Noobie's first time out...several questions!

[Ofc Noobie]

Well, this post may be a little long, so bear with me.
I just bought my first boat (an 85 Chris Craft 168 Scorpion), and took it out today. I got to the completely empty ramp, prep'd the boat away from the loading lanes (even remembered the plug), and backed her down the ramp. Everything going well so far. When I backed down the ramp though, my breaks were groaning...not really grinding, and I didn't feel a any slip. Is this normal, or should I have my truck given a once over? I got the boat in the water fine, and pulled the truck/trailer out. Outside of some nerves...so far so good.

I had some trouble getting it started, but after reading some more forums, I think I just didn't pump the throttle enough before I started. Now here is where the problems started. I pulled away from the dock, no problem. Once I got out though, I realized the water level was still fairly low, and there was alot of grass. I tried to maneuver around it, but there wasn't alot of options. Several times, I scraped on the bottom, and had to put the outdrive all the way up to keep moving (never over idle speed though). I kicked up alot of mud in the process, and several times I had a heck of a shacking in the wheel. When I trailered the boat, there was a lot of grass around the outdrive...did I do any damage to my boat? It didn't look like I chewed up the prop or anything.

And one last question...how much water should come out of the plug. When I took the plug out for the drive home, there was only a slight trickle. However, after parking the boat, and cranking the jack up all the way, I got a steady stream coming out. Am I taking on water, or is this normal?

Sorry this has turned into a bit of a novel, but any help/opinions would be GREATLY appriciated!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Noobie's first time out...several questions!

A boat should take on absolutely no water. If the boat was stored with the bow in down positiion and subject to rain, guess where the water sits until the bow gets higher than the stern. Chances are the boat had water in it before you took it out. The only water that should get into a boat is what people drag in or mother nature drops on it.

 

[dkorzun21]

Re: Noobie's first time out...several questions!

I get about a gallon of water in my boat but also have a small leak. Whenever I see other people at the lake take there plug out theres always some water comming out. But im not a pro, new boat owner my self also the sea weed i hear if you throw it in reverse it will kick off all the sea weed of your lower unit. Shouldnt be very low where the boats hitting the bottom where you within the markers?? My advice is watch, listen and learn.

 

[Ofc Noobie]

Re: Noobie's first time out...several questions!

Silvertip, I've kept her covered since the evening I brought her home, and she was sitting fairly level with the plug out. However, I did get into a somewhat brief, but fairly heavy rainstorm on the way home after I bought her, so maybe thats where the excess water came from??

 

[jmarty10]

Re: Noobie's first time out...several questions!

Congratualtions on your first trip. All in all it sounded like it went well. Rain in the boat will get to the bilge area. When my kids come in from skiing or swimming I get water in bilge but not enough to turn bilge pump on. The next time your out check to see if youre getting enough water in bilge to turn pump on, that my suggest a problem.

As far as the grass it sounds like you did a good job keeping the trip up. No dings or dents in prop probably menas no drive problems. I would get those weeds off though.

 

[sho3boater]

Re: Noobie's first time out...several questions!

I always pull the plug on the ramp when the boat is sitting on that angle, well unless I was at a busy ramp of course. I always store the boat bow up and plug out. But yes, if you get no rain then there should be no water in the boat. Some boats get a splash in the splashwell or people getting in all wet and can get a little.

Reverse to get the weeds off, be very careful of the bottom with your outdrive keep it way up or find anther place to boat.

 

[Ofc Noobie]

Re: Noobie's first time out...several questions!

jmarty, I think you're more optomistic than I am. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't even get to some open water to open up the throttle. And sho3boater, I will definately be finding a different ramp the next time.

So, I take it that having the outdrive all the way up while underway won't do any harm?? I was worried about that.

 

[collind]

Re: Noobie's first time out...several questions!

-Brakes groaning? ehhh probably nothing to worry about. The rear brakes tend to work a little harder when stopping on the ramp than they would going forward. I wouldn't be too worried, especially if you have drum brakes.

-Starting problem? Did it start ok after you started it the first time? If the boat hasn't been run in a long time, it can be hard to start. Sometimes I'll even start mine on the muffs at home before going out, then when you get to the ramp it usually starts with little effort

-Shallow water? I would highly recommend a depth finder. Very useful if you are not familiar with the water. Also try to observer more experienced boaters, if you see everyone avoiding a particular area, i would stay away as well. You were lucky there were no rocks to mess up your prop. If it gets too shallow, I will shut down, get out and push. In south Florida we can get heavy fines for destroying sea grass.

-Water on board? yeah, other posters are right. Technically you should not take on water unless you or mother nature bring it. I myself have some mysterious water in my bilge from time to time that I need to check on. Make sure you have an automatic bilge pump!

Stay out of the shallows and enjoy your boat!

 

[collind]

Re: Noobie's first time out...several questions!

jmarty, I think you're more optomistic than I am. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't even get to some open water to open up the throttle. And sho3boater, I will definately be finding a different ramp the next time.

So, I take it that having the outdrive all the way up while underway won't do any harm?? I was worried about that.

In my opinion you should NOT run with the outdrive all the way up. It stresses the U-Joints too much. You can raise it some but not all the way up unless the engine is off. I think even in neutral the U-Joints are still turning, but I might be wrong...

 

[IVAZ]

Re: Noobie's first time out...several questions!

jmarty, I think you're more optomistic than I am. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't even get to some open water to open up the throttle. And sho3boater, I will definately be finding a different ramp the next time.

So, I take it that having the outdrive all the way up while underway won't do any harm?? I was worried about that.

Several times, I scraped on the bottom, and had to put the outdrive all the way up to keep moving (never over idle speed though).

Its not so bad to do it at idle speed every once in a while but, it is considered
harmful for the U-joints. Sometimes its better to turn off the boat and get out and push it to deeper water.

 

[H8tank]

Re: Noobie's first time out...several questions!

If your trailer has trailer brakes, and you are only using a 4pin plug at the harness, you may be engaging your brakes when backing up.

 

[Thad]

Re: Noobie's first time out...several questions!

Yes, every part of the drive shaft turns all the way to the gear case. It is the gear that is in forward, neutral, or reverse. As well as the u-joints, this is extremely hard on the gimbal and will be more noticable sooner than the joints. As far as the grass, it depends a lot on the type and how much. Reverse will usually get the majority off at my summer lake, but there is still some left that need to be removed by hand. Some grasses are fine and course, like rope or heavy line. Left alone, they can start to wear on the prop shaft seal.
At the very least, you should have an emergency paddle on board. I have used mine more than once to push out of an area that I realized I should not be in. And let me tell you, that is no fun in a large 5,000# boat!
The starting thing, sounds like your off to a good start narrowing that down.
As far as the water, like was said, keep her nose up, plug out. If you do not have a lot of traffic in and out of the boat next trip, there should be no water in the bilge.
I had 5 girls on my boat last Saturday, they were in and out of the water for 9 hours. Pump never turned on. Pulled the plug at the ramp and there was not a gallon of water in her.

 

[Ofc Noobie]

Re: Noobie's first time out...several questions!

Thanks for the replies everyone! I removed all of the grass once I pulled the boat out of the water. I do have a paddle on board...but didn't think about it at the time. That said, I won't be going to that ramp again. I decided on that ramp because it wasn't very steep, and I've only seen one boat launched from it...now I know why. And of course, once I got back to the ramp, and was going to get my truck...there was an older gentleman fishing from the dock. He said it cost him $500 when he tried to go through that area...wish I would have known that before hand.

When I got back, I jacked the tongue all the way up, so hopefully that will get rid of all the water. I'm hoping the excess water was from the rain storm I drove it home in, and I just didn't lift it high enough to drain it. We'll see how much there is the next time I go out. I think I'll take someone with me next time too.

Thanks again for responding everyone!