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Funny you mention this. I got out on the water yesterday for the maiden voyage. As I watched my buddy back down the trailer (after sitting parked for ~3 hours or so) a ton of water dumped out of one of the lights. Like you said, it had been sitting for hours! Would definitely make more sense to find a way to let it drain out quickly.
Will do... thank you!ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS turn the engines off when someone is in the water behind the boat! You never know what might happen. If a throttle is bumped, those jets could almost cut you in half.
And BTW, congrats on the new boat... she is a beauty!
Good to know about the rope, I'll definitely be looking to avoid running it over and designating someone as lookout is a good idea.
I got a multi-tool, but I have a feeling that blade (3" or so) isn't long enough to really get down into the cleanout area like you're describing. Would something like this do the trick? 5.5" blade: Amazon.com : Cressi Borg : Sports & Outdoors@slickstick Protip: Keep a sharp knife onboard your boat with alargelong blade just in case. You'll need it one day.
Thanks for the pointers. I feel like this boat handles amazing, if the Cobra Jet Steering makes it even better that would be impressive.@slickstick, congrats, and great looking boat!
What everyone said here is spot-on so far; you don't need ez plugs, always turn engines off if you're walking away from the helm, and always keep a sharp knife on board... at some point you'll suck up a tow rope or dock line, and you will likely need to reach into the cleanout port and saw through it if it's wound around the impeller shaft (been there). TIP - You can minimize this risk with dock lines by cutting them shorter than the distance between your front cleat and the intake grates.
If you're a new boater, I would not recommend unplugging your trailer plug - I think it will cause you more issues than the risk of a burnt out bulb that is easy to replace. The reason is that your trailer plug is critical to going in reverse. Trailer breaks work as a result of part of the trailer tongue sliding back when there's pressure, to actuate the hydraulic brakes. This happens automatically anytime you break, the pressure from your vehicle slowing and the trailer tongue getting compressed, creates corresponding pressure that is applied to the trailer brakes. It would also happen if you backed up your vehicle in reverse, the trailer brakes would lock up - IF not for a signal from your vehicle which goes through the trailer plug when you're in reverse that tells the trailer brakes to not engage.
If you disconnect your trailer plug, but then try going in reverse, the trailer brakes will lock up. There is a manual way to disengage the trailer brakes for this purpose, a small clip that hangs off the side of your trailer tongue that can be put in... but then you need to do this every time, and also remember to REMOVE it when driving on the highway, or you will have NO trailer brakes.
Therefore, save yourself more potential headaches, by just leaving your trailer plug, plugged in.
I'm a first year boater like yourself. I was looking at your pictures and it looks like you've got the stock bow roller, and no steering upgrades. In my opinion, the most valuable first upgrades to me as a new boater were in this order:
1. Trailer Guide Posts: makes it WAAAY easier to load the boat back onto the trailer, plus you can see them sticking out of the water. Low speed steering and thus loading our boats is very difficult, but this helps a bit. You can get lighted ones like I did, so you can see easier at night too!
2. Cobra Jet Steering Kit: The only upgrade that actually helps the boat steer better at low and high speeds. Our boats need all the help they can get in this department.
3. Bow Roller: One of the easiest/cheapest upgrades. The stock yellow bow roller scratches up the bow of the boat, so replace this sooner than later.
You can see links/install videos for what I'm talking about, in my footer below. Make sure to make a checklist for yourself before taking it out the first time, don't forget to put the cleanout plugs, drain plug in, and release the transom straps!!
Dang! I guess we will see how it goes, but that would be a little disappointing.
Extra gas? No, I usually will burn 50-60% in a full day.
Also one other note is some lakes prohibit gas cans. This carries a hefty fine if caught.
Interesting... good to know
Probably 3500-4000 doing 12-15mph surfing or tubing, etc. That's my worst mpg rating.
Yup that adds to it as well. At 4000rpm though, I go through almost twice as much fuel compared cruising around at 5500rpm. Not that it matters, water sports is part of the fun and it eats some extra fuel. I didn't buy the boat to be a fuel saver...if I wanted real economy I'd buy a sailboat!
Thank you! and cool I'll have to check those spots out! Are there a lot of spots along the St John's to grab gas?
Thank you and Go Knights! Yea, "the pub" and that entire shopping plaza got bulldozed and replaced maybe five years ago or so. If you remember Knights Library from that plaza, it moved up the street to a new location. So did Lazy Moon, pizza is just as good but it's actually a nice location and not a hole in the wall anymore!
