When do you start getting excited for the upcoming season??

[WiskyDan]

Those of you who boat year round probably don’t know this feeling but those of us in climates where we get maybe five good months should understand.

This is only my second year owning a boat and last year I was more nervous than excited as my first season on the water approached. Now that my maiden season is behind me I’m more excited, the nerves have calmed down quite a bit, and the anticipation for the upcoming season is starting to amp up.

The excitement for me started to build at the beginning of this month as the significant amount of snow that we had started to melt - I can now see my grass. Highs jumped up into the 40’s the last week of February and it will be in the 50’s this week, maybe even 60 on Tuesday. I’ve lived in Wisconsin my entire life and know that Mother Nature has some more surprises in store for the upper Midwest so I’m tempering things a bit. When I travel people in warmer climates always ask how I survive winter but spring is the worst season here. In winter you know what to expect, in spring you can have a 60 degree day followed by a 30 degree day and snow - that sucks.

The excitement is probably due to the amount of upgrades I’m planning and trying to nail down the logistics. I dry stack my boat, and don’t really have a vehicle to trailer it with, so moving it around is a bit a pain. I rented a Uhaul pickup last year to take it from the marina to the dealer to get it winterized and the dealer dropped it off at the storage location for me. It’s going to be a busy April:

- Install the SeaDek that I bought during the group buy.
- Have the dealer install the trim tabs that I bought during the group buy.
- Have my audio system upgrade installed - new speakers and amp.
- Purchase new bow/stern snap-on covers. The snap-on covers that came with the boat are a bit stiff/worn/faded and the last couple of snaps are really hard to get aligned - especially when you get older and your hands hurt all of the time. Trying to get a canvas place lined up for this may be the biggest hurdle - people don’t seem to return phone calls anymore.
- Dropping boat off at the dealer to get it run up (oil/plugs) for the season. I bought two Odyssey deep cycle marine AGM TPPL batteries to replace the Exide Nautilus batteries that came with the boat that they will install for me.

- I’m thinking about upgrading my 6” Garmin chart plotter to the 9” Garmin version but I‘m not sure it will fit and if I want to spend another $1000, this will be a pricey spring as it is......

Looking forward to a great season on the water, if I have any money left for gas.

 

[Sonic Blue]

Canadian boy here has been pumped since I bought it. This is my first boat and first year. i don’t find myself nervous at all, just excited. I have spent the winter taking online courses from our Canadian Power and Sail Squadron which, along with this forum, has really given me a wealth of information and ideas. Soon, I’ll get to try things in real life. I’m not far from the US boarder Buffalo / Michigan so the weather looks like I’ll be trailering the boat home from the dealership this month to start some pre launch mods like installing VHF and the like. I have everyone around me convinced this is going to be the best summer ever. Screw you Covid !

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Those of you who boat year round probably don’t know this feeling but those of us in climates where we get maybe five good months should understand.

This is only my second year owning a boat and last year I was more nervous than excited as my first season on the water approached. Now that my maiden season is behind me I’m more excited, the nerves have calmed down quite a bit, and the anticipation for the upcoming season is starting to amp up.

The excitement for me started to build at the beginning of this month as the significant amount of snow that we had started to melt - I can now see my grass. Highs jumped up into the 40’s the last week of February and it will be in the 50’s this week, maybe even 60 on Tuesday. I’ve lived in Wisconsin my entire life and know that Mother Nature has some more surprises in store for the upper Midwest so I’m tempering things a bit. When I travel people in warmer climates always ask how I survive winter but spring is the worst season here. In winter you know what to expect, in spring you can have a 60 degree day followed by a 30 degree day and snow - that sucks.

The excitement is probably due to the amount of upgrades I’m planning and trying to nail down the logistics. I dry stack my boat, and don’t really have a vehicle to trailer it with, so moving it around is a bit a pain. I rented a Uhaul pickup last year to take it from the marina to the dealer to get it winterized and the dealer dropped it off at the storage location for me. It’s going to be a busy April:

- Install the SeaDek that I bought during the group buy.
- Have the dealer install the trim tabs that I bought during the group buy.
- Have my audio system upgrade installed - new speakers and amp.
- Purchase new bow/stern snap-on covers. The snap-on covers that came with the boat are a bit stiff/worn/faded and the last couple of snaps are really hard to get aligned - especially when you get older and your hands hurt all of the time. Trying to get a canvas place lined up for this may be the biggest hurdle - people don’t seem to return phone calls anymore.
- Dropping boat off at the dealer to get it run up (oil/plugs) for the season. I bought two Odyssey deep cycle marine AGM TPPL batteries to replace the Exide Nautilus batteries that came with the boat that they will install for me.

- I’m thinking about upgrading my 6” Garmin chart plotter to the 9” Garmin version but I‘m not sure it will fit and if I want to spend another $1000, this will be a pricey spring as it is......

Looking forward to a great season on the water, if I have any money left for gas.

I was excited for this next season when I pulled the T top off in late November so I could get the boat in my heated shop for the winter... looks like it will only be another month before one of the local lakes is ice out!

Sounds like you have some cool upgrades for your rig! As far as your chart plotter goes... no one here is on a second tour, buy the best chart plotter you can get! When I outfitted my boat with a MFD, I went with the Solix to get the best definition and touch screen, it was $1000 more but I’m so glad I did it.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Canadian boy here has been pumped since I bought it. This is my first boat and first year. i don’t find myself nervous at all, just excited. I have spent the winter taking online courses from our Canadian Power and Sail Squadron which, along with this forum, has really given me a wealth of information and ideas. Soon, I’ll get to try things in real life. I’m not far from the US boarder Buffalo / Michigan so the weather looks like I’ll be trailering the boat home from the dealership this month to start some pre launch mods like installing VHF and the like. I have everyone around me convinced this is going to be the best summer ever. Screw you Covid !

Love your attitude! Which VHF are you thinking of installing?

 

[WiskyDan]

As far as your chart plotter goes... no one here is on a second tour, buy the best chart plotter you can get! When I outfitted my boat with a MFD, I went with the Solix to get the best definition and touch screen, it was $1000 more but I’m so glad I did it.

I like the way you think!!!

If I could get the 9” Garmin to fit I would have already ordered it so it’s more about functionality than price. On my first Yamaha I had a 6” Garmin (63cv) on a ram mount that was attached to the side of the helm. The position is OK but it can get bumped into when you‘re walking to/from the bow area. On my current boat I had them mount the same Garmin unit on the top of the dash which turned out to be a bad idea - it blocked my line of sight once I was on plane. I saw a thread from @Julian where he fabricated a bracket so that he could mount the 9” Garmin on the right side of the helm so I would have to do the same thing.

 

[Sonic Blue]

Love your attitude! Which VHF are you thinking of installing?

I went with Raymarine Ray53. Full feature with DSC but smaller footprint. And honestly, I like the subtle look of the faceplate.

 

[haknslash]

I start jonesing for the next season the day I winterize.

 

[212s]

I start jonesing for the next season the day I winterize.

Yup...same here...but we have to "jonez" a lot longer in the great white north.

 

[rad1026]

Heading to Lake Havasu for Spring Break on March 19. Super excited!

 

[motomandan]

At the end of last season!

 

[Julian]

I like the way you think!!!

If I could get the 9” Garmin to fit I would have already ordered it so it’s more about functionality than price. On my first Yamaha I had a 6” Garmin (63cv) on a ram mount that was attached to the side of the helm. The position is OK but it can get bumped into when you‘re walking to/from the bow area. On my current boat I had them mount the same Garmin unit on the top of the dash which turned out to be a bad idea - it blocked my line of sight once I was on plane. I saw a thread from @Julian where he fabricated a bracket so that he could mount the 9” Garmin on the right side of the helm so I would have to do the same thing.

Yup....here is my 9' Garmin thread: https://jetboaters.net/threads/my-2...photos-added-6-14-19.9464/page-11#post-384316

It is big.....but I wanted to be able to see it from the stern while fishing. A 7 would work fine for most people.....but touch screen FOR SURE!!!

 

[Captain_Ron65]

Oh man, I am so ready and have been for a good while. With the Covid shutdowns, I think even more so this season than in the past. I will be working from the boat a lot this spring! I'll probably get the boat ready in 2 weeks and hit the lake before the end of March.

 

[biffdotorg]

The excitement for me started to build at the beginning of this month as the significant amount of snow that we had started to melt - I can now see my grass. Highs jumped up into the 40’s the last week of February and it will be in the 50’s this week, maybe even 60 on Tuesday. I’ve lived in Wisconsin my entire life and know that Mother Nature has some more surprises in store for the upper Midwest so I’m tempering things a bit. When I travel people in warmer climates always ask how I survive winter but spring is the worst season here. In winter you know what to expect, in spring you can have a 60 degree day followed by a 30 degree day and snow - that sucks.

Being in the neighbor state, these spring days get dashed real quick by the winter storm forecast for this Thursday. I can't get excited till the ice actually goes off. Which is almost always mid to late April.

We still have a solid 30"+ of ice.

 

[WiskyDan]

I got my audio upgrade mostly figured out today. Spending a bit more than I want to but it will be all JL and I won't look back and regret not spending the extra $$

 

[WiskyDan]

Being in the neighbor state, these spring days get dashed real quick by the winter storm forecast for this Thursday. I can't get excited till the ice actually goes off. Which is almost always mid to late April.

We still have a solid 30"+ of ice.

We still have a little ice but its disappearing at a pretty good rate. I know that we're not done with snow yet so trying to temper things a bit.

 

[suke]

Took Friday off to go ahead and start getting my boat ready to the season. Some of my toys are here already and waiting to go on, some I'm still waiting on(seadek won't ship until late this spring). It's going to be nearly 80* here Friday. Wife is in the very early stages of first trimester, so not risking going out right now(uber high risk pregnancy already).

 

[Bcbeitler]

Just did the plugs and oil last weekend. Probably start detailing the boat the following weekend and then we are heading to Lake Mohave in Bullhead AZ for Spring Break. I am beyond excited to get on the lake.

 

[Miitch]

I made the dumb decision to do my speaker/amp upgrade in October, 3 weeks before I put the boat away for winter storage.. got the parts in August and was going to do it this coming spring before the start of the new season, but I couldn’t handle looking at the parts collecting dust! After the install I got about 2 days on the water with the new set up before she went into storage Excited for beach days with loud music and lights ?

 

[HangOutdoors]

Starting to think about getting excited.... For March in Michigan it is a the start of a heat wave I hope. OR ........ can get 6 - 12 inches and freezing temps in the next two weeks. Just a bit warmer consistently and I will take the winter cover off and put the mooring cover on and start doing some work on her and some upgrades.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

- Purchase new bow/stern snap-on covers. The snap-on covers that came with the boat are a bit stiff/worn/faded and the last couple of snaps are really hard to get aligned - especially when you get older and your hands hurt all of the time. Trying to get a canvas place lined up for this may be the biggest hurdle - people don’t seem to return phone calls anymore.

@WiskyDan ..... have your canvas shop install the rear snaps for your cockpit cover with the bungee-type connectors that allow the canvas to shrink and swell (on a daily basis) and save your fingers.