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smokedog2
04-10-2005, 09:00 PM
I got the boat wet. Ohhhh yea, is our world about to change.

I was out of the house at 5 am for the 11 am boat test drive. No, I did not have a 6 hour drive, or even a two hour drive. I was still late.

Here is a summary:

Things not to do:

Do not put your registration papers in the ice chest. The lid may bounce off as you race to meet the dealer. If you are way too lucky, you will drive back on your route and find them, but don’t count on it. BTW I scan all registration documents and file them on the computer. It comes in handy when you need it for insurance, later licensing, and other stuff you do not anticipate - like losing them.

If you are going to go to the trouble of creating a checklist, try to remember to bring it along.

Do not negotiate the grass cutting service at the lake house with the new boat in the driveway. Without taking his eyes off the boat he said “ya know gas is going up and I was thinking about raising my rates.” Gas my A$$.


The Boat checkout:

The first time your boat hits the water, take the dealer with you. The first 10 minutes was just getting keys, plugs, etc. identified. I bought this boat four months ago without a test drive. Because of the ice this boat had never even been on the water.

To make a long story short the Perfect Pass needed a little seven second adjustment. I’m not sure I would have known there was anything wrong but when we started the motor the second time the mechanic (that the dealer had brought along) declared something “didn’t sound right” with the motor and placed the trouble with the PerfectPass adjustment. I will not go into great detail as to how long it took to identify the exact seven second adjustment to make. Suffice to say they were persistent in the extreme.

I do not care what boat you buy, the dealer will make all the difference. The friend I brought along (Bob) also brought his I/O boat along to see if a problem he had had fixed twice with another dealer was now actually fixed. After spending a lot more time than anticipated with me, the dealer’s mechanic went out with Bob just to be sure everything checked out with his boat. Thank you to Lakota Watersports for a great boat buying experience. You guys are really committed beyond any reasonable expectation to providing great customer service.



Boat Comments:

Using the GPS for calibrating PerfectPass (PP) and the speedometer is super simple. Borrow one if you have to. The Moomba Speedometer was right on. PP was off by about 2-4 MPH depending on the speed.

We were initially out in about 1.5 foot chop. At 1000 rpms you can splash water on the dealer up front, but I was just fine behind the windshield. Once we picked up a little speed it dried up. If it is a bow rider, I can get you wet up front. There is no “problem” with this boat in chop. I thing it handled the waves better than most V hull I/O’s of the same size.

Part of our tinkering was on the water and the boat floated dead in the water really well. Very little side to side rock like I am used to with I/O’s. Watch out because it does not feel like you are moving. You could look up and find yourself beached. It was that smooth.

The “low” freeboard opinion is IMHO a function of what you are used to riding. Based upon other people’s comments I wondered what I would think. I think they need to get on the water a little more. I was very comfortable. Later while on Bob’s I/O I felt like I was higher, and I was, but it was not a feeling I preferred. You are higher off the water in an LSV than a bass boat but less than a typical I/O or bigger V/DD’s.

I am very glad I did not get a bigger boat. For all around towing, docking, loading and unloading ease I thought the size was perfect. I use some narrow country roads, a few inches wider and I may have bagged a mail box here & there. I may feel differently in a few years but for now this is as much boat as I am comfortable hauling around.

The handling, responsiveness and get up and go need to be experienced to be appreciated. Suffice to say it is a fun boat. Get one.


Boat Options:

PerfectPass is a must have. It was a little fussy out of the box but that thing is an engineering marvel. If you did not know, it gives you the water temp. 52 Deg. F. Friday. If you want your wife to pull you, you have to have it. Get it, Get it, Get it. Best choice, get it with the boat.

The wake plate really works. It can also be used to raise & lower the bow. Get it with the boat

The heater hoses will be destroyed on my boat. I expect the kids to use them every time they get out of the water and never put them back before stepping on them or tripping over them. I will buy new hoses as necessary. I shall not get angry when this happens. Remind me of this later.

All the rest are nice to have and I have not really used them much but those three are awesome.


Those little worries from the internet:

I did not find any screws in the gas tank. To be honest I did not even find the gas tank. Based on all I saw I just didn’t see that as a legitimate worry.

I could not find any screws protruding in storage areas so I pulled the top edge of the carpet back in a storage locker and “found” a mm at most protruding screw. Since the carpet runs all the way up over the rail I would not have found this without a little intentional disassembly. I'll reglue it later.

I tried really hard to find screws coming up from the cushions into the vinyl. I failed. I declined to take the cushions apart to see if that would help.

The ventilation hoses were connected like they should be.

The wiring is copious. Yep there’s the wires, next.



Suggestions for SC:

SC should link from the Moomba page to PerfectPass and Idmar. If at all possible add their manuals in PDF to the Moomba manuals page. It is as important to read their manual as the boats. I want to leave the manuals in the boat and I could read the pdf stuff at home. Maybe you have this. I have not looked yet.

The boat has too many different keys IMHO. Due to the different location sizes it may be hard to standardize but that would be nice. Until then the rest of us should write the key numbers on the back page of the manual and enter the data in your palm. You will lose keys - well I lose keys. I think SC should spring for one more key float. One for the gas cap key an one for the ignition key, glove box key, floor locker key and motor box key. The key float should be color coordinated with the boat. Mine did not match……


That last one is a joke – you need to have been paying attention to get it.

Gotta go,

Thanks again to Lakota Watersports,

SD2

P.S. to Ed G. – Designate a photographer with a digital camera for the jamboree and get SC to host & link a post event web page with pictures, and stories. Maybe even a video clip or two. You guys are going to have a ball.

Buttafewcoe
04-11-2005, 08:46 AM
The book was good, I'll be glad when they make the movie.....at least it had a happy ending (almost made me cry!) roflmfao......:p

BLKOUTLS
04-12-2005, 09:04 PM
Smokedog,
Its about time you got out on the boat. guess you will need to return it since it doesnt match the key float. was it not you who gave me grief about the things you should carry and you felt i was recommending too much? cant believe you sent reg. papers down the hwy.oops as you use it more and more you will figure great things to have on the boat and a few why the hell did i get this kind of stuff. enjoy hope the weather holds for all this weekend as well.

chris

smokedog2
04-14-2005, 08:14 AM
If I recall it was not the tools but the stuff you were adding to the boat BLKOUTLS. Little LED light trim if I recall. Even then I thought you were just a little bit more nuts than myself. Hard to tell for sure without seeing the whole boat though.

I carry a spare prop & a tool box in the Lund. Never can tell what may need a little seven second adjustment.

SD2

BLKOUTLS
04-14-2005, 10:14 AM
Smokedog,
sorry about that. I do have the led's and now have 3 new 12v outlets planning to wire in and install.I just need the time to do it. The boat is in the water now and working time on it gets second fiddle to riding.

chris