Happy new 1st Time Boat owner! ! ! ! !

[steve_garofalo]

I am proud to say that we have a new addtion to the family! Saturday morning my brother and I went up and picked up my new (used) first boat!

It's a 1982 21 closed bow Eliminator with some fine "dated" styling

We got the boat fired up in a bucket at the guys house and checked out the rest of the mechanicals... Chevy 350 Engine with a Volvo Penta 270 outdrive. Not sure if that is the same one that came on the boat but for now it seems good to me!

Brought it back to our town and headed straight to the harbor to back it in and let it run for a bit. Starts right up, so we let it idle for a while, then slid it into gear to make sure the prop turned with no wierd noises or clunks!

Nothing to cause any alarm so we looked at each other and pretty much instantly decided to pay the $10 lauch fee and take it for a spin... The ladies were home with the kids, and figured they would "want" us to make sure it was mechanically sound before bringing them out for a "swim"

I have to say I was actually impressed,,, the boat was not in the water for a year or two, and we made sure the fluids all looked good before we headed out.. Got out past the breakwater and opened it up.... Hit 40 on Lake Michigan, I was hoping for a bit more but with ooooold gas, rebuildable carb and who knows what prop I was pleased none the less....

Decided we better not push our luck with the boat on its madien voyage or our beautiful better half's so we headed in with grins from ear to ear!

Getting it back onto the trailer was another story! I'm sure there would have been plenty of laughs from people watching us on our first attempt,, second attempt, and probably rolling on the floor by our fourth but we made it! ! !

Got it home and the kids were instantly in there giving it the once over! Pretty much the whole neighborhood came over to inspect... I can see this is going to be an awesome summer! ! ! Going to go through the motor, rebuild the carb, change all the fluids. Grab myself an owners manual for the outdrive and make sure everything is ready to go.. The kids are already itching to get it into the water and go for a ride!

Few more shots of the curb side cristining.

Nice Rear end....

Future Captin and 1st Mate!

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Happy new 1st Time Boat owner! ! ! ! !

Welcome to the forum Steve and congratulations on your new arrival. Sure is a heck of a lot better than my first boat.
And as far as the ramp antics go, don't get too good too soon. Really, we enjoy the entertainment. Just keep it off to the side, so that those who don't enjoy a good chuckle aren't held up. LMAO

 

[Rdraidr]

Re: Happy new 1st Time Boat owner! ! ! ! !

Great looking boat! The interior and the paint job look first class and in really good shape. Now, don't think we don't see that Purple Chevy Wagon in the drive. Some good things happening around there.

Best of luck and welcome aboard.

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: Happy new 1st Time Boat owner! ! ! ! !

Welcome aboard!
Thats one great looking vintage boat....(cue Miami Vice theme)

Theres a forum here for I/O's, lots of guys here know that motor and drive well..Any questions when your ready will be answered by some great guys..

 

[steve_garofalo]

Re: Happy new 1st Time Boat owner! ! ! ! !

thanks for the replies guys! ! !

Thank goodness the harbor was fairly empty (except the two stooges in there) and that there are 7 or 8 spots to load the boats in and out in...

At one point,, my brother was poised ready to attach the boat, and I kinda floated over to the side,, well actuall 100% sideways we decided that it would be easier to move the truck over to the next stall instead of our third attempt at that first stall.. HAA! ! ! OOPS!

Come on down to Kenosha anytime for some laughs,,, just remember between snorts to shout some words of encouragement, some helpful tips, or a cold beer from time to time

Yep Rdraidr that is a purple 57 Chevy Wagon! I bought that off of ebay about 4 years ago, the kids and I made a family project out of it,, stripped it down to bare metal and completley restored the whole thing. Rebuilt Motor (383 Stroker small block) Turbo 400 Trans and some nice metal flake!

Kind of clashes with the brown on the boat, but I already have ideas to remedy that Going to pick up a trailer hitch, an external trans cooler and that will be the tow vehichle for the boat.. Should look pretty neat going down the road!

 

[Rdraidr]

Re: Happy new 1st Time Boat owner! ! ! ! !

Thought that might be in the plans for a tow rig...looks like you know what you're doing. The crew looks great as well (you're a blessed man) - hand them some wax and a rag before the exitement wears off! Took my 12 year old girl fishing last year with a new pink pole from Wally World. She limited out and now fish fear her name. Also, took my Grandfather to Sturgeon Bay a few years back - great fishing! - have fun!

 

[11rufus11]

Re: Happy new 1st Time Boat owner! ! ! ! !

Nice! Looks like the previous owner took good care of it. Don't worry. A few more times at the landing and you'll be a pro. Enjoy!!!

 

[cbavier]

Re: Happy new 1st Time Boat owner! ! ! ! !

Beautiful Boat. Well cared for. It should be great for skiing, tubing and cruising. I notice the steering wheel on the port side. That's rare and will come up in several conversations I'm sure. Yea you will soon be loading and unloading that boat at the dock in a breeze. Maybe it will be easier to load the boat if you don't back the trailer quite so far in the water. The top of the fenders is where I stop on mine and I usually load and unload by myself. I actually prefer it that way unless I have a heavy cross wind or bad current to fight. Of course I have to float mine on the trailer all but he last foot or less. Happy Boating Steve and welcome to iboats.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Happy new 1st Time Boat owner! ! ! ! !

Beautiful Boat. Well cared for. It should be great for skiing, tubing and cruising. I notice the steering wheel on the port side. That's rare and will come up in several conversations I'm sure.

Thats actually REALLY common on speedboats that use non or partially marinized car engines. (also done with many jet boats) Not sure why, I always just assumed that were built by car guys to build up a fast boat, so they figured why not just keep it on the same side, and use a foot throttle control while they are at it!

 

[Nico2112]

Re: Happy new 1st Time Boat owner! ! ! ! !

Beautiful boat

I'm sure you will have tons of fun with your family!

As the others mentioned, launching is hard at first, then you get the hang of it and it's a breeze (you should've seen me 10 years ago when I did it for the first timeboat on the trailer after 6 attempts)

Cheers!

 

[Splat]

Re: Happy new 1st Time Boat owner! ! ! ! !

Sharp looking boat, and a good looking family. Congratulations!

Other than a welcome to the insanity just wanted to mention 2 things. In the first picture it looks like the bow is not contacting the bow stop on the trailer. I could be wrong cause I'm doing this on my blackberry so I can't see the pic very well but make sure the bow is pulled into the bow stop, it'll help keep it from bouncing. Sometimes its tough to get that last inch or so, that will come with learning how shallow to have the trailer during retrieving. If I'm mistaked with the pic my apologies the screen on this phone is a tad small.

Second, just wanted to mention a firm quick shift is prefered and better for the transmission as opposed to a slow gentle slide into gear. Believe it or not. You may be doing allready and just wrote it as "eased it into gear." Please don't take it as nickpicking or critism, I just wanted to offer that little advise, not sure if your totally new to boating or not, sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming at first.

So anyways WELCOME again, now get out on the water and become a true boater!!!!

Bill

 

[steve_garofalo]

Re: Happy new 1st Time Boat owner! ! ! ! !

Ithought it was a bit odd seeing the steering and throttle controls on the opposite side as well, but did a little research on here and online and looks like smokincrater is right. For whatever reason it was designed that way, I have seen a few other jet boats that way too.

Hi Bill, thanks for the Advice! Any and All is especially appreciated! Your eyes were not deceiving you, the bow of the boat was not touching, also the bottom roller wasn't touching the boat either. First statement is my fault We didn't pull it up as far as we should have, but after the first 4 or 5 attempts we were happy to have it right side up and not falling off! That is next on the things to adjust. The second point would appear that someone at some point moved the whinch arm back further on the trailer to decrease the tongue weight,, no clue why because you can pick the thing up with one arm with no problems at all.. Next time I have the boat in the water I am going to adjust that as well!

The fenders were definetley under water when we were going through our loading process I'll have to get the hang of that in time too.. Seemed really hard to winch the boat up the bungs (if that is what you call them) without having the trailer lower in the water. Maybe a bit of throttle to help ease it up without having it so deep will help!

 

[cbavier]

Re: Happy new 1st Time Boat owner! ! ! ! !

Steve you said The fenders were definetley under water when we were going through our loading process I'll have to get the hang of that in time too.. Seemed really hard to winch the boat up the bungs (if that is what you call them) without having the trailer lower in the water. Maybe a bit of throttle to help ease it up without having it so deep will help!


You can't have the trailer shallower in the water if it was hard to winch on the bunks. You may have to try and go deeper. Just don't put your truck in too far. A rule is the tail pipe must be above water. You will get the hang of it. Also if there isn't a short safety chain besides your winch cable or strap
you need to add one. You can't simply trust the winch strap to hold your bow on the trailer. I'll find a recent link to a post you need to read.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=299935&highlight=Bow+safety+Chain

 

[scipper77]

Re: Happy new 1st Time Boat owner! ! ! ! !

Just as an educational note...
If the trailer is too deep in the water then you pull the rig out of the water it's a gamble as to weather or nut the boat will end up straight on the trailer.If the trailer is too shallow the winch will have trouble pulling the boat all the way up the bunks. There is a sweet spot as far as the depth of the trailer that you will learn. Also it helps to wet the bunks.

 

[mike343]

Re: Happy new 1st Time Boat owner! ! ! ! !

Until you get the optimum trailer depth figured out, I would suggest this. Put the trailer in with the top of the fenders above the water. You will be able to get the boat on straight, but not be able to winch it all the way on. Then back the trailer a little farther into the water and finish the job. This is also a good way to load in high winds.

Mike

 

[steve_garofalo]

Re: Happy new 1st Time Boat owner! ! ! ! !

Great advice guys! I will be practicing some more this weekend (weather permitting)

I can attest to the fact that having the trailer to deep will cause the boat to go on a bit on the crooked side... First pull out of the water did just that....

Backed it in again, just to the point of where it was floating and corrected the problem then pulled out. I should have made a mental note of where the trailer was at then, and attempted to land it that way next time.

The other problem I we had was the old braided line was horribly old and actually broke while we were launching the boat... Go figure, we tied it back on as best we could, and THANKFULLY the trailer did have the chain already on there, I made sure that was attached before we pulled out!

I was reading some of the other posts on trailering and I think those side bars (sorry can't think of the name off the top of my head) which pretty much guide the boat onto the trailer would be a good idea for me, it may help simplify the loading process, and keep me from drifting to far to the side