Buying a Boat? - Page 4

vash · vash's Garage

fenders are those roller things that guide you onto the trailer?

nice boat matt..i cant wait to see the next one!!

and the next tow rig!!

i'm just jelly!

Rot 911 · 06-12-2012, 05:30 AM

drcoastline · 06-12-2012, 05:40 AM

Nice boat. Congratulations. Enjoy.

onewhippedpuppy · 06-12-2012, 12:35 PM

Kurt, I've been referring to them by their technical name - rubber bumper thingies.

I received several with the boat, guess I should tie them on.

Roosterrusek · 06-12-2012, 01:43 PM

Dude, do a quick search on Funny Boat Launching Stories. After reading a few and cringing and laughing you will learn some valuable lessons...

1 - Be nice at the ramp, you never know when you'll need a hand

2 - Load your boat fun stuff BEFORE you put it in the water.

3 - Check the plugs

4 - Don't until that front winch until boat is IN the water.

5 - Check the plugs.

6 - Be nice.

I've had my boat for 4 years and I love it and thankfully have had no dumbazz stories credited to me. I hope to keep it that way...Good luck and good boating!

intakexhaust · intakexhaust's Garage

Lurked in the background and congrats on your find. We lived on a lake for years having a wide range of boats and other watercraft but no longer and now really miss it. I could go on and on all aspects of recreational boating but will skip the chit chat. Boats are very personal on many levels but just get out there and enjoy it!

Although, for some quick advise, get two props to swap out. Best performance investment you will ever make. Spend the money and you'll soon understand. Unless your in the low lakes, swamps use a crappy aluminum, otherwise get rid of it and get 2 different pitch / diam. matched for the desired performance and in stainless. It's certainly not all about horsepower!

#1 A spare is always advised (obviously depends on your boating environment, but just because you think your'e in safe depth and other hazzards... you never know when some bizarre tree trunk or other is just under the surface.)
#2 Fuel economy gains depending on your load for tour or outing.
#3 For performance, for out of the hole, ski, towables, etc. or perhaps top end.

When you shop, go to a prop dealer marina who will let you trial or test and return. This is a must.

onewhippedpuppy · 06-13-2012, 10:29 AM

I took it out last night, other than some of the typical newbie husband/wife ramp coordination it went well and the kids had a blast. Comments from the experience:

The steering is very tight, I'm going to grease all of the outdrive zerks and disconnect the steering cable to determine if the stiffness is in the cable or outdrive.
The throttle is also pretty tight, it requires enough pressure that I often overshoot my desired setting. Same approach, I need to investigate lube and the throttle cable.
The boat wanders at low speeds. If my steering fix doesn't help I'm probably going to add the Smart Tabs that are so highly reviewed on the iboats forums. Most people report earlier planing, very little bow rise, and much better directional stability after installing them.

Otherwise it was great. The boat rides well, planes out at about 20 MPH, and accelerates harder and has more top end than my wife will ever let me exploit.

Seahawk · 06-13-2012, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

I took it out last night, other than some of the typical newbie husband/wife ramp coordination it went well and the kids had a blast.

That is great, Matt.

The one backing up the the trailer tip I can share, and I trailer a lot and still use it every time: Put your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel, if you move your hand left, the rear of the trailer will go left. Moving right same same.

I only use my side mirrors, never look over my shoulder.

You probably knew all of the above, but I thought I'd opine

onewhippedpuppy · 06-13-2012, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seahawk

That is great, Matt.

The one backing up the the trailer tip I can share, and I trailer a lot and still use it every time: Put your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel, if you move your hand left, the rear of the trailer will go left. Moving right same same.

I only use my side mirrors, never look over my shoulder.

You probably knew all of the above, but I thought I'd opine

Thanks Paul. In my blue collar days I did a lot with trailers, so learning to back them was a must. I had a 4x8 utility trailer that put many a scrape on my truck bumper before I mastered it.

The wife did pretty well with her first boat driving experience, she docked it and ran it up on the trailer when we were done. After some arguing I think we have our coordination sorted out.

Seahawk · 06-13-2012, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

The wife did pretty well with her first boat driving experience, she docked it and ran it up on the trailer when we were done. After some arguing I think we have our coordination sorted out.

All good.

The memories my kids cherish the most always involves a boat, SeaDoo or snow and a truck, towing them.

They remember everything. Are you going to get a tow behind inflatible?

Also, if you need life jackets, large and small, I have tons and don't need them. Yours for the asking.

skunked · skunked's Garage

I would strongly recommend replacing the cables if they are found to be the culprit, especially the steering. Many horror stories on the water caused by a failed steering cable.

onewhippedpuppy · 06-13-2012, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skunked

I would strongly recommend replacing the cables if they are found to be the culprit, especially the steering. Many horror stories on the water caused by a failed steering cable.

You mean like endlessly spinning around in circles?

I totally agree, I'm not messing around with this boat maintenance stuff. A cable is on the order of $100 for steering and $30 for throttle, so it's not exactly Porsche expensive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotaBRG

I have great memories of my dad taking our old boat to Lake Pepin, putting it in have having it fail to start. We spent the rest of the day in the marina trying to get it going. Finally giving up and going home.

Some times the best days are the days that don't go as you originally planned.

My grandpa owned a mobile home company and frequently received boats in trade. As you might expect, these were not fancy new boats being traded in on mobile homes. Grandpa always saw it as a challenge, he would tinker with them until they ran and we'd head to the lake. Subsequently we'd be waving down a good Samaritan on the lake for a tow back to the trailer. Definitely memorable....

rfuerst911sc · 06-13-2012, 03:47 PM

I am not familiar with the Mercruiser outdrive in regards to the type of clutch it has. When I had OMC Cobra outdrives there were two types of clutch, dog tooth and cone. The dog tooth type of clutch was basically two castle nuts facing each other. When you slid the throttle forward you were pressing the two together and that would put it in gear. I remember the mechanic at the dealer telling me with a dog clutch you do NOT want to slip it into forward slowly, if you do you get a grinding noise which is the teeth trying to engage. You are to forcefully fully engage and you will feel it snap in gear. Once you get the hang of it you just do it naturally. My last Four Winns had a King Cobra outdrive with a cone clutch it was butter smooth very nice. Congrats on the purchase and enjoy.

Vipergrün · 06-13-2012, 05:13 PM

Ditch that prop and keep it as a spare. Replace with a 4 blade, lower pitch prop, preferably stainless steel. Or go with the Mercury High 5 prop. You probably wont need trim tabs.

peppy · 06-14-2012, 01:30 PM

2004 stingray 190FX w/130 hours

Rot 911 · 06-14-2012, 01:50 PM

Matt, your boat is too small to really benefit from trim tabs. The wandering at low speeds is due to two things, the tight steering and the fact that you don't have enough forward movement to generate much steering ability. Definitely pull the steering cable and see if the lower unit moves easily from side to side.

onewhippedpuppy · 06-14-2012, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seahawk

All good.

The memories my kids cherish the most always involves a boat, SeaDoo or snow and a truck, towing them.

They remember everything. Are you going to get a tow behind inflatible?

Also, if you need life jackets, large and small, I have tons and don't need them. Yours for the asking.

We already have a tube, the kids get to try it on Sunday. Thanks for the life jacket offer Paul, but we went shopping a few nights ago. Sams Club has pretty good deals on them at the moment.

Peppy, that Stingray is a great looking boat. I looked at a few and felt that they were pretty high quality.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rot 911

Matt, your boat is too small to really benefit from trim tabs. The wandering at low speeds is due to two things, the tight steering and the fact that you don't have enough forward movement to generate much steering ability. Definitely pull the steering cable and see if the lower unit moves easily from side to side.

Kurt, from my reading on iboats it appears that all Tahoes suffer from really crappy low speed handling. The Smart Trim tabs reportedly fix the issue, and there's a LOT of positive feedback on the forums. I plan to look into the tight steering first, once it's fixed I'll re-assess the lack of directional stability.

mikeatfhc · 06-14-2012, 03:32 PM

[/QUOTE]
Kurt, from my reading on iboats it appears that all Tahoes suffer from really crappy low speed handling. The Smart Trim tabs reportedly fix the issue, and there's a LOT of positive feedback on the forums. I plan to look into the tight steering first, once it's fixed I'll re-assess the lack of directional stability.[/QUOTE]

Sorry I missed this thread - I would have chimed in a long time ago...

It may be that the outdrive anode needs adjusting. There is a little 'fin' on the outdrive that acts as a sacrificial anode in brackish/seawater usually just sitting under the first horizontal 'fins' on the outdrive. Look underneath where its mounted and there should be a bolt you can loosen to turn it - it is used to counteract the prop thrust. You might try adjusting this first before spending the money on trim tabs.

Also - I wouldn't recommend stainless steel props at all. I know Mercs have a rubber hub in them - but Stainless is too damn hard for a prop. If you hit something the softer gears in the outdrive get hammered - I'd recommend a bronze prop first, aluminum second. That way the prop takes a hit and not your outdrive... and they are cheaper to repair.

Did you get a date from the seller for last time the impeller has been changed? Plan on every year to two years depending on your level of OCD. You can do this yourself if you even slightly handy. And definitely use STABIL!

Any questions feel free to ask - I've owned many boats. Here's my current...

onewhippedpuppy · 06-14-2012, 08:57 PM

Kurt, from my reading on iboats it appears that all Tahoes suffer from really crappy low speed handling. The Smart Trim tabs reportedly fix the issue, and there's a LOT of positive feedback on the forums. I plan to look into the tight steering first, once it's fixed I'll re-assess the lack of directional stability.[/QUOTE]

Sorry I missed this thread - I would have chimed in a long time ago...

It may be that the outdrive anode needs adjusting. There is a little 'fin' on the outdrive that acts as a sacrificial anode in brackish/seawater usually just sitting under the first horizontal 'fins' on the outdrive. Look underneath where its mounted and there should be a bolt you can loosen to turn it - it is used to counteract the prop thrust. You might try adjusting this first before spending the money on trim tabs.

Also - I wouldn't recommend stainless steel props at all. I know Mercs have a rubber hub in them - but Stainless is too damn hard for a prop. If you hit something the softer gears in the outdrive get hammered - I'd recommend a bronze prop first, aluminum second. That way the prop takes a hit and not your outdrive... and they are cheaper to repair.

Did you get a date from the seller for last time the impeller has been changed? Plan on every year to two years depending on your level of OCD. You can do this yourself if you even slightly handy. And definitely use STABIL!

Any questions feel free to ask - I've owned many boats. Here's my current...

[/QUOTE]

Nice looking boat! Regarding the anode fin, wouldn't an adjustment tend to counteract a "pull" in one direction? My issue isn't so much a pull, but that the boat snakes through the water at low speeds. Ultimately it goes straight-ish but it gets there in a weird way, making it difficult to maneuver.

skunked · skunked's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Regarding the anode fin, wouldn't an adjustment tend to counteract a "pull" in one direction? My issue isn't so much a pull, but that the boat snakes through the water at low speeds. Ultimately it goes straight-ish but it gets there in a weird way, making it difficult to maneuver.

Yes, typically the anode fin is used to keep the boat straight if it tends pull left or right when it's on plane. I remember adjusting mine on my last I/O after replacing the drive.