IN The Water - Finally (Pics)

[BobRae99]

Wow that is a beauty.

Nice refresher reading this thread. I was nervous when I saw the launch ramp with no side tie dock. And no trailer guide poles.

Stay away from that down the road!

Yes.. and allow yourself to be anxious!! Next time with out the dealer in the boat hovering you'll be fine.

Seat time.. seat time! Looking forward to more pics!

I won't be getting more time with the dealer but I have a friend at the lake who has been boating for 25 years and has offered to assist me.

On a related note, one thing I wasn't impressed with was the knock when the transmission is moved from neutral to forward or neutral to reverse. It causes the boat to shudder. I wasn't expecting this although I read a review suggesting that the EVC drivetrains don't do this. Next boat ...

[cmattj]

Good to hear you have support at the lake. That will make it fun. You'll look back at the end of the season and you won't remember the nervous outings..

We all went through this pal ! except BB as he was born with boat shifter in his hand.

There's a lot of thrust when the outdrive cones lock in and the props move so you will get used to the new sensations and that will pass.

You'll be bumping in and out of gear with taps so small you won't think it did anything but you'll have moved several feet.

Read through this thread frequently, as these members have all had butterflies in their first season.

Welcome to the excitement!

[Big Block Power]

That clunk is nothing. Most people start out in a bayliner and don't care what they hit and they have a Alpha 1 drive. Now that baby clunks. Clunks are a good thin thing. You know it's in gear. It's like landing gears on a plane. You know the wheels are down and your not going to land on your belly.
Maybe you can get the Alpha 3 next time.
This bad boy is smooth as silk and has plenty of thurst.

[BobRae99]

Funny

[NautiGirl]

As others have said the clunk is just the clutches in the lower doing their job. I will say the Bravo 3 on our new boat makes a much more pronounced clunk as compared to the SX Drive on Katie's 190. Freaked me out the first time I heard it, now its just normal. One of those "good" noises where now if you DON'T hear it you know something is wrong.

You will get better at coming alongside the dock. Katie and I had a talk about it last night, she grew up on the lake, I didn't. Driving a boat is totally natural to her, but it did take me a bit to figure out that in a boat you are basically steering /w the stern not the bow. Thats the most important thing to remember imho, the stern is really what you want to watch, the bow just moves based on what the back of the boat is doing.

Just weird at what we are all good at, I grew up driving nothing but manual transmission cars, starting on a hill with a car behind me at a stop light is just a natural movement to me , dont even think about it. Katie would go into a cold sweat. Same thing when I first put the new boat up against the dock, Katie was like wtf just dock it I was like uhhh but uhhh wind and new boat and this duoprop is weird and shit you just do it.

You will figure it out, until you do, all the bumpers.

[Ytmsn]

You've got this Bob. Just get out on the water when no one is around and practice practice practice, alone with nobody in the boat but you.

Get out in open calm water and come to a stop. Learn to do a spin with the axis in the center of the boat. Crank all the way over to starboard. Bump into gear and as soon as she starts moving bump into neutral and crank it all the way back to Port. Now bump it into reverse and keep your movement going. Bump back into neutral again, crank all the way back to starboard, and another little bump in drive. Back to neutral, and repeat until you've spun all the way around. Remember, dont crank the wheel unless she's in neutral.

This will be useful for when you find yourself in close proximity to banks, boats, docks or whatever. You will also use this bump forward bump reverse spin right or left procedure when you're pulling alongside a dock or another boat. As others have said, learn to read the wind direction. It's best to have it at you back. If it's not, that's a whole different lesson!

Remember when docking it's better to have the wind as your friend than fighting it as an enemy.

Practice pulling into and out of your slip. Back out, do the spin maneuver and put her back in. Remember your fenders, and if you're putting out fenders have your dock lines on a fore and aft cleat and ready to tie or throw to a dock hand. . Don't dock and then go scrambling for the lines, or expect lines to be there.
.
Find a no-wake buoy and maneuver along beside and around it.

Sloow and eeeasy. That's the ticket!

[TinCupp]

BobRae,, just a hint. Remove the fenders when underway. It's a sure sign of a newby. Love your boat. Great color scheme.

Wait? What? That’s why everyone has been staring at me

[Big Block Power]

Go buy one of these tomorrow. If your not close enough to the dock just grab it a d pull yourself in. We use it non stop. My 13 year grabs it right away is his job. Lol
Get a telescoping one.

[Bfun220]

I got one of these. Never used it yet.

[Big Block Power]

I got one of these. Never used it yet.

I do to and don't ever plan on rowing my boat. I'll just call you. Lol

[BobRae99]

So, I was in and out of the marina 5 times this weekend and am getting the feel of getting the boat into the slip, improving each time. Crosswinds make it a bit trickier. Actually, I found backing out more difficult, but I understand what I'm doing wrong. When you share a 20' diagonal slip with another boat (less beam than mine, though), you can't jog the transmission into reverse, wait to see which way the stern is heading and then try to correct. By the time my brain figures all of that out, its too late and a collision is possible.

I have been so happy just to get the boat into the slip that I just land it and shut the motor off and tie it up. The next time I go out, who can remember where I left the outdrive pointing? That is what is creating the problem for me. So, next time I do this, I'll count the turns lock to lock and then center the drive after I return, so when I go to back out, the first, "jog" in reverse will be straight back.

Thanks for everyone's help.

[tgrace98]

I always center my drive before I shut the boat off for the day. I don't have an extended swim platform so I can just step on the dock and see where the drive is pointing. Also having a duo prop it takes very little movements of the steering wheel to turn the boat.

[BobRae99]

I always center my drive before I shut the boat off for the day. I don't have an extended swim platform so I can just step on the dock and see where the drive is pointing. Also having a duo prop it takes very little movements of the steering wheel to turn the boat.

This weekend taught me that lesson. With my swim platform, I have no idea where the drive is unless I get into the habit of centring it each time I tie up.

[Big Block Power]

Not sure if you will be pulling waterskiers but it's the same thing for that. Always pointing off center. Plus when I launch the drive is pointing to the right from trailering. I just give it more throttle. Lol

You just have to be quick turning it the other way. It will come with time.
I would 100% get the rudder indicator on a new boat

[BobRae99]

Not sure if you will be pulling waterskiers but it's the same thing for that. Always pointing off center. Plus when I launch the drive is pointing to the right from trailering. I just give it more throttle. Lol

You just have to be quick turning it the other way. It will come with time.
I would 100% get the rudder indicator on a new boat

I don't think a rudder indicator was offered with this model (210) and in any event, my boat doesn't have one. As to quicker turning it the other way", my brain just doesn't seem to be quick enough this week to figure out what the boat is doing and what needs to be done to correct the movement (that was in the wrong direction) before I hit someone. Even one bump in reverse in this narrow shared slip is enough to send me towards my slip mates boat (with the trolling retracted outboard hanging off the stern) and I don't yet think fast enough to correct it. I think centring the drive before setting out will take away that stress until I'm quicker on my feet.