First Run of 2011 - FINALLY! Pics

Last year my first outing was June 26, 2011. Same this year! It was a beautiful sunny morning, had just finished up the ballast project but wasn't dewinterized yet. It was starting to get a little overcast so I told the kids - "we can clean up the boat and make it all nice or we can go out for a test run."

"TEST RUN DAD!!!!"

So did the DIY Dewinterize in the driveway, hooked up the fake-a-lake and fired right up. All looked good so we packed up headed for the launch. The river has dropped 4-5 ft so it's getting better here. Water temp was about 60.6 a few feet down. 62 right on the surface.

The water is still high though! This is the first time I've parallel parked on a beach instead of a dock. Prop and rudder weren't touching at all.

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There were still a few small pieces of debris floating downstream we had to watch out for...
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Everything worked great - couple issues with the ballast wiring and a few drips I posted about already. But all in all a good first run of the year. Ready to go again now!

So happy to be out on the water. It's actually starting to feel like summer around here. If you look closely that's Mount Hood in the background. Easier to see when the sun's shining.

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Warming up the water...
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This guy and his gal pulled up to load the same time as I did.

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Check out what he's pulling that monster with!

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I had to ask him about it. Twin blown big blocks, boat weighs over 10,000lbs and about 1,000lbs tongue weight but the truck hardly squats.

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Yes, that's a Dakota with the little 318 and 182k miles on it. He said he's only going about 15 miles up the road and goes pretty slow. And YES he already knows it's not a good idea... But it works for short trips.

i dont understand how he can afford a boat like that but cant afford a proper tow vehicle. you need a 3/4 or 1 ton truck for that boat easy.

and 60.6 degrees??? are you crazy?????!!!!???!!!!

welcome to the rest of the world rd...
not all of us are lucky enough to have 80deg water almost year round :) :)

lake here is at 57. prob won't hit 60 until mid july..

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and 60.6 degrees??? are you crazy?????!!!!???!!!!

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Anything less than that and I'll need a wetsuit. Come on up and go boating early in our season - we'll make a man outta ya! :p

I was actually surprised it was that uh, warm already.

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Originally Posted by sandm

welcome to the rest of the world rd...
not all of us are lucky enough to have 80deg water almost year round :) :)

lake here is at 57. prob won't hit 60 until mid july..

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in march we went out for the first time this year and the lake was about 67-68 and i just about froze my ass off.

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Originally Posted by rdlangston13

in march we went out for the first time this year and the lake was about 67-68 and i just about froze my ass off.

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my lake still frozen in april lol.. Coldest I've ever boarded in was 54 degrees.. Hit the water and lost my breath was soo cold.. Finally got used to it about 10 min later.. After a couple hours on the board I couldn't hold myself up anymore called it quits.. Jumped back in thee boat and body was a purplish blue color.. Not my brightest idea

67-68 thats bath water to us Northerners. We usually start the season in 50 degree water. Already up to 59-60 though. 70-74 if we are lucky and we have a warm summer.

I start in Drysuit, now into wetsuits,shortly /HOPEFULLY just shorts and vest.

I skied in 87 degree water after it had supposedly cooled down already in Florida last summer and it was Not refreshing at all. Too warm for my liking actually.

Nice, we were out this weekend as well. Spent Saturday evening on Hagg Lake and then took on the River on Sunday. Put in at Fred's Marina along HWY 30 and then drove around to Hayden Island area and just putted around. There was some debris we had to watch out for, but all in all it was a fun day. The current was ripping pretty strong through the marinas in the Hayden Island area.

The weather hasn't been great, but we've been doing our best to get time on the water at least a couple times a week. Hagg tomorrow (if not raining), and then for the weekend as well.

The current is ripping pretty strong still just about everywhere I think! Glad to hear you got out on the water - we're finally getting our turn up here and the weekend is shaping up to be nice for us so far.

We'll be going back out a few times, ok AS MANY TIMES, as we can!

We were at Hagg this past Monday glass all day, water temp a refreshing 68 degrees, we boarded and surfed all afternoon. Came off the lake and went to Outback Steak house for Prime rib. It was a great B day in deed LOL.

My lab pup Oso finally decided he loves water as well, he was jumping off the swim deck and swimming around and loved it.

My Sea Dek pad is taking a serious beating from the dog, i got his claws trimmed and such but hes learning how to get up. i think after a few more days in the water he will have getting on the swim deck mastered LOL.

I dont really care that my swim deck cover is getting trashed as i have a brand new swim deck and still need to order a new cover so its all good LOL.

Camera card was full , i was hopping to get some video of me and Oso riding the air tube together, he seems to like that, im hopping to teach him to ride solo by the end of the summer lol.

We do cover the seats with towels and hes very good about laying down when he does get on them.

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Originally Posted by sandm

welcome to the rest of the world rd...
not all of us are lucky enough to have 80deg water almost year round :) :)

lake here is at 57. prob won't hit 60 until mid july..

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Water is 85 here today. Kids are so spoiled they complain if it is not over 75!

Great looking boat Bergermaister

Thanks man! Hey Mike - I've heard a trick with getting the dog onto the swim platform painlessly that I have yet to try but from what I understand if you push their head down instead of trying to pull them up (all clawing and climbing) I guess they instinctively push back against your hand and that is supposed to make their ass end float right up and basically right onto the platform without a struggle. They do the work and leverage their own weight.

Like I said, I have yet to try it but have heard from others that once your dog gets the hang of it they'll basically swim up and wait for you to push them down so they can just step right on. I think you start with their front feet on the platform though so you don't dunk em! LOL

Water at 68 sounds pretty nice - I may have to venture out to Hagg one of these days. I'm not sure about 85 - guess I could suffer through it!!!

Berg... whatcha doing in this pic?:p

Checking the water temperature I'm sure!
Or maybe relieving the pressure on the inner wall of your bladder.
You may be suffering from TMBL... Too Many Bud Lights

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Doin my part to warm up the water...

Checkin how deep it is...

Yes, curing my TMBL symptoms

Oh, and showing my son that you don't have to stand on the swim platform and hose down the side of the boat!