4 Weeks into Owning a Boat for the First Time

[C_M_25]

Ahoy!! Well, I bought a brand new sweetwater 20 ft pontoon boat 4 weeks ago, and we have had our share of good times and bad...

Learning Curve Problem 1: My dealer never told me my bimini boot wasn't permanently attached. When we took our boat out for the first time, we unzipped the bimini boot and noticed that it kinda just hung there. We tried to pull it off, but it felt like it was permanently attached. We decided to throw it up over the top of the bimini. Well, it wasn't permanently attached. The really annoying thing: we cruised past our boot floating in the water 3 times!!! We never got close enough to check out what it was. Dang it!! Oh, and the dealer wants to charge $140 to replace it. I think I can do better online.

Learning Curve Problem 2: We had the family up last weekend, and they wanted to beach the boat (my first time) so we could eat at the picnic tables at the lake. The second time we beached, we drug the boat up to a sandy spot. The rear was still floating so I hand set the anchor out in the water and my brother-in-law tied on to a big tree root. Well, I lowered the rear ladder so I could climb aboard to grab a few things and headed landward to eat some lunch. You probably know where this is going. Well, we went to push off and we were having trouble moving the boat off of the sand. I went and checked the fish finder transducer to make sure it wasn't hanging on something, but I noticed there was a bit of sediment pushed by the current that the rear toons were sitting on. We started rocking the boat and another guy came to help push us out. The boat starts the movie when we hear a loud BANG!!! "Hmm, that didn't sound good," says the good samaritan. We walked around the boat to see what it was, and there we discovered the folding part of the rear ladder was missing. Yep, that's right. It dug in the dirt, and the hinge on the ladder was ripped apart. GRRRRRR

This gets better. I call the dealership, and they say a new ladder is $350. "Dang, this boating stuff is expensive!" I call Godfrey to cut out the middle man and they tell me they only sell parts to dealers and not customers. WTF?! Well, I managed to contact the manufacturer of the ladder itself, and they are sending me the lower part of the ladder for $100. PHEW!!!!

Learning curves are expensive....

[tuned]

Welcome!
Don't feel too bad. Every one of us has made a rookie oops or two. Lets hope that was the worst of them. Quick tip. Read up on your motor. That is often where the most expensive mistakes are made...been there

[NonHyphenAmerican]

If you've never paid "Stupid Tax", then you're either lying or delusional.

That being said, I hope your learning curve straightens out a bit.

Prior to owning this toon, I had a little 14' Lowe shallow V fishing boat.

Seems to me that the first few years I owned it, I'd back it into the lake, have someone hold onto the rope, pull the trailer up and when we'd go to get in the boat, wonder where all the water came from. Ooops, forgot to put the danged plug in.

Hint: I've made a "Checklist".

It includes:
Get on boat, lower motor into water.
Check to make sure that everything appears as it should.
Put plugs in Live Wells.
Stow Cell Phone in Floating Waterproof Holder (That was an expensive lesson)
Pull out a life jacket for each person on board.
Stow the Throw Float on the Rail via .99 clamp from Home Depot.
Put Ice in the Ice Chest
Double Check all the Bimini Top Fittings.
Ensure that Ladder is in the UP Position. (Ever notice how many box trucks have bent steps on the passenger side cargo doors? I got to the point I thought that was a "Standard Option". Trucking for 35 years will teach you to do a walk around every time you get on the boat.)
Now that motor has been in the run position for a few minutes, check oil. If it's ok, start motor.
Turn Power Switch on and ensure that live wells, Nav Lights and Courtesy Lights all work.
Turn on GPS/Depth Finder
Everything Good?
Cast off all lines, then slowly back out of slip.
Check fuel gauge to ensure full tank. (I fill up at the end of every trip. Old trucking habit)
Motor out of Marina, checking that steering is working and that everything is shipshape.
While putt-putting out of marina, Admiral pulls the side bumpers up and stows them inside the rails so they don't splash water all over the passengers.

If we've been anchored to fish, etc. I check to ensure that motor starts and runs, that everything is as it should be and THEN I up the anchor, stowing it in the bucket I keep for that purpose.

By getting into the habit of doing that every single time, I hope to avoid paying any more Stupid Tax than I have to.


I used to have the same type of routine for trucks and went through the checklist every time I got into the truck, walking all around it first.

[lakerunner]

Make sure YOU do your boat make ready and not a friend. Bad thing happen when you let others help

[PlaynDoc]

Make sure YOU do your boat make ready and not a friend. Bad thing happen when you let others help

yeah, when taking out friends - who, of course know nothing about boating, but are 'experts' at helping...... i find it's better to just have them watch. they have good intentions, sure.... but, sometimes a tiny mistake can cost hundreds... if not life/limb....

[smltooner]

Welcome to the club and the mistakes.....we've all been there and done that.

[ROLAND]

well congratulations on the new toon and sorry to hear about your learning curve issues... but as you've already read, you are not alone.... Bought my boat 3 or 4 years ago and the first time on the launch, couldn't get the brand new motor to crank..... frustrated and pissed off, we just gave up and went home.... after we got home my neighbor ( and bass boat enthusiast ) pointed out my throttle was in neutral... ( here's your sign ).... also took me 4 ever to figure out how to get the boat back on the trailer.... was ready to chunk it but the guys here kept assuring me it would get better and as usual, they were right... loading is no longer a problem... all part of the learning curve.. just sorry yours was a bit expensive.....

[Gonefishing]

Always check everything your self. Friends want to help but you have to check. Couple thing I learned real quick.
1. Check it twice
2 check it your self
3 take your time no matter how busy it is they can. Wait take your time.
4 most important have fun, fun, fun. The more you are out the. More you will learn. Again just take your time and check it twice. Or did I sat have fun

[C_M_25]

Thanks for the replies guys. Definitely makes me feel a little better. At least the stuff that broke so far are not system criticals. When it comes to the motor and anything associated with it, I'm overly protective/safe. I really don't want anything to happen to that.

It has been a fun experience. We get out of the house on the weekends, and it gives me a great opportunity to fish. I would like to add some mods at some point, i.e. trolling motor, rod holders, and maybe some kind of bracket that we can tie a tube too. We really love it.

We have found that docking can be a challenge. There isn't anywhere we can tie the fender protectors on the port-side of the boat. We manage but in any kind of wind, it can be tough. It really stinks because the docks we use have missing tires on it so there is a nice rusty metal rod that is exposed. We haven't had issues with that, but I think some permanent fender guards may be in order.

[robster]

With our first boat every time we went out we either broke something or lost something,so we decided we weren't having fun until we either broke something or lost something. After a year or two we got better.

Cheers!

[Cowracer]

Make sure YOU do your boat make ready and not a friend. Bad thing happen when you let others help

Aye! My wife (bless her heart) is overwhelmed with the compulsion to help out. Even if she doesn't have a clue about what I am doing. I prefer to do critical things like ready the boat or set up the camper by myself. I have a routine, and working alone insures I follow it. I have told her many times her job is to just sit there and look cute, but the urge rises up and some point I'll notice that something in my routine is out of place. It has lead to many heated arguments.

Like the time we are 1/2 way home after a weekend and she reaches in her purse and gives me the boat keys. We keep the boat in a guarded, secure storage lot at the lake. I leave the keys in the ignition as does just about everyone else. I'm like "WTF did you take the keys for?!?!?" She goes "You almost forgot them." I then explained to her that I leave the keys IN the boat for a reason. Namely I don't want to drive all the way to the lake and then realize that I forgot the keys. Sure as hell, next trip, we had just left the house and were about a mile down the road when I realized that I forgot to grab the keys. They are not on my checklist, I am just happy I remembered that there was something I needed to remember.

The kicker is she thinks I am being an asshole when I get all pissed at her for stuff like that.

Tim

[RcgTexas]

Well, we went to push off and we were having trouble moving the boat off of the sand. I went and checked the fish finder transducer to make sure it wasn't hanging on something, but I noticed there was a bit of sediment pushed by the current that the rear toons were sitting on. We started rocking the boat and another guy came to help push us out. The boat starts the movie when we hear a loud BANG!!! "Hmm, that didn't sound good," says the good samaritan. We walked around the boat to see what it was, and there we discovered the folding part of the rear ladder was missing. Yep, that's right. It dug in the dirt, and the hinge on the ladder was ripped apart. GRRRRRR

I wonder just how many ladders have succumbed to that. I now can count 2 for sure. Yours and mine about 10 years ago.

[chopper6358]

I have to remove my fwd Bimini every time I put my cover on. Sooooo when I getting the boat ready to go I put the Bimini in the mounts forgot to put the pins in. I get to the lake and started getting the boat ready to back down the ramp and a guy pulls along side and asked if I was missing anything . I looked around and said. No. He said he watched my top fly off and stopped and picked it up.said had been chasing me about ten miles....he gave it back and offered 50 bucks but he wouldn't take it

[BadOleRoss]

Well, we went to push off and we were having trouble moving the boat off of the sand. I went and checked the fish finder transducer to make sure it wasn't hanging on something, but I noticed there was a bit of sediment pushed by the current that the rear toons were sitting on. We started rocking the boat and another guy came to help push us out. The boat starts the movie when we hear a loud BANG!!! "Hmm, that didn't sound good," says the good samaritan. We walked around the boat to see what it was, and there we discovered the folding part of the rear ladder was missing. Yep, that's right. It dug in the dirt, and the hinge on the ladder was ripped apart. GRRRRRR

I wonder just how many ladders have succumbed to that. I now can count 2 for sure. Yours and mine about 10 years ago.

Let's make that three ladders. I was out with a biddy on his boat 25+ years ago and we had the boat beached. As we backed it off the beach to get in deep enough water to start the motor the ladder was in the down position. It seems there was an underwater tree/branch that went right through the rungs of the ladder as we pushed it back. As we spun the bow of the boat around, we twisted the snot out of the ladder. We where then stuck and could not figure out what the issue was. Once we found the branch and knotted up ladder, we had to rotate the boat in the other direction to straighten out the ladder. We got it about 95% straight!

[KylefromNJ]

What a coincidence, I bought my very first boat 3 weeks ago too, and it was also a 20' Sweetwater toon (cue the twilight zone music).

I've been spending a lot of time fixing it up, and I haven't had any newbie tax yet, but I did run the boat aground in the narrow creek that I boat in. Had to jump into 2' of mud and push off, not too bad except got a lil dirty.

Good luck to you fellow newbie boater.