First outing on Yamaha 212x

[dansshin]

I appreciate all the good advice. Isn't there any product you could apply to the vinyl to protect it from those stains?

When we go I would like to spend the whole day out at the lake so having at least 1 meal on the boat is unavoidable. Also when I put the table in the swim platform it was only useful by couple people so I prefer to have the table in the boat. We'll try to be more selective about what we choose to bring for food but I'm thinking I may need other options as well. perhaps putting Reynolds shrink wrap on the areas they are eating etc...

 

[tdonoughue]

Yes, I think that food choice is going to be your key there. I would avoid the PB&J in favor of, say, turkey or something. I would skip the catsup, mustard and greasy things. Put a slice of cheese instead.

 

[Freezer41]

I don't know if all 6 passengers were in your MDX but be careful you're not overloading it. All that gear adds up! I trust you have the transmission cooler?

 

[Jebinok]

@dansshin Very nice boat, congrats, I see all the kids have smiles, thats what it is all about having fun with the family and making memories. ............... Now, my boat learnings, NO CHIPS PERIOD. Fruit cut into chunks in a covered bowl. I love the PBJ's but we buy "Crustables" already made no mess and man are they good, there are in the frozen setion at the store, I know you are thinking frozen bread? Oh man just try em, and NO GLASS on the boat period. W make tuna ahead also, just spread it on some bread. I also love the build your own sanwiches but it works out better to keep it simple, Insead of having to bring mayo and mustard, tomatos onions and meat and lettece pickels, salt n pepper bla bla bla, takes up a lot of room in a cooler. hoge buns dont smash as easily as loaf bread. jerkey is a go, I love that stuff, the wife cuts up summer sauges and cheese and puts that in a tuperware for snacks too. Like i said anything the can be made at home and just open up and eat works for us. We take slaw to go with sandwiches and finish with the fruit. Here's the deal you will learn LOL, just keep it simple and then theres less of a mess to clean up! Have fun and happy boating!

 

[dansshin]

@Freezer41 I had all 6 of us in the MDX but none of us weigh that much. lol. I did install the ATF Cooler. It was very hard mainly due to space constraints to work with. I had to remove few parts like battery and battery case/base to get to the existing hose. When towing our boat, at times MDX seems to have hard time finding shift point and can run the RPM high before shifting but other than that it has been doing good.

@tdonoughue & @Jebinok Hey thanks for the great info and tip.[/USER]

 

[Trm1765]

[

I bought these. They seem to work good. I use it to inflate and deflate.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000FE5PBA/ref=yo_ii_img

We did something similar today. We deflated it and folded in half and rolled it tight as we could and used the tow rope to tie the two ends and put it in floor storage. It was bit smaller than our first time but still doesn't leave any room to store the 2 wake boards we have.

We'll give your method a try next time.

I have one of those pumps also but thought it didn't get enough air pressure in the tubes. I now use this one and it makes a big difference. This has a higher psi rating and gets the tube harder which makes it pull easier and makes it more stable.

http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?pdesc=Overtons-12V-High-Pressure-Inflator/Deflator&i=44211

 

[Glassman]

@dansshin , I love posts like these....great fun! That's what these boats were made for.

I used to be kinda anal about the food mess on the boat, but since the kids aren't the ones buying it and loading it, I have no one to blame but myself. Now I just choose stuff that makes us all happy and it's good.

I keep my keys in the boat, but keep a spare set in my tow vehicle just in case. Get a floating key fob that will float both keys - keep them both together.
Use 303® Aerospace Protectant™ on the vinyl and it will help keep stains from happening and it will hold up well for a long while.

Black hulls are pretty, but they do show water spots better than other colors so I suggest you start a good hull maintenance program and stick with it. It will pay dividends down the road. Use vinegar and water after you haul out then follow it up with a good detailer...Boat Bling makes awesome stuff, Meguiar's, and others offer polishes and waxes - use something on a regular basis and you won't find yourself busting your butt at the end of the season trying to remove caked on sediment from the hull, especially around the pee holes and exhaust.

Keep on having fun!

 

[Noko]

Here's a checklist that @txav8r made up that might be helpful.

http://www.mediafire.com/view/qvo6n2qu29mcqmw/YAMAHA_SX230_CHECKLIST.doc

And here's a link to a topic on how to get spare keys made cheaply. Someone suggested leaving a spare set in your tow vehicle.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/how-to-get-a-set-of-spare-keys-for-cheap.1890/

Glad you and the family are enjoying the boat. I'm on my second summer and the family is enjoying the boat. It gets better as you get used to driving it and learning how maneuverable the boat is. The kids enjoy sitting up front when I whip the boat around.

 

[itsdgm]

Glad to see that your enjoying your boat @dansshin and thanks for taking us on your journey from the purchase up until now. I agree with the others about getting a second set of keys. I would recommend that you keep them in a took kit on the boat. IMHO They don't do much good in your truck if for some strange reason the original set winds up at the bottom of the lake and your miles away from the truck. Put them in the tool box right next to the spare spark plugs, flashlight, knife (for cutting tow ropes out of the pump), spare fuses, zip ties, etc

 

[dansshin]

@Glassman @Noko & @itsdgm Thanks for the good information. After every boating outing we were already cleaning the boat for about an hour before we leave the lake. I started to use vinegar water to wipe down the exterior and trailer to reduce the water spots, which works great by the way, and my wife has been cleaning all the interior, doing a pretty good job at it I might add and my kids were taking care of cleaning the hitchhiker weeds from the trailer. Also I recently ordered Maguire's Wax and Boat Bling Hot Sauce just incase I needed little more help to keep the boat clean. LOL.

It seems like things to buy for the boat is never ending as I had to also get throw-able PFD and fire extinguisher (5BC). I also want to get Yamaha Deluxe Premium Mooring cover soon.

What is the best way to mount the fire extinguisher on the boat?

 

[Glassman]

@dansshin Great, you are off to a good start. I have one of my extinguishers mounted right behind the Captains chair on the starboard side under the control cut-out. It should come with a mount.
You should add a small air horn and a whistle to your list if you are gathering up all the required items for the typical "Courtesy Check" that you might run into.
Keep the throwable next to or below your seat - I was once chastised by a Sheriff for letting my wife sit on it....he claimed it wasn't readily available if she was sitting on it. I told him to bite me -she was in charge of throwing it!

IMHO the cover is a must-have. It will prolong the life of your interior a great deal.

 

[dansshin]

I was thinking of mounting the fire extinguisher in the storage unit behind the glove box. It has carpet lining so what screws could I use to mount the plastic fire extinguisher bracket without drilling/damaging the hull? Is there any videos that show how to do this?

 

[smthng]

I have an 08 212X, so it may be a bit different, but they're should be a canister or something next to the drink holders by the throttle that is for a small fire extinguisher. I also keep one in the main storage area under the window. We have a small set of plastic drawers we managed to get in there and keep one in those. Throwable just gets tossed in that same storage area.

As for wake board storage, you need some holders for the tower. Gets them up out of the way but easily accessible. Edit: I just realized you have some already. You can get wider ones if you need more space for fat boards.

 

[dansshin]

@smthng I'll check but I don't remember seeing any canister. Looked in the manual and it recommends passenger side storage unit for the small fire extinguisher and port side rear seat storage, where my battery is located, for larger fire extinguisher, which I do not have yet.

Only thing I remember seeing near the throttle that I didn't know what it was was some white plastic part thing. Same as the white part you see in below picture. Is that what you are referring to?

 

[SCSTWG]

[

I have one of those pumps also but thought it didn't get enough air pressure in the tubes. I now use this one and it makes a big difference. This has a higher psi rating and gets the tube harder which makes it pull easier and makes it more stable.

http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?pdesc=Overtons-12V-High-Pressure-Inflator/Deflator&i=44211

I recently purchased this as well and it blows up a HUGE 3-person tube effortlessly!

 

[buckbuck]

On our 2008 boats the fire extinguisher is located just aft of the throttle handles about where your elbow would be. Your boat has them in different places.

 

[eticket]

@dansshin I also could not find any "factory mount" location so I mounted one under my captains seat and one in the front starboard gear locker. The under seat mount keeps the bottle right by me and does not create a hazard for my feet or knees. I chose the front locker for the second bottle since I could not find any good place in the port mid storage compartment that I would want to put screws in, other than the floor which would get covered by gear. The aft lockers are either full of gear/batteries/ballast bags and otherwise are closer to the likely source of a fire (engine/batteries).

BTW, welcome from another twin cities 212x owner!