First time boat owner

[ccarver80]

Pretty excited! Just got home with my 2004 crestliner 1600 super hawk! Before this everything I owned were tiny little boats with a tiller ...

So I need advice on do'a and don't's ... for example.. I learned right away.. don't check the oil in the outboard unless the motor is trimmed down....hahah.. that was kinda a DUH! moment after I pulled the dipstick and oil shot out. (My first reaction however was the dealership over filled the engine until I leveled out the motor)

Anything from trailering to launching to out on the open water will help!

 

[FunInDuhSun]

Off the top of my head....
Just before launching ALWAYS double check the drain plug.
Never maneuver around a dock faster than you're willing to hit something.
Get a nautical chart for your area and study it before heading out.

 

[thumpar]

Make sure the boat is loaded BEFORE you get on the ramp. You don't want to be the guy loading up crap into the boat while sitting on the ramp. If you have never backed a trailer up practice before going. Trailering is pretty easy as long as you have a capable vehicle. You just have to make wider turns at some intersections.

 

[hosteter]

Take a good care of your motor.change oil,check impeler,flush it regulary,and check exhausts.welcome aboard

 

[GA_Boater]

There is much more to boating than the boat, motor and trailer. Take a boating safety course if you haven't.

 

[Silvertip]

Learn as much as you can about the engine and boat electrical systems. It may someday save your life knowing what circuits feed what accessories. Make sure the bilge pump works.

 

[poconojoe]

Tell us about your drivetrain. Is it outboard or I/O?
Couple things come to mind:
If it's I/O, store the outdrive down as far as you can to relieve tension on the bellows.
Never start (or run) an I/O while the outdrive is up in the trailer position. This is bad for the u-joints.

 

[Newbie@boats]

Safety safety safety. When I was younger and my father had boats before he even let us walk on the boat dock he would make sure we had life jackets on......like mentioned make sure you have the drain plug in, I usually do a quick test of the boat itself, out drive make sure the battery has juice, everything stoed away properly, make sure your trailer is in just as good shape as the boat. You don't want to be that 30 min boat launch guy, people will get mad LOL happy boating!!

 

[ccarver80]

Tell us about your drivetrain. Is it outboard or I/O?
Couple things come to mind:
If it's I/O, store the outdrive down as far as you can to relieve tension on the bellows.
Never start (or run) an I/O while the outdrive is up in the trailer position. This is bad for the u-joints.

It's a 2003 75 hp Yamaha outboard

 

[airshot]

Congrats on the new to you boat. An awfull lot of fun is waiting for you in the water. So...as has been said before....learn all you can about your boat so if something happens on the water you know where to look for problems. Bigger boats have bigger safety concerns as there will be more people and bigger water to go out in which means more concerns for safety!! Be sure you have all the needed safety equipment as required by the state you will be operating in. Learn your fuel gage and know how accurate it is, keep a good battery on board and check it frequently! make it a habit to drain your hull after every outing then reinstall the drain plug AND carry a spare drain plug. Be sure your bilge pump operates properly, if you don't have one...get one and install it! Go to a parking lot and learn a routine for getting your boat ready for launch and learn to back up properly, the launch ramp is not the place to learn. Be sure you have a small tool box onboard with spark plug wrench, few wrenches that fit the bolts on your motor and a wrench to change your prop. Have an extra prop on board along with a spare prop nut and any washers that go along with it. You will soon learn that prop nuts and washers do not float very well. If you do not require your guests to wear life jackets then have the jackets out within easy reach if needed. In the state of Ohio you cannot store life vests under a seat or put away while the boat is underway, they must be readily availiable for immediate use. I have been a boater on Lake Erie in Ohio for more than 50 years and still learn something each time I go out and constantly thinking of ways to do things easier and better. Have fun!!

 

[Old Ironmaker]

I always have a fully charged Booster Pack on board. It will give you or someone else a boost and charge things like cell phones that always die when you need them.

Invest in a on board GPS, it may save your crew or your life when a fog rolls in or you get lost. I always say if I didn't hit something coming out the same course should get me back in.

Get a compass and take a heading before leaving the shoreline.

Leave with a full tank of gas and some form of communication. Program the Coast Gaurds number as we;; as the closest Marina or camp etc you left from

Take a certified boating course sanctioned by the State or Feds. In Canada it is law that in order to operate any size vessel that is propelled by any motor no mater how small the Federally run Boaters course must be passed before you can legally operate the vessel. How good the course is would be for another discussion.

Always tell someone your boating itinerary before leaving. Many boaters are lost because no one knows they are missing. That sounds like a Yogiism!

That Crestliner Super Hawk you bought is a great boat. Congrats. Have fun, safely.

 

[redneck joe]

Off the top of my head....
Just before launching ALWAYS double check the drain plug.
Never maneuver around a dock faster than you're willing to hit something.
Get a nautical chart for your area and study it before heading out.

On the plug, if you are with somone make ita habit to verbalize that the plug is in.

 

[jbcurt00]

Ccarver please check your private messages

 

[tlombard]

I realized the other day that the one thing the guy forgot to include with my boat was the plug! I realized it when I decided that I never wanted to forget it so I came up with the idea that I'll keep it attached to the keys so that if I hop in the boat at the ramp and put the key in the ignition, that plug dangling on the end should be a huge red flag that something isn't right! Now I just have to remember to buy a plug and attach it to the keys in the next month and a half and I should be fine.

Although maybe there is a plug somewhere. The guy included so much stuff for me that maybe I just haven't stumbled across it yet. I need to get back to the warehouse and go through everything again, maybe write down everything he included. I know the important stuff is there (9 life jackets/cushions/etc, flares, fire extinguisher, air horn, paddle, etc.) plus a tube, anchor, raft, pump, spare prop, etc. And that's before getting into the boxes that I still haven't opened yet and the paperwork which I spent an entire afternoon going through. When he said he included all of the paperwork he wasn't kidding. I have receipts back to 2004 when the boat was new (including one for a single can koozie!) plus the insurance paperwork from the original owner. Apparently his coverage was $384/year when the boat was new.

 

[thumpar]

You should be using a plug that screws in not the pop in kind so there would not be a way to attach it to the keys. I do have one of the orange plastic ones on my keys but that is more for emergencies. I keep 2 brass plugs with me. One in the boat and one in the Yukon so there is an extra.

 

[oldjeep]

You should be using a plug that screws in not the pop in kind so there would not be a way to attach it to the keys. I do have one of the orange plastic ones on my keys but that is more for emergencies. I keep 2 brass plugs with me. One in the boat and one in the Yukon so there is an extra.

Sure there is - most plugs in modern IO's have a loop on the backside for attaching it to the oil drain line clip.

Or there is this kind

 

[thumpar]

I have seen the oil drain type but wouldn't want to have to disconnect it every time. I have never seen the one with the loop on it.

 

[oldjeep]

I have seen the oil drain type but wouldn't want to have to disconnect it every time. I have never seen the one with the loop on it.

Fun thing about the oil drain type is that if you pull it out a little and put the wire cable between your hydraulic lines then it holds the plug really well. I always kept a spare but never broke the clip or had the plug disappear in 9 years.

 

[airshot]

WOW 384 per year sounds a bit pricey for an aluminum hull boat insurance. I have a 22' and its cost is less than half that and I have 3500 in accessories added on.

 

[thumpar]

I pay about that for insurance but it is agreed upon value full coverage and has tow cost included in.