Who's getting excited for the 2025 season?!?!

[WiskyDan]

Once April 1st rolls around my focus shifts to boating season and even though we had flurries here in Wisconsin this morning I'm looking forward to the season starting. My boat comes out of storage on 5/3 and gets dropped at the dealer to get run up. My new Connext screen came in over the winter (15 months for delivery) and that will be getting swapped out as well. Once I've got the boat at the marina warehouse (in-out service) I'll take a nice stroll up to the @drewkaree lakeside estate and beg/grovel to use his tools to change my oil and sparkplugs. A certain level of shenanigans will ensue but he told me it should take about three beers time to complete if the weather cooperates.

No other boat mods/additions planned at the moment (getting a new to me tow vehicle on Friday) as I need to watch my spending a bit.

So, anyone else solidified their early season boat plan/s??

 

[jcb1977]

Once April 1st rolls around my focus shifts to boating season and even though we had flurries here in Wisconsin this morning I'm looking forward to the season starting. My boat comes out of storage on 5/3 and gets dropped at the dealer to get run up. My new Connext screen came in over the winter (15 months for delivery) and that will be getting swapped out as well. Once I've got the boat at the marina warehouse (in-out service) I'll take a nice stroll up to the @drewkaree lakeside estate and beg/grovel to use his tools to change my oil and sparkplugs. A certain level of shenanigans will ensue but he told me it should take about three beers time to complete if the weather cooperates.

No other boat mods/additions planned at the moment (getting a new to me tow vehicle on Friday) as I need to watch my spending a bit.

So, anyone else solidified their early season boat plan/s??

what marina do you use?

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Well… after my recent trip to Lake Mohave, trip report coming, I have a few issues to fix and that is in process, new right side trailer brake / running light, and I need to fix the bow roller bolt hole as it has elongated and allows the hull to scrape the bracket during loading, add that to the gel coat repairs. Just exported all of my way points, routes and points off my Solix G2 unit and deleted them, then did a factory reset, as I was having some Max Headroom issues with it, so far seems to be working much better, looking forward to a float / fishing test.

Lake Oahe is beckoning before the water temp reach 65* and the fry hatch is on and the salmon bite, if any, well drop off. Locally Pactola is low on water, I think the B of R let out too much water in the fall and there is not enough snow to bring it back up to full pool, currently its 12’ low and both ramps are listed below the useable depth. But theres another lake just 10 mins up the road, and three others within 1.5 hours. Going to try and make it back to see my cheesehead friends in WI this year and hopefully get more than one day on Lake Michigan.. also planning on a trip back to OK and try some surfing , going to pick up a wake booster too from one of your members, who says an old dog can’t learn new tricks! And who knows, maybe a trip to Flaming Gorge .

 

[Acard7]

We go pick up the new 252SE this Friday in Rochester, MN. Super excited to finally have it home since we will have made two payments on it already! Should be able to break it in fairly quickly since weather in Iowa is 70s-ish starting Wednesday.

Still have to sell the AR230 () but it will be prepared and listed come Wednesday.

We have 4th of July weekend booked and Lake Red Rock (IA) and almost a week in LOTO in August. Due to the wife being in NP school with clinicals until November we will get to boat on Mondays and Fridays on our home lake during the summer. As long as she’s caught up in classes anyways.

 

[Coult45]

The boat came out of the back garage on the 1st, about a week after we got back from our five-week road trip to Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico (I should post a few pics) and got moved into the main garage. Our attached garage is actually under part of the house and is almost entirely below grade. Never gets below about 42 on the absolute coldest winter stretches, and easily warms up to low 60s when i put on the heater. So the boat spends April in the warm garage, where i can take my time on the spring checklist and watch yankees games in the boat. Spent a few days cleaning the HELL out of it. Now i'm down to the last five wire splices, and my Ridesteady will be installed. Also cut a sheet of Tuffak clear polycarbonate to cover the center row of openings on my T Top, to help keep the curve in the cover so water runs off. We'll see how it comes out. I went with simplicity here. Cut a sheet about 32 x 75, velcro it on top of the bars, and pull the top tight over it. I think it will stay in place just fine. Today i'm starting through the full maintenance list for 200 hrs. I'm only at 175 hrs, so i might wait on the valve clearance until the fall.

Dock and lift maintenance will begin when it gets just a little warmer.

So YES i'm excited. Dock and lift should go in the water the first week of May and we'll get back to hunting eagles and herons, wakeboarding, and maybe i'll throw a line in the water this year to see if anything bites.

 

[WiskyDan]

what marina do you use?

Skipper Bud's in Oshkosh. This will be our third season of in/out there and it's been really good so far:

• A sheltered, private boat ramp about 50 yards from the warehouse.
• A pair of gas stations about 3 minutes away to fill up before each launch if needed - no outrageous on-water gas prices to deal with.
• Marina is adjacent to I41 as it crosses over Lake Butte des Morts so centrally located to the lake chain.
• If the weather sucks I can dink around with the boat inside the warehouse.
• Access to electrical to charge the batteries.

I dry stacked at Sweetwater Performance Center my first few seasons which was really good at times and not so good at others.

 

[anmut]

I'm pretty pumped. Should be picking up the boat out of storage in the next couple of weeks. Oil change, lube, charge the batteries. Biggest and most exciting upgrade this year will be the twin screw impellers from leading edge. At the end of last season I really started to notice the cavitation on my stock setup - too much wake surfing + 230+ hours on them = time for an upgrade!

 

[DogDadDave]

Getting the itch pretty badly right now. We planned on doing our post-winter maintenance, cleaning, and shakedown outing this past weekend, but with the absolute disaster that is the Ohio River right now, we're going to wait a couple weeks.

 

[anmut]

Getting the itch pretty badly right now. We planned on doing our post-winter maintenance, cleaning, and shakedown outing this past weekend, but with the absolute disaster that is the Ohio River right now, we're going to wait a couple weeks.

WI river is the same - not flooding, but just junk from the winter and riverbanks everywhere. Spring boating is always a shake of the dice with a jet boat, that's for sure.

 

[BumbleBee255]

Been sitting on my new 255 in the barn, making boat motor noises all winter. I'm getting so good at the motor sounds I thought I accidentally started it one time!! Anyways,,, my only service will be to replace the steering cables because I'm sure they are wore out from all the pretend driving I have been doing this winter...

 

[mtudb24]

Got the Itch really bad but sadly our water levels are down from last year by at least a foot if not 18" and hoping to even get the boat at the dock this year. Our canal out in the bay is supposed to be dredged this spring, but they haven't started yet. You can see where my neighbor docked his pontoon at his seawall and this year its all sand. Those stairs at my seawall were 1/2 underwater last year.
You can see the water level stains on the seawalls across the canal from me and how far our water is down from last year. its really scary on where the Great Lakes water is going. I probably have about 12-15" of water next to my dock.
This is on Saginaw Bay / Wildfowl bay in the thumb of Michgan.

I bought the jet boat last year cause I was afraid of water levels dropping over the past couple years and wasn't sure I'd be able to run my pontoon boat anymore. Maybe I should have bought an Airboat

The last pic is of the other canal to the East of us by 1 mile. They dredged last fall and if they hadn't, they wouldn't even have what they have now.

 

[anmut]

Got the Itch really bad but sadly our water levels are down from last year by at least a foot if not 18" and hoping to even get the boat at the dock this year. Our canal out in the bay is supposed to be dredged this spring, but they haven't started yet. You can see where my neighbor docked his pontoon at his seawall and this year its all sand. Those stairs at my seawall were 1/2 underwater last year.
You can see the water level stains on the seawalls across the canal from me and how far our water is down from last year. its really scary on where the Great Lakes water is going. I probably have about 12-15" of water next to my dock.
This is on Saginaw Bay / Wildfowl bay in the thumb of Michgan.

I bought the jet boat last year cause I was afraid of water levels dropping over the past couple years and wasn't sure I'd be able to run my pontoon boat anymore. Maybe I should have bought an Airboat

The last pic is of the other canal to the East of us by 1 mile. They dredged last fall and if they hadn't, they wouldn't even have what they have now.

I think the good news is that we've had a lot of precipitation this spring - hopefully it continues at a steady enough pass to refill your area.

 

[zipper]

Fits and starts...weather not cooperating, but it is still April at the 45th parallel, lol. We have the new graphics, pinstriping coming this week. Ordering a gallon of Petit polyurethane white topside paint and a gallon of primer for the boat for a rolling and tipping couple of days. Have a little glass work to patch a wrongly placed inspection port and mount a new swim ladder before splash day, third week of May. Excited? Ya, but a lot to do before hand.

Yes today…

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I am looking forward to it here in Tampa bay the weather last year was the worst I have ever experienced since moving here from New England in 1972. I pray we don't have a repeat of last year' weather. I need to get out and play ion the water. Over the off season I invested a lot of time
with an old friend who asked me if he could manufacture and sell my latest jet ski steering.
Not only did I blaze the trail for jet boat steering enhancements that completely changed the jet boat world.
I also blazed the trail for the P.W. C world and totally eliminated the loss of control when off power and the dangerous launching of the passengers and driver in fast turns. Making them much safer, versatile and FUN. And NO NEED for expensive sponsons , just my steering makes all the difference in the world .
So if you also own a P. W. C . or know someone who does pass along this info They will come back and thank you once they try it out.
Let your P W C pull water skiers or tubes and handle big waves , let it turn and decelerate in the turn while maintaining steering just like by jet boat steering does. The introductory price is only $179.00 however it is scheduled to go up to $229 soon it also comes with a 30 day satisfaction guarantee just like my jet boat steering and it is model specific as well .
Also domestic shipping is free, the same as my jet boat steering systems. You can just click on this link if you are interested or hit the P W C button on my cobra jet steering web page . Cobra Jet Steering Affiliate | Jet Ski Upgrades Happy new boating year !!!

 

[Coult45]

Fits and starts...weather not cooperating, but it is still April at the 45th parallel, lol. We have the new graphics, pinstriping coming this week. Ordering a gallon of Petit polyurethane white topside paint and a gallon of primer for the boat for a rolling and tipping couple of days. Have a little glass work to patch a wrongly placed inspection port and mount a new swim
ladder before splash day, third week of May. Excited? Ya, but a lot to do before hand.

Yes today…

View attachment 232903

We've got a dusting so far, and the forecast is steady, light snow all day.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

The boat came out of the back garage on the 1st, about a week after we got back from our five-week road trip to Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico (I should post a few pics) and got moved into the main garage. Our attached garage is actually under part of the house and is almost entirely below grade. Never gets below about 42 on the absolute coldest winter stretches, and easily warms up to low 60s when i put on the heater. So the boat spends April in the warm garage, where i can take my time on the spring checklist and watch yankees games in the boat. Spent a few days cleaning the HELL out of it. Now i'm down to the last five wire splices, and my Ridesteady will be installed. Also cut a sheet of Tuffak clear polycarbonate to cover the center row of openings on my T Top, to help keep the curve in the cover so water runs off. We'll see how it comes out. I went with simplicity here. Cut a sheet about 32 x 75, velcro it on top of the bars, and pull the top tight over it. I think it will stay in place just fine. Today i'm starting through the full maintenance list for 200 hrs. I'm only at 175 hrs, so i might wait on the valve clearance until the fall.

Dock and lift maintenance will begin when it gets just a little warmer.

So YES i'm excited. Dock and lift should go in the water the first week of May and we'll get back to hunting eagles and herons, wakeboarding, and maybe i'll throw a line in the water this year to see if anything bites.

FWIW,
I’ve had two valve lash checks, and both times valves were in spec. But, most of my hours come from trolling.. I’m just a couple of hours below 600 now, so I’ll be making the journey once again up to Bismarck to Vallely Sport and Marine to get them checked. Yes, I can do it myself but, to keep the warranty up (expires July 2025) I take it to the dealer to have them checked.

Please provide details on the ride steady install!

Great idea for the T top and water shedding! I’ve gotten a few doses of ice cold rain water down my neck before I learned to make sure I have my rain hood up before stepping onto one side or the other!

If you have not done so yet, be sure and check the bearing cones… I have two sets of O rings on hand when I do that in case I mess up one or two. Suggestion on that, once you have the cones filled with grease, do your test install without an O ring installed otherwise you’ll get push back from trapped air pressure.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Got the Itch really bad but sadly our water levels are down from last year by at least a foot if not 18" and hoping to even get the boat at the dock this year. Our canal out in the bay is supposed to be dredged this spring, but they haven't started yet. You can see where my neighbor docked his pontoon at his seawall and this year its all sand. Those stairs at my seawall were 1/2 underwater last year.
You can see the water level stains on the seawalls across the canal from me and how far our water is down from last year. its really scary on where the Great Lakes water is going. I probably have about 12-15" of water next to my dock.
This is on Saginaw Bay / Wildfowl bay in the thumb of Michgan.

I bought the jet boat last year cause I was afraid of water levels dropping over the past couple years and wasn't sure I'd be able to run my pontoon boat anymore. Maybe I should have bought an Airboat

The last pic is of the other canal to the East of us by 1 mile. They dredged last fall and if they hadn't, they wouldn't even have what they have now.

Hear ya on the water level… the B of R let out too much water from my closest lake in the fall, dunno what the F they were thinking in a La Niña year.. lake is 12’ low, both ramps are not useable according to the B or R website, but I’ve seen a couple boats out there… not enough snow this year to make much of an impact, the lake has come up a few tenths of a foot.. looks like it will fall to the thunderstorms to bring the lake up.. year before last “they” couldn’t keep the lake level down to full pool because there was so much rain fall… it will sort itself out soon I’m sure. I’m told a few years back the lake was very low and the B or R said it would take 10 years to full again fully.. about two months into thunderstorm season it was full…

 

[anmut]

FWIW,
I’ve had two valve lash checks, and both times valves were in spec. But, most of my hours come from trolling.. I’m just a couple of hours below 600 now, so I’ll be making the journey once again up to Bismarck to Vallely Sport and Marine to get them checked. Yes, I can do it myself but, to keep the warranty up (expires July 2025) I take it to the dealer to have them checked.

Please provide details on the ride steady install!

Great idea for the T top and water shedding! I’ve gotten a few doses of ice cold rain water down my neck before I learned to make sure I have my rain hood up before stepping onto one side or the other!

If you have not done so yet, be sure and check the bearing cones… I have two sets of O rings on hand when I do that in case I mess up one or two. Suggestion on that, once you have the cones filled with grease, do your test install without an O ring installed otherwise you’ll get push back from trapped air pressure.

When did you do your first valve lash check? I've got 230 on my motors now.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Couple of inspirational songs for spring boat maintenance….

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

When did you do your first valve lash check? I've got 230 on my motors now.

Just shy of 200 hours…