Looking like a cold water day for the first trip out!

[E4NASH]

Going to take the boat out tomorrow on pickwick lake in West TN. It's supposed to be nearly 90 degrees here tomorrow but the water temps are looking to be high 50's if not a little cooler. I have a 2mm springsuit. Am I nuts to go out and try and ride?

[E4NASH]

Temps near 90?

You'd be nuts not to go for a ride.

Drink yourself a couple of beers, pee in your suit, and enjoy the day

You'll warm up real quick when you hit that vinyl on your deck that's been in the sun all day.

That's what I'm thinking!

[wakeflip]

55 degrees is what I start my season out with. I went out last weekend and the water temp was 54. I dont wear a suit either. When I first jumped in it took my breath away but it all depends on your tolerance for cold water. Im only 140lbs of skin and bone too and I could bear it.

[Mikey]

55? Get at it!! 90 outside temps we seldom get. A wetsuit would help. Soon as ice come off the water we go . Start with drysuits,then wetsuits ,then birthday suits,with shorts on top.HaHa.

[skiyaker]

you'll be fine in a 2 mil if you pee in it. wear your life jackets especially if you're drinking- cold water drownings don't result from hypothermia they result from the initial shock of the cold water- jump in without the wetsuit to see what i mean. this time of year when the air is warm but the water is cold you'll hear about fishermen that stood on the front of his boat to take a leak fell in and didn't come back up. Have fun and be safe.

[E4NASH]

you'll be fine in a 2 mil if you pee in it. wear your life jackets especially if you're drinking- cold water drownings don't result from hypothermia they result from the initial shock of the cold water- jump in without the wetsuit to see what i mean. this time of year when the air is warm but the water is cold you'll hear about fishermen that stood on the front of his boat to take a leak fell in and didn't come back up. Have fun and be safe.

Hmm...not sure if thats good or bad information to have. :D

[rdlangston13]

you'll be fine in a 2 mil if you pee in it. wear your life jackets especially if you're drinking- cold water drownings don't result from hypothermia they result from the initial shock of the cold water- jump in without the wetsuit to see what i mean. this time of year when the air is warm but the water is cold you'll hear about fishermen that stood on the front of his boat to take a leak fell in and didn't come back up. Have fun and be safe.

just got back from water survival school. water 60 degrees and colder you will be in shock for the first three minutes, unable to hold your breath ect. after that you will be fine until hypothermia sets in. water draws heat from your body 300 times faster than air. if your body temp drops to 82 degrees its game over.

[Huffer632]

I think you'll be fine! I went once a month for the past year wearing only some very short shorts, my life jacket and gloves. And a Santa hat for December haha. The worst was in January and February when the water was 36 and the air was about 40, but I still did it. I learned I was able to hold on a lot longer if I kept my gloves dry while I was getting up. I didn't spend a lot of time in the water though, so if you are planning on that maybe the wetsuit wouldn't be such a bad idea. It is going to be about that warm here tomorrow and I am hoping the water will be 50, but I am going out either way. Hope you have a great day!

[jmb]

My first day was February 19th. Water was about 54. Wore the wet suit and I was fine. You just got to want too, thats all. I'm still alive. Been going nearly every weekend since.

[skiyaker]

Hmm...not sure if thats good or bad information to have. :D

you'll be fine just be safe- the main danger is if somebody falls in without expecting it and is not wearing a life vest. I'm planning on going out early tomorrow AM and if I can do it in Indiana you can do it a few miles south of here ;)

[yearround]

i add the air temp and the water temp, if it's over 100, then no worries! there is a heater in the boat too.

but watch the hypothermia. keep a blanket, dry clothes, etc in the boat for extra safety. i went hypothermic after a really long run the other day, i was not a pretty sight and had the kids really scared for a while.

[E4NASH]

Thanks for the tips you guys. i will definitely let you know how it goes tomorrow when we get back....if I get back...muahahahahha! ;)

[jmb]

Man, I am wore out today. Skied and wakeboarded all day. Plan on going tomorrow too. I will have to go to work on Monday to get some rest. Absolutely a beautiful day!

[E4NASH]

Well, eventful day yesterday. Water wasn't too bad as long as you kept your hands out of it. I managed to hurt my back while boarding yesterday. Not sure if it was during the first or second faceplant. Then, to top off the day putting the boat back on the trailer the boat got a little sideways and i think the prop hit the trailer and it got a little bent. My buddy backed the trailer in the water too deep and so the boat didn't line up right. I'm sure it is still usable but I'm not sure how it will effect the ride. This being my first boat I don't want to go right ahead and replace the prop until I get a little more familiar with it so I don't risk messing up another one.

Any suggestions or thoughts?

[Hoopskier]

i think the prop hit the trailer and it got a little bent. --- This being my first boat I don't want to go right ahead and replace the prop until I get a little more familiar with it so I don't risk messing up another one.

Any suggestions or thoughts?

First post pics of what you got. An upgrade oppertunity? Prop maybe repairable. Prop maybe OK/usable as is. Also if you do get a new prop, have the old one repaired (if needed) and keep for a spair in case such an incident should happen again.

[E4NASH]

I called a prop shop and without seeing it they said they could repair it for about $128. Do you all think this is repairable? I hope so. After just buying the boat it will be difficult for me to fork out $500 to buy a new prop right now.

[kaneboats]

They can fix that one no problem. Check ebay as 3 blade props like yours go cheap. Get yourself a backup.

[E4NASH]

They can fix that one no problem. Check ebay as 3 blade props like yours go cheap. Get yourself a backup.

What are the props made of? The repair place I found can repair alluminum and Stainless. Aren't ours made of Bronze?

[kaneboats]

Call around and make sure you tell them it's an "inboard" propeller. If you can't find a local shop that does these, send it to these guys - they work on the HUGE ocean vessel props and are extremely good (and reasonable):

http://www.mechanicadvisor.com/fl/panama-city/marine-wheels-inc.aspx

[E4NASH]

Do you know the measurements of the prop? I checked the Acme website and I think the Acme Propeller that would replace the one I have is the 537.

[kaneboats]

It should be stamped right on the front around the center.

[E4NASH]

Thanks, I'll check it out when I am able to get back out to it tomorrow...

[kaneboats]

Just keep in mind that the prop that's on there may not be the ideal one for you or even be the original size that came with the boat. The best thing to do is figure out what activities you do most and how much weight you typically carry. You may want a slightly different prop when you shop for a "new" one. For example, if the old owners did a lot of slalom skiing and ran a prop more for skiing with higher top end and less bottom end pull but you will load a lot of ballast and do more wakeboarding you might rather have a lower pitched prop. Eric at OJ is on here all the time. You can call him directly and tell him your model boat and your typical activities, etc. and he can recommend the right one for you. You can then look for one that's close or just buy from one of his dealers. Sometimes a repair shop can even adjust the prop they are fixing to be closer to your ideal.

[E4NASH]

Yeah, I've been reading quite a bit about that since yesterday. All we do right now is general usage. I only have about 750 pounds of ballast in the boat (400 rear 360 center). May eventually get a 750 bag for surfing. But most usage is going to be wakeboarding and pulling a tube or kneeboard. None of us can really do any tricks on a wakeboard yet. We can get up and ride and thats about it.

I e-mailed my dealer for his thoughts and he said if my local place here can't fix it he's got a place that can fix it. He also said that the boat came from the factory with an OJ CNC 13.5x11 LH prop. He wasn't sure if it has been changed or not. When I get out to my storage location tomorrow to pick up the boat to take it to the shop on Wednesday I will check and see what's on it.

I found this site last night http://www.wakeprops.com/wakeboard-boat-propeller-finder/moomba-wakeboard-boat-propellers and it looks like for my usage I would only want to do a plus 1 upgrade if at all.

I just really hope they can fix this one...

[dusty2221]

Damn!!!!

Thats some solid work!

[KG's Supra24]

My buddy backed the trailer in the water too deep and so the boat didn't line up right.

Think this was my favorite part of your story. Ha!

Practice makes perfect! That should be repairable. Hopefully they can get you taken care of quickly.