This has been incredibly helpful. Thanks everyone!
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This has been incredibly helpful. Thanks everyone!
Congrats on the boat, it looks great.
I suggest:
A boat tool kit. Boats break it's a fact and it sucks to be on the water and your boat breaks and all you need is a pair of pliers to fix it.
A good first aid kit.
Rope, rope, rope you never have enough rope. I'm not sure where all my rope goes but I always seem to need more.
Proper fitting life jackets, yea the bag o jackets will meet the law requirements but come on you spent 70+K on a boat buy some jackets that fit.
Paddles, not everyone is nice and it gets dark quick when you run out of gas/engine wont start and your a mile from the dock.
You and family members need to take a boat safety course.
Everyone that is old enough needs to know how to back the trailer in and load the boat on the trailer. You never know who will have to do it in an emergency situation.
You and family members need to take a first aid course and a CPR course if old enough I would suggest a life guard course also. I love being on the water and have been for most of my life but it is dangerous and while you may know the rules not everyone does and it causes accidents.
You need to learn how to change your trailer tires, I know it sounds silly but do it before you have to and you will thank me later when you have a blow out and stuck on the side of the road.
Since your a new boat owner make a check list of things you need you leave the house/dock. Its a lot easier to walk back inside and get that extra life jacket than get to the ramp and think "oh crap".
When at the dock be a fast as possible but don't let others pressure you in to being in a hurry that is when your frustration level skyrockets and stupid mistakes cause $10k in damage to your boat.
Finally: never be afraid to ask a question, chances are you are not the only one that had that thought or done that thing wrong.
All,
Great thread, and I agree with almost all of it. Be safe, be respectful and have FUN! I see way too many people stressing out about how their boat looks or who is looking at them. I've seen Dads yelling at children and wifes about stupid things. I've seen friendships ended over innocent accidents. My boat is a family tow tractor. It has a few love marks but, each scratch tells a story about the family fun we've had. Cheetos have been smashed in the carpet and a wayward grape has been found in the off season clean up. But nothing a pressure washer and a magic eraser didn't fix.
So true! If I do not find a few crushed chips, popcorn, juice box, or some other leftover kid stuff then it was not a good day on the water!! Or should I say normal day.Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Robo_Fighter
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Well said!Quote:
All,
Great thread, and I agree with almost all of it. Be safe, be respectful and have FUN! I see way too many people stressing out about how their boat looks or who is looking at them. I've seen Dads yelling at children and wifes about stupid things. I've seen friendships ended over innocent accidents. My boat is a family tow tractor. It has a few love marks but, each scratch tells a story about the family fun we've had. Cheetos have been smashed in the carpet and a wayward grape has been found in the off season clean up. But nothing a pressure washer and a magic eraser didn't fix.
I had to get that lecture from my cousin way back with my first boat. He called me "Uncle Gordon" who was the stuffiest, pickiest, PITA boat owner we ever knew. I got over myself (mostly) and everybody has had a lot of fun on the water ever since. Although-- I still don't toss my empties back in the boat when we're floating like SOME people do.
"I still don't toss my empties back in the boat when we're floating like SOME people do. "
Hey! I resemble that remark.
Always make sure you have the right size wrench for your trailer lug nuts incase you need to change a tire. This one bit me in the butt my first outing of the year. Figure out how far you need to back the trailer into the water when loading the boat and make sure your truck driver knows as well. I frequent an unusually steep ramp and see quite a few people every year back in too deep and then go in deeper when it doesn't work out. For my boat and trailer the steeper the ramp, the less I back the trailer in when loading. May have been said already, but I always start the boat and make sure all is well before I take off the bow strap. Once the bow strap is off I put the boat in reverse and signal the driver to come back a little further. If the driver lets the truck roll back a foot or two the hits the brakes hard the boat should slip right off. I used to have to really give it in reverse to get the boat off the trailer until I noticed someone at the ramp using this technique.
This thread has tremendously helped with first boat ownership. Thanks to everyone for there advice it truly has been helpful. Actually helped rescue a kayak-er and his 4 year old daughter this past weekend when another idiot boat (which needs to read this thread) capsized them. They were ok, just lost his phone some tackle and scared the sweet little girl. I ended up taking them back to where they put in at.
Nice work! Always good to help the others out and especially to set a good example for the little kid (and adults, for that matter).
And bad karma will come back and bite you-- always better to be several points to the good.Quote:
Originally Posted by Darter
I’ve had my boat 12 years. The kids are driving now, working summers and not hanging with me much but they get out a little. The first year or two you will be so excited to share you will not expect much, I’d still think about some early rules for guests. This was actually published somewhere years ago ( I wrote it), it is lake house focused but has a few for the boat as well.
Some tips for Guests from a regular Lake House Host:
I am not a one-man Bed, Breakfast and Board shop. One boy I know actually declines to come out because everyone works at my house – but not his.
I have noticed a trend of adults leaving before teardown. I’m fine with once in a while “having” to get back but not participating at all in teardown all summer is getting old. I took Friday off to setup on my own, that was my choice and I like the quite time but for those of you that are guests, we hosts eventually notice who is there when stuff needs to be packed, unpacked, cleaned and stored.
Maybe is not an answer. I have other friends. I also have limited space, bedrooms and boats. I need to know who is in and who is out. I’m asking if you would like to go, not if you would like an option to go that remains open up to and including the day of arrival. A maybe cannot be asked to bring or do anything. They are total baggage.
It is a bit unpopular but my solution to this is first come, first pick of a room. Maybe people are mostly also late people. Maybe Blueberry Hill will have a cabin.
If you are coming out a day late to a lake house ALWAYS call twice, once in the am and once at the store to pick-up what is forgotten, that is also a small thing that helps a lot when it is 40 minutes to Wal-Mart.
If you are a first time guest you may be told to just bring your suit and a towel - that is what I tell folks.
Here are some things you can bring that have made a great impression on me, - frozen bottled water, it works for ice and you have drinks for the boat that do not stain, I allow coke etc. but some folks do not. In fact, never show up to any boat without at least a bag of ice.
Bring your own cleaning rag and bottle of vinyl cleaner – even if it is not Aero 303 - I am always out and will use any good brand in a pinch.
If you ride with anyone on a regular basis and they say don’t worry, I’ll clean the boat when I get home – find out when and stop by to help. I can assure you, you are an army of one. By this point in the summer, even the rabid boaters are tired of solo boat care.
I have some regulars that just step up and handle stuff like food planning, who will bring what – it is a huge help.
I’ve had a boat for years, every winter I buy about 10 rash guard shirts ($15-$19), I consider them essential, and I am down to four – I do not know where they go. Rather than cash (which I have never taken) - plex goggles or a nice rash guard shirt or two will get you remembered.
If you ride tubes with someone a lot, think ropes. I switch out my 4 man lines every year and buy 4 at a pop so they are all the same length. I snapped a little rope once and it came back into the boat. I’m big on big new ropes every year or so.
I’ve also gotten a rope swing, framed water pictures and even a toilet paper holder (a moose with a spare role box under it). If it was a gift, I know who it was from. One guy made custom t-shirts for everyone, nice design, nice shirt, very thoughtful.
Watch the rope. If a kid is having trouble getting suited up, ask if you can pull it in. Watch the boat traffic, if it looks odd, SPEAK-UP!
I don’t “expect” this or that from my guests, but it is remembered when they take a little time to show their appreciation.
I volunteered with a crew at school for years (Bingo), they have been coming to the lake for years. They are some of my favorite guests. They are there early for set-up, they bring all the food, run every meal, don’t leave until I get in my car (stay to the end, see what lock up really looks like), and leave cash in the cupboard for gas because I won’t take it.
All of this takes more time than an ATM but if you are hitching a ride, someone has more than a little time vested in you already. Having been a host a number of years I realize that I was never a very good guest – which may explain why I wasn’t one all that often.
Still, if you are riding in a boat you have never bought a tank of gas for, you’re doing it wrong.
Additional thoughts on Guest kids:
They have never been a problem. One mom thinks I shouldn’t make the kids work so much (roll eyes here). I asked a kid on his first trip this weekend (after teardown) if it was too much work to come back. Three hours to put up four boats and put the lake house in order plus empty the garage & clean the floor so 8 other boys could sleep there when they arrived next week – not trivial work. He would LOVE to come back.
I treat them all like my own and often the parents are a little surprised at the kids’ capacity.
E. g. after a fall you do not ask - are you ok? Are you ok? Are you OK!? . . . You ask if they have another run in them, they will tell you if they are not ok.
Kids are on KP every night (ages 8-14), never perfect but getting better, they cannot learn by watching you work. Usually someone helps finish up but they are getting pretty good at it.
I have been known to let some kids sit out KP, if he is hauling the boat stuff out, wiping down the boats, helping the younger kids etc. I’ll give them a pass for seeing what need to be done and doing it. Of course most of my guest kids are Boy Scouts and they end up helping their buddies anyway.
In other news my son at age 12 took a boat to and from the dock on his own for the first time a few weeks ago. I noticed three other guest boys had taken the boating course and were being taught to do that this weekend. I consider boating a great place to train responsibility.
I have rules -- for safety, care of equipment, and shared workload. Generally, take the kids, leave the parents behind.
"Teaching my kids to Ride, Shoot Strait and Tell the Truth"
Good man.
Had this wonderfully beautiful boat of mine tide up to the courtesy dock, the no wake buoy is about 15 yard out in the water and this bass boat came flying up and shuts it down right at the buoy. This creating waves and such, rocking my boat up against the dock (had 3 fenders out). Did not mess my boat up but I gave him a glare that would start a fight in most bars. Q; how do you tell these folks to slow it down about 100 yards out with out getting into an argument?
If they're outside of the no wake zone, you can only appeal to their reason...Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan
But if they're in the no wake zone, I get on my Wet Sounds PA System and yell "NO WAKE ZONE DUMBASS!!!". I've done that to more than a few guys on Waverunners that don't think they put out a wake...
[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]Quote:
Originally Posted by trayson
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Sweet looking boat! Congrats.
I do not think it was mentioned, keep an eye on the weather. It can get real ugly real fast on a larger lake.
@SmokeDog - great post!
Sometimes I'm by myself and have to back down, drive off, tie up and then move truck
If the no wake zone is there to protect boats at the dock then the responsible organization needs to move the buoys out further.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan
That's kind of what I was thinking. Some folks just don't use their head and it is annoying.Quote:
Originally Posted by zabooda
This thread is a good read, thanks all! We're on our first wake boat, but have had pontoons and fishing boats for years. It really is quite different!
Great thread - I have been boating for 5 years and found some great nuggets of wisdom.
After a close call, I now require when we stop for a break and float, everyone, must take a flotation device (at least a noodle) with them even if it is for a quick pee break. I had a kid (18 years old) jump in and he was tired from wakeboarding all day and he quickly started to struggle, threw him a life jacket, when he got back in the boat you could tell it rattled him.
Another good reminder is to always chock the wheels and make sure the load is on the chocks before you put the truck in park and get ready to disconnect the trailer from the truck. Otherwise it might roll a bit before it settles and if it goes forward it might damage the truck.
Don't fill the rear ballast bags with your new doomswell surfboard still in the rear locker...
Quote:
Originally Posted by rdlangston13
pics or it didn't happen
:(
They come with an OOPS warranty?Quote:
Don't fill the rear ballast bags with your new doomswell surfboard still in the rear locker...
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...90f89223d7.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by jmvotto
Try to fight back the tears
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Are Heidi and Cody still alive?Quote:
Originally Posted by rdlangston13
I didn't want to break the news to them when I saw it... :(
I haven't been home yet. This is why we can't have anything nice lol. Board was all of like 3 weeks old... Maybe it will still ride ok? Or maybe it will ride BETTER!Quote:
Originally Posted by trayson
Well Brock can fix it. It will ride "okay" but really you're better off getting it fixed. At a minimum, you'll really need to get some fiberglass resin and hardiner and make sure any cracks where it got crunched are water tight. Because you don't want water intrusion into the core of the board. You could really "seal" it with anything, but riding it as is would be asking for trouble IMO. (And I saw it first hand and have had to repair my own boards before).
Well after a first year of a first time owner, I can tell you one don't that bit me. Don't put your trailer in too deep. Boat caught on the right side just before hitting the stop and shot off to the right missing the stop and getting the boat on the trailer sideways. Prop started hitting the frame of the trailer before I could get shutoff. Cost me about $260 for prop repair and some trailer paint from SC. Other than that we had an awesome year last year and am looking forward to the weather warming up.
Don’t feel bad I’ve been boating for 15 years and the exact same thing happened to me. Nettles repaired the prop for around 250 oops
Does keeping it in a rack damage it?Quote:
Originally Posted by rdlangston13
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I wouldn’t think so. This was a result of it being in the rear lockers when my lovely wife decided to fill the ballast.Quote:
Originally Posted by MJHSupra
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I drove out of the garage once with a rear locker door open. Had to buy two new panels for the aluminum garage door. The locker door got only a corner smashed in a bit. Actually works as a hand hold so it's easier to open. Never worried about it again but still a bad move.
Cheap shot across the bow at the misses that is not on the forum! Awesome manliness!Quote:
Originally Posted by rdlangston13
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Well, I was on his boat when it happened. It was tragic indeed.Quote:
Originally Posted by russellsmojo
But I point no fingers. Ha ha
The misses is on the forum lol. And what cheap shot? I said she was lovely...
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You did say lovely. Lovely makes it all better. It’s like “with all due respect” haha.
I remember the time my lovely wife jackknifed the black boat trailer on white Tahoe. But she remembers the time I backed into the house with swim platform. I blamed the house on her for not being out to tell me when to stop! Lol
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A man is only as good as his spotter...Quote:
Originally Posted by russellsmojo