First boat-- ordering a 2021 Max

[Brad25]

Any thing I should be concerned about? We were looking at the 25' Yamaha 240X. Been doing a ton of research and I think we are ordering it on Tuesday. Kind of nervous about the whole boat ramp process, I've watched a million you tube videos as well as watching people launch their boats at the local ramps. So Excited!!

[brad460]

Good call not going with the Yamaha...we sold our 2019 Yamaha last week and it was the best day of my life...

We are likely going with a new Max ourselves..

[Kirby]

When backing up, put your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel. Move your hand the direction you want the trailer to go. Just a beginner tip I learned and still use.

[Isaguel]

Good luck on the purchase and wise choice. I had to look into that Yammy, they apparently sell a surf kit for 1000$. What? That's an I/O. Right? Does it have the reversed prop setup, whatever you call it, to allow it to surf?

Good choice going with the Max. You will be happy you opted for that grumbling V8 over that mosquito sounding twin 1.8 ltr engine. Nothing like an inboard. The ramp thing will be a piece of cake, don't sweat it.

And given your comment above, I assume this will be your first inboard.? I'd say do some research into driving an inboard, loading, reversing, etc. They are a different animal. It'll take a little getting used to, especially recognizing you cannot turn in reverse, that's prolly the one thing that gets most first time inboard owners, especially those used to stern drives. In the Moomba, given the spin direction of prop, the stern of the boat will always go to your starboard side.
You'll need to learn to take advantage of that when pulling up to a dock. If u know someone with an inboard, have them show you, it'll prevent dock rashes or worse, running into someone else's boat.

You will get hooked on surfing too, so will the whole family and, I've noticed, there's a unique kinship among wakeboat owners, no matter the brand, more so than any other boats. Maybe because everybody else hates us, we stick together, j/k. But yeah, I see the look on fishermen's faces when I pull up to the ramp. It's our responsibility to be thoughtful and careful about our wake. A lot of dummies out there give us a bad rep.
We take a lot of pride in our boats and always want to help each other. It's a great community.

Enjoy the new boat.

[sandm]

isaguel,
yammy's are jet drive. iirc that one has dual jets to the tune of 420hp. no worries on props but also great propulsion choices if you like a shower with your boarding session from the rooster tail

to the OP....

if you are new to boats or inboard boats, I'd do the following:
-get a friend that knows boats/inboards to go with on the first outing.
-make the first outing NOT on a sat/sun. go on a weekday when the ramps are less congested. less pressure and being in someones way.
-once you put in on that first outing, go out in the lake somewhere away from others, toss an orange cheapo life vest in the water and practice your "docking" skills. great way to get familiar with inboards and also put a break in hour or 2 on it.
-teach the wife/gf/14+kid to either drive the boat on the trailer or back the trailer. don't be "that guy" at the ramp taking up a lane for 15 minutes. took me less than an hour in an empty parking lot to teach both exwife and gf how to back. gf does it better than most men.

most of all, have fun. great boat and you will have lots of family fun in the future......
and post pics on here once you have it or you didn't buy it

[Kirby]

A school parking lot is a great place to practice driving a trailer.

[larry_arizona]

I am guilty of being the boat driver and trailer backer, but I have honestly never taken more than 7 min from dock to truck to boat in the tie down lane.

I have had to re float the boat a few times because it wasn’t level so maybe 8 min tops.


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[sandm]

I am guilty of being the boat driver and trailer backer, but I have honestly never taken more than 7 min from dock to truck to boat in the tie down lane.

every launch is different.
at mead-callville, depending on time of day, it's 15+ minutes just to walk from the launch to the parking lot if golf cart dude isn't running.
you would be shot taking up 1 of the 3 or 4 spots to tie off a boat at the launch taking that long not to mention you would never get the boat tied off with the influx of people all day long.
in green bay, it's 15 ft from the launch to the first spot. you would have the same task done in less than 2 minutes. no one there cared if it took 5.

[larry_arizona]

One of the lakes we go to has a launch that is not protected and rollers come into the docks.

The trailer backer needs to be like a surgeon to time the waves and snatch the boat while my crew is trying to steady the boat and keep it off the dock.


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[haknslash]

Congrats on the Max! We came from a Yamaha after owning it for 2.5 years and you will love the v-drive for water sports over a jet by far!! We used to lay big bags all over the jet and it was such a chore just to try and setup a mediocre wave. They are loud boats and that is annoying as well. My wife HATED driving the jet boat because they just wander all around if you don't apply any throttle because they must have jet propelling them or be at the mercy or currents, wind and waves.

There are some good videos out there to help you learn to launch the boat. As mentioned if you get confused which way the trailer goes you can put you hand at the bottom of the steering wheel and whichever way you want the trailer to go just turn your hand in that direction. After a while it will be second nature to you. I recommend spending a few hours in a big open parking lot like at a Wal-Mart or something or abandoned area and practice backing up and maneuvering the trailer. This will get you some "seat time" backing up without the added stress of the ramp or worrying about taking too long at the ramp.

Once out on the water I would also practice docking the boat by finding a large open area or slough without a lot of boats there and toss out a fender without the rope attached to it (so you don't run it over). Practice pulling up next to it from different angles and pretend its a dock. If one fender doesn't help much then practice with two places close to each other that way you can envision an imaginary line connecting the two fenders and then pretend that is the edge of a dock. These boats only like to turn the stern towards the right until you build enough speed for the rudder to be somewhat effective. However this is not really a bad thing once you understand how to use the pulling to the right motion to your advantage. We use it all the time when docking. Depending on wind or current conditions, I typically try and approach a dock at a 30-45 degree angle and very slowly bump in and out of forward and neutral and reverse. I use all 3 gear positions to control speed and approach angle. As I being the get the nose close to the dock I will just put it in the first part of reverse enough to engage the transmission and it will gently pull the stern parallel to the dock with zero steering effort.

I don't have any videos I've made for backing up at the ramp but I have made a few showing how to use reverse and the v-drive tendency to pull to the right on these boats to your advantage.



I suggest getting some big ball fenders vs the typical cylindrical shaped fenders. The big ball fenders such as Exile or LetsTieUp fenders will give you a big cushion to the dock and prevent the boat from coming dangerous close or even hitting the dock. We will NEVER go back to the traditional fender. Get some bungee dock lines and I tie a knot the make a "short side" of the rope and hang the fender to the boat on that side.




Get a slide anchor box anchor (in small size). They are the best anchor IMO and they fold up nice and stowed in a bag when not in use. We keep ours in the deep engine compartment tray for ease of access. It can also stow under the front cushion easily. I would get the real ones and not the knock-off brands you see on Amazon. Make sure it's made by Slideanchor if ordering from Amazon. https://www.slideanchor.com/boxanchor