the day he buys it and the day he sells it....
whoever made up that saying is not a boater....he's a tool...and doesn't understand the joys and lifetime of memories you will experience while boating with family and friends.
Be safe and enjoy
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Old 09-27-2011 | 07:54 PM
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always have a camera and make sure you get pictures of all of the boobies and post them here
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Old 09-27-2011 | 08:03 PM
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Originally Posted by kreed
And make sure you have enough ropes! Actually, have MORE than enough rope.
+1

This is actually a corollary to rule #18 which states:
You can never have too much rope or too much beer on a boat.

Have fun, be safe.

Good reading:

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Old 09-27-2011 | 08:13 PM
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Originally Posted by seth0687
Thanks a bunch guys, I'm learning tons already. How bout some tips on operation? Crossing wakes safely, safe general operation, use of tabs, use of trim.

Right now I get up on plane with no tabs, drive trimmed all the way down, and I porpois (SP) a bit. Met a guy at the lake and he said that I need to trim the engine up and then put tabs down, I did that and the porpoisng got extremely bad and I wasn't comfortable with it so I got out of the throttle, trimmed back down and put tabs back nuetral. Problem is for whatever reason I'm not getting the MPH out of the boat that I think I should be able to achieve. On my wifes phone GPS, it said I hit 45.9mph at WOT. Keep in mind that I am operating at about 5280ft elevation but still. Engine RPM was reading around 4200 at WOT, couldn't get any more than that. Engine is a 502 carbed, bravo 1 drive with a bravo 1 24p prop.

Thanks,

Seth
Take the Tres Martin class.
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Old 09-27-2011 | 08:33 PM
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Learn what those markers on either side of the channel are for,the ones that are red and green.Boating on land is hard on the props
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Old 09-27-2011 | 08:34 PM
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When you see someones red nav light(port side) take the long way around/ let them do what they want.
When you see someones green nav light(starbrd side) don't imagine for one second they are going to take the long way around and let you do what you want.
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Old 09-27-2011 | 09:12 PM
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Create a routine for the launch/retrieve process. You can make it whatever works for you. I stop above the ramp and load last minute things in the boat and remove transom straps and install plug. (have a bulkhead fitting and the plug threaded right to bunk next to tie down point). Turn on blower and put lines and fenders out if needed. Remove winch chain and loosen strap couple turns. Back in till boat barely floats. Unhook strap, enter the boat from the bow and drive off trailer and dock. Sounds harder then it is, the key for me is a sequence, things are done the same that way you cant miss steps and forget things as easily.
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Old 09-28-2011 | 01:13 AM
  #50  
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Originally Posted by seth0687
Thanks a bunch guys, I'm learning tons already. How bout some tips on operation? Crossing wakes safely, safe general operation, use of tabs, use of trim.

Right now I get up on plane with no tabs, drive trimmed all the way down, and I porpois (SP) a bit. Met a guy at the lake and he said that I need to trim the engine up and then put tabs down, I did that and the porpoisng got extremely bad and I wasn't comfortable with it so I got out of the throttle, trimmed back down and put tabs back nuetral. Problem is for whatever reason I'm not getting the MPH out of the boat that I think I should be able to achieve. On my wifes phone GPS, it said I hit 45.9mph at WOT. Keep in mind that I am operating at about 5280ft elevation but still. Engine RPM was reading around 4200 at WOT, couldn't get any more than that. Engine is a 502 carbed, bravo 1 drive with a bravo 1 24p prop.

Thanks,

Seth
You will have to experiment with tab positions when coming up on plane. Keep the drive down and tabs at nuetral or down or bit.

How high were you trimmed to get that speed???? Its a 390hp engine and at your elevation, its probably making more like 330hp(at 5000rpms). You will most likely have to drop down to a 22p Bravo prop to get your rpms up. Running at too low of a WOT rpm is hard on the engine. I would expect the boat to run low-mid 50's at your elevation.
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