Do's and Don't's

[Rmajewski]

This has been incredibly helpful. Thanks everyone!

[execoll]

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.

[The_Robo_Fighter]

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.

[russellsmojo]

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.


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[slvr bulit]

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.

Well said!

[kaneboats]

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.

[Ed_Geary]

"I still don't toss my empties back in the boat when we're floating like SOME people do. "

Hey! I resemble that remark.

[bzubke1]

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.

[Dan]

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.

[Darter]

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).