Had an...interesting first trip in the new AR 240

[Karma_Train]

Just took possession of my new AR240 on Friday and it’s been a wild ride.

1. My salesman quit before I took possession so while I arranged the date and time of pickup my dealer was completely unprepared for me. Little bit of a wait but still had a solid walkthrough. Powered on the Connext and no fuel in the tank so cue following the dealer to the gas station.
2. Towed it 2 hrs to our cabin - trailer did awesome and launching went smooth!
3. First few (easy) mods in - installed porta potti for the kids with some industrial velcro and a large tube GoPro mount on the tower that I’m going to use with a Karma grip
4. Took it out for a second time to finish up the engine break in. That went smooth but got a call from my new lift installer on the lake - new lift is delayed till next week due to high winds this week - bummer since I’ll have to wet slip it for a few days.
5. This is my first jet boat so I’m still getting used to docking a jet - aforementioned high winds made docking tough and in the process knocked my stern rope into the lake... which promptly got sucked in to my starboard intake! Killed the engine right away and I ended up jumping in the (shallow) water fully clothed to keep the boat from being driven into the shore rock. Luckily it just wound around the shaft and I was able to untangle it through the clean out port. Water temp: 54 degrees.
6. Did a test run the next morning to make sure it ran fine and it went great! Awesome responsiveness and time to plane is sooooo much faster than my old I/O.
7. I’m a MN boater and we’re known for our...temperamental weather. Our forecasted light rain quickly turned into heavy snow. While boating through snow is actually pretty cool at low speed, getting the shipping cover on was tough.

Even with all the hassle I’m really excited about the boat - it rode great and the quick acceleration, shallow draft and extra space are a big game changer compared to what we had before. Ultimately I chalked this trip up as a great learning experience; it was perfect rough conditions docking practice and you better believe I’ll be keeping a close eye on my stern rope going forward! Bonus pics attached!

 

[Scarab 215]

Welcome Aboard, congrats!

 

[Weeb]

Well at least it all worked out for you. I don’t miss the north at all, I moved south as soon as I retired and could sell my house.

 

[Looper7]

Wow nice looking boat and way to sacrifice your self to save it that's a hard core baller "boater" and a fun post to read congrats on the boat

 

[Dave burke]

Congrats on the new boat. Sounds like you had a year’s worth of experiences in a couple of days.

 

[JDRacing]

Great looking boat. Congratulations!

Curious how much time elapsed between that picture in the bright sun and the one in the full snow.

Jeff

 

[\\\Wolverine///]

Hell of a first outing. Welcome to the club

 

[ZGhost]

Another fellow Minnesotan boater. Congrats and welcome. We boat in MN based on weather not if it is the weekend or not. If I get a nice sunny day during the week, I’m gone, I’m on the lake? See ya, bye, sorry no, did not see that email or meeting invite.

 

[Karma_Train]

Great looking boat. Congratulations!

Curious how much time elapsed between that picture in the bright sun and the one in the full snow.

Jeff

About 24 hrs! It’s crazy how quick the weather can turn. By Friday it’s supposed to be back in the 70s

 

[JDRacing]

About 24 hrs! It’s crazy how quick the weather can turn. By Friday it’s supposed to be back in the 70s

Thanks for the insight. Yeah, that's a pretty rapid weather shift. Looks like you folks are used to taking that in stride. Admire the ability to adapt and just throw a cover on the boat to wait it out.

Jeff

 

[tdonoughue]

By your title, I thought something had really gone wrong!

Sounds like you handled it all. Everyone sucks up a rope. I'm surprised you did so well with almost no dealer help! My dealer took me out in my hopefully new boat and spent like 2hrs with me. We put our on the trailer and took it off like 4 times until I was comfy. Ran in the lake a bit, learned all the ins and outs.

And I still launched my first solo outing without the plugs in and almost flooded the engines.

Congrats on the boat and the relatively successful first runs. Good times to come!

 

[kennetht]

Thats one crazy story. Glad you enjoy it!

 

[biffdotorg]

Great story, congrats. Yup, 70’s next weekend with the potential of 7” of snow this week for our region! Crazy ass weather for sure.

 

[buckbuck]

We award trophys for sucking up a rope. Congratulations.
Did your wife capture #5 on video? We would love to see that.

 

[Karma_Train]

We award trophys for sucking up a rope. Congratulations.
Did your wife capture #5 on video? We would love to see that.

Ha! Thankfully no - I’d never live it down!

 

[Winerocks]

With a first day like that, I probably would have put it back on the trailer and gone back to the dealership LOL.

 

[minn19]

Did you get your boat from River Valley?

 

[Karma_Train]

I did - it was a bit of a cluster because my salesman quit before I took possession but overall it’s been good so far! I’ve made a few mods (cobra steering, whole boat led install, flag pole, fuse block behind helm) and have been really happy with it so far.

 

[ctyke]

Did you get your boat from River Valley?

I think they are it in Minnie, which is unfortunate.

Welcome to the propless crew. I love my new boat and just sold my old Mastercraft. So we are officially down to one boat again. What did you do for led's? That seems to be next on my list... Welll after listening to the lackluster speakers/sound, that may be moving up.

 

[Karma_Train]

Pic of the finished install - used OPT7 aura leds wired to a Blue Sea fuse block behind the helm. Not pictured are two strips behind the transom seats which give an awesome glow.