Top 10 Newbie Mistakes
 

I would like a take from some of the old dogs on the board. I am somewhat new to powerboating and I would like the advice from the pros as to what are the ten biggest screw up newbies make with their new boats. It can be mechanical or moral... Just help the new guy.

Thanks
GarDog

Remember this about advice: If its free, its probably worth it.

Safety equipment should be the FIRST concern.

...a few things that have stranded me:

Never run your outdrive without a water flush connection....not even for ten seconds.

Change your sea pump impeller no less that every two years.....more often than that if you don't obey the rule above.

Service your trailer every season or eventually, you will end up on the side of the road instead of at the water.

Boat fuel gauges lie worse than politicians.

At the ramp???? DON'T FORGET THE DRAIN PLUG:rolleyes:

Respect the ocean/lake you are on. Water is very unforgiving and very hard at anything above 40 mph or so!

Weather is NOT irrelevent. No matter what anyone tells you. Respect the weather.

Check your oil!!!

Keep a stocked safety kit. Everything from bandaids to scissors. You can buy a good one for very little money at Boat US or West Marine.

Life Vests!! Enough said.

If on the ocean or one of the Great Lakes, VHF can be indespensible. Cell phones cannot always be counted on, but bring it along.

Check your oil!! (did I say this already???)

When in doubt, give way. Assume other boaters do NOT know what they are doing. Better alive and wrong than dead right!!

Red right returning. :)

Take a Coast Gaurd class on safety and navigation. I enjoyed it very much, even though I probably could have taught it. :)

Master the art of docking without an audience!!

Learn how to launch your boat alone and with help (if you trailer that is). You cannot always rely on getting any help. Again, pick a week night at a quiet ramp and practice. No audience means no pressure!

There is a lot more I could add, but I don't want to seem like a know-it-all. Probably too late already! LOL!!

'Foul
Mike

ALWAYS have a life preserver on board for everybody. The kiddies must wear theirs. And it has to be the right one.

If you have VHF and a gps learn how to use them! You may need to give a gps position at a moments notice.

I have seen a lot of broken outdrive skegs from guys pulling their boats out of the water without raising their outdrive.;)

Don't forget the drain plug...

Don't drop your cell phone in the water while tying your boat up at the dock at the launch ramp. :D

Don't leave your fenders out after you leave the dock

Load the boat, attach the lines, start the bilge blowers, etc. before backing the boat into the water. When loading back onto the trailer, get the boat loaded and out of the water before unloading all your stuff. An experienced proficient trailer boater will not tie up the ramp.

all of the above! :p

Keep spare parts on board along with necessary tools. The two most important: belts and impeller. Keep extra motor and drive oil. Mechanical knowledge of your boat is priceless; don’t wait until you are broken down in the middle of nowhere for a “crash course”. At least know each component for operation and location. Always keep your seawater pump lubed ever year.(along with all required maintenance) Just good commonsense will get you out there and the best education is the experience.

Good luck…it is addicting!

Also.... if you are boating on the ocean,... keep a few gallons of fresh water on board... nothing worse than having a simple breakdown and dying of thirst until someone can come save your butt. :cool: If you are new.. make a checklist of things you have to do before you launch.. nothing worse than getting excited about boating and forget to put in the plug... or forget to open a valve or replace a cover over a sea strainer.. Then go down the checklist while the boat is still on the trailer... and don't forget to lube the wheel bearings just before you dunk the boat... when the hubs cool, if there is any air in the hub... it will contract and draw in water... so get those bearing buddies and fill them every time you launch!

buy as much engine and outdrive as you can afford. If yo have to go from the 42' to teh 38 but get a set of beefier bravos out of it, its prolly not a bad idea to get teh smaller boat.

I wish I would have read this post a year ago... As a 2nd year and still a newbie...

I have found out the following:

Want more speed it's simple. Money makes a boat go faster.

Do you need more speed? NO not as a newbie

Safety First

MAKE A CHECK LIST...

Good luck and enjoy I am...

My last .02

Run from OSO it is way addictive.

Brad

To go fast is easy... it just takes Cubic inches... and Cubic dollars!.....:eureka:

Check depth charts of unfamiliar rivers and lakes. Otherwise look for the fishermen. They usually are near shallow water.
Wind and currents can be tricky when docking. Practice before you get caught in a storm.
Have a bigger anchor than you need and know how to use it.
Everything else above and remember don't tie up the boat ramp!

never start your engine with your drive UP!

don't power load..it's bad for the boat...and it really F's up the launch!

You guys all forgot rule numero uno.

NEVER drive your boat impaired. DEAD DRUNK is a nasty term!

change drive lube every 50 hrs MAX, or every season if you're below the hours. Even with vanilla motors. I know guys who have tried to go 4 years on the same drive lube. If you git big motors, change the lube with every tank of gas.

Gardog,

I think Waterfoul touched on a good subject. Whether you have a twin or single engine set-up you might want to practice shifting/manuvering your boat in a spot where there is no boating traffic. Do this a few times to get the feel of how your boat turns and responds. This can be helpful when you are around the docks and any boat traffic---even the wind or river water currents.

Things can get pretty hairy around a busy marina or boat launching site---wierd stuff can happen quickly and you can find yourself in very tense situations within seconds. Tempers can easily FLARE UP :hothead:---especially around a busy boat launch. Having your gear loaded and preped BEFORE you launch your boat is a wise idea. I usually do this while my boat is sitting in my driveway before I leave for the launch.

Most launch sites have a prep lane or an area where you can prep your boat for launch without impeding the flow of other folks launching or retrieving their boats. This can usually be done while waiting your turn if there is a waiting line. If you do this it will help things run much smoother and quicker when it is your turn to launch. It will also keep you from getting the old sour eye look :snide: and comments from the other boaters.

If you go to a launch site on a busy day and just sit there and watch for a few moments, you will easily be able to quickly pick out those boaters who have their act together from those who still have to unload stuff from their car and put it in their boat and those who just plain take their sweet time. :rolleyes: --- that's when tempers start to flare and set some people off. :hothead: :mad:

Once you have launched your boat and go to put it in gear just do everything SLOWLY! -----slow, small moves while manuvering your boat is priceless! The more time you spend with your boat the better you will become----from preping your boat for a day out on the water, at the launching ramp, to manuvering your boat safely.

Sorry I was so long winded, there looks to be a lot of good advice from the other guys here, but I thought this might help you out a bit as well. It just took me a little longer. Have fun. :)

1) Money: everything will cost 3 times what you expect.
2) Time: everything takes twice as long to do as you expect.
3) Expectations: Expect to use a lot of #1 and #2 above even if you dont use the boat.
Also, always expect other boaters (or your crew for that matter) to do the stupidest possible thing.
These 3 lead to a lot of boaters on the "3 year plan".
Gary

What's all the fuss about....?
It can't be too hard driving one of these things..it's got a steering wheel just like a car does'nt it ? :D

Don't unhook the boat from your trailer until the boat is in the water. Especially if someone has spraid silicon on your trailer bunks without you knowing.

To buy a boat and THEN get bit by the speed bug. You now are trying to stuff too much power into a hull that is not designed for those speeds. You end up wasting money, now have a boat that is a bear to handle, and can even be out right dangerous. If you want to do some reading on this, search the boards with a user name of "kook".

Kaama made a very good point...

Take everything VERY SLOW. I see people approaching the docks all the time like they are parking a car. Way to fast, and then when they realize they can't stop they throw it in reverse and still end up smashing into the dock. Small inputs of throttle and steering will work a lot better.

Don't get macho at the launch ramp and blame your wife/girlfriend for your bonehead mistake(s).

Fill the gas tank and empty the head.

Take a safe boating course.

Everything is more expensive than you think.

All sailboater are not idiots.

Wear polarized sunglasses and sunscreen.

It only takes a few seconds to check for fumes.

One other thing. Take your cooler out of your boat before the drive home. Youll be amazed at how much damage it will do when you have to hit the brakes hard.

Oh yeah... I forgot to mention fumes... don't want your boat to burn down to the water line... also... after you have retrieved your boat...do a few test stops to dry off your brakes.. nothing worse than getting on a freeway on-ramp... and have to slam on your brakes.. I've been there... slam on the brakes.. and the tailer brakes are wet... not working... a big heavy boat seems all that more heavy when it is picking up your rear wheels and shoving you into stopped traffic.. and Remember more than anything The word BOAT is an acronym... B stands for "Break"... O stands for "out".... A stands for "another"..... T stands for "thousand". And I'm not talking pesos here either! :p

DID NOT KNOW ABOUT NEVER STARTING ENG. W/ DRIVES UP, ALSO WHEN I FLUSH THE ENG. USE THE ON BOARD SYSTEM DO I HAVE TO HAVE MUFF ON OUTDRIVE WHEN STARTING????????????????????????????????????

After mastering all the above; don't go without bikinis aboard! Preferably more than there are males:D

That reminds me...always have an emergency supply of beads on board. You never know when the opportunity will present it's self...

Remember Milwaukee Mike? :D

You should have a vhf radio even if it is portable, your cell phone will fail you when you need it most.

Always keep fresh water on the boat to drink

Make sure kids wear vests before getting on the docks

If you don't know, you don't go, assume the other guy doesn't know where he is going, iv'e seen a few people follow eachother over the rocks. follow the markers.

Be safe and have fun...........

dont know if this has been said but . . .


If you have kill swithces use them, if you dont have them . . get em. even if your boat is a mid-range performer.

My # 1 gripe is with the people,
that once it's their turn to launch,
decide that now is a good time to
load the cooler, people, and whatever
else they've hauled along inside the boat.

Never mind the fact that we've all been
WAITING in line :hothead:

If you have "switchable" exhaust,
(i.e. silent choice) use it around the docks

Being your in a performance boat now
chances are you've already been
catagorized as an a$$hole:rolleyes:

So, a little "noise courtesy" wouldn't hurt
the public relations department ;)

If your running in rough water
and you "get some air", back off the
throttles before you re-enter the water:eek:

If it's a twin engine boat, when maneuvering
around the dock, keep the steering wheel
straight, use the shifters for manuevering.

Lastly, find out how fast the boat goes,
then add at least 5 mph to that..... that's your
"bar speed" :D :D

What is a "vanilla motor"?:confused:

If you have a chocolate motor that is what the gear lube will look like shortly if not changed and kept cool...

:D :D :D
This cracks me up!!!! I think I just read about $200,000 worth of "experiences" here!

All great advice.

set up a lawn chair at the launch ramp for 3 or 4 hrs and watch the show. Its the best free comic show around, and learn form others mistakes.

Don't expect a new boat or engine package to run flawlessly on the first few trips, (ask me how I know)

Bring toilet paper for the ladies. :) :) :)