Newbies who don't listen to our advice.

Tnstratofam

Commander
Joined
Aug 18, 2013
Messages
2,679
Okay so a year or so ago the Admiral and I purchased our first boat together. We made all the classic mistakes. Bought first boat we looked at. Didn't do any research on year and model of drive system. ( It's obsolete.) No idea about how much work our new boat needed. Total newbies!!!

Now in August after much time on the water, and hard lessons learned I found this wonderful website, and all the valuable information contained in this forum. I have since learned that there are no dumb questions asked, and if I have a problem I can always find good answers from knowledgeable people at this site. Now I have also met some wonderful people at many of the local marinas, and boat dealerships here Northeast Tn who have helped me tremendously. That all being said I still consider the Admiral, and I as newbies still in our infancy of boat ownership. We now have two boats, and I spend time here gaining new information as often as my time permits. I also try to offer advice based on my experiences much like many of you do.

Here is my problem. Here on the forum there are many different views on repairs, and questions offered up by the forum members. However most of the time a consensus is usually reached and a suitable reply is followed by the original poster. Not always, but usually. However I have a coworker, who also is a newbie to boating who has purchased an aluminum fishing boat with an outboard jet engine for river fishing here in our lovely part of the country. He is now on his 3rd ( yep you heard me right ) 3rd motor. When he first purchased the boat I told him to become very familiar with it's controls and operation before going out on the river due to the danger of running over fly fisherman, drift boats, rocks and debris. As well as the white water rafters we get most of the summer.

He decided to go to one of our local lakes earlier this spring. TVA had been keeping this particular lake up above normal so there was a lot of debris on the water. The intake to his boats motor is only a few inches below waterline so I told him to be extra careful. He wasn't, and stopped up the intake burning up the motor. I asked him if the high temp alarm went off he said " Well we heard a buzzing sound but my buddy said it was his phone. " :facepalm:

After he got the engine rebuilt I told him he should take it easy on the new motor again till he was familiar with it. To which he returns to the lake and drops the boat off the trailer at the ramp and breaks the housing for the jet drive.:facepalm:

He gets that fixed, and finally takes it to the river where his friend dumps him in before he gets the motor started where he is washed a good way down stream. In a panic he gets her going, and proceeds up the river with his buddy and manages to make a fairly good run up and down the river. The next time out however his oil injector on the motor clogs, and now he has a fried piston.:facepalm: ( I had told him it might be safer to premix the gas and oil himself rather than relying on the injector when he first purchased the boat.)

Now he gets the engine rebuilt again. That's twice for those keeping score. Today he comes in to work and tells me he thinks he may have burnt up his motor last night. He was in the river again. TVA stopped generating so the water level fell. He was in a new section where he wasn't familiar. And he said the motor started smoking, and just up and quit. Now my first question to him was. " Didn't your water alarm go off?" To which he replies. " yeah my buddy and I hadn't hooked it back up yet. I didn't think I would need it as cold as the river water is." :facepalm:

I just looked at him and said " How's that help from your buddy turning out for ya?"

Some people can't be helped I guess.

I told him when he first got the boat he should come to this site. Not sure he will now.
 

Brian 26

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 14, 2013
Messages
574
Sounds like my brother in law (i've posted on here about him before). I have a lifetime of boating experience and he had none when he took out a loan to buy his $25k searay. You would think he would want to learn before hitting the water but he does not. I tried to show him the basics but he has not interest in learning. I can't even go out with him anymore because it's too frustrating to watch that great boat go to crap.

He tows my two nieces on tubes on a very busy lake with no spotter and no mirror. When I explained to him how this is very dangerous for him, the girls and every boat on the lake, oh and ILLEGAL he replied "nah, it's fine".

Last fall he let it sit out in a two day long rain storm uncovered before he brought it to the indoor storage place. When I tried to explain to him that you can't store a boat full of water he replied "it was only the carpet that got wet". Different strokes for different folks I guess.
 

Tnstratofam

Commander
Joined
Aug 18, 2013
Messages
2,679
We've all met them, and we see them on the water everyday. It just drives me nuts that people won't listen to what should be common sense. I guess we just have to shake our heads, and try to be helpful to the ones who will listen. I know I make mistakes when I'm on the water, but if someone who I feel has the knowledge and experience to show me the right way comes along I listen..


Maybe I just answered my own question. He doesn't listen because he thinks I don't know.. Hmmm I may have to ponder on that for a while...
 
Joined
Feb 17, 2012
Messages
2,906
can't fix stupid.....

nope but you can work for them and make a bunch of money.

brother in law says he wants to paint his engine. Im thinking well that's ok even he couldn't mess that up. I get called as the motor wont start. Its shinny silver with plenty of metal flake in the paint. I pop the cowling and hes sprayed everything. Plugs, wires, coils, power pack, fuel filter........... I test the paint with a meter and its conductive.
 

82rude

Rear Admiral
Joined
May 8, 2012
Messages
4,082
how about the guy that was on here a few years ago showing off his old motor and reving the bugger out of it with out water and he got down right mad and rude when it was pointed out you needed water and its not smart to run a motor over idle unless its in the water?wonder how that worked out for him?
 

Tnstratofam

Commander
Joined
Aug 18, 2013
Messages
2,679
It's funny in the short time I've been on here I've seen a few people who start posting what they're up to only to disappear when people point out there mistakes. Some of us are just gluttons for punishment I guess. :D
 

Grub54891

Vice Admiral
Joined
Jun 17, 2012
Messages
5,908
Replaced an impeller for a guy on an outboard,housing was melted,impeller melted...ect. I asked him if he ran it without water at some point. He says never! Ok stuff happens. Well he pays the bill,leaves. A short time later I hear a motor running in the parking lot,yup,he is idling the motor on the trailer in the parking lot. I walk over and shut it off,and explained to him what he was doing is a bad thing, and he replies,thats how you check the overheat alarm to be shure it works before you go out. I tried to tell him but......he was back for an impeller/housing a week later. Then I never saw him again.......
 

Tnstratofam

Commander
Joined
Aug 18, 2013
Messages
2,679
About a month ago we had just launched at the local public ramp, and there was a guy who asked me if I could help him. It was pretty busy, but Our boat was out of the way so I said sure. He didn't know where to put a plug he had found in the back of his borrowed bass boat. It turned out he had all the right drains plugged it was an extra. I walked him through a couple of steps to unload, and told him to be careful on the water. He passed us a little while later, and thanked me for the help. I told him to take a boater safety course if he planned on being on the water much. It helped us. Allot of people just put their boats in the drink, and take off. With no idea what is what.
 
Last edited:

ronaldj

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 1, 2013
Messages
655
What scares me is the people who have no idea what a NO wake zone is. Or the people that don't or can't read any of the buoys or markers on the water. They are in Bays or the Ocean without marine radios and have the nerve to get mad when they are boarded or chastised by the Coast Guard who was trying to warn them but they couldn't hear either because they have no VHF radio and never heard of channel 16 or worse still , they didn't think they were talking to them. These are the same people who get in the shipping lanes and don't understand that a commercial or military vessel can't stop on a dime just because they are stupid. As someone said earlier. You can't fix stupid
 

OllieC

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Dec 8, 2011
Messages
533
Sometimes you explain things to people, but you can't make them understand.
 

Fleetwin

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Nov 23, 2011
Messages
1,141
One word: CLUELESS.

Anybody that believes an oil injector clogging can fry one cylinder is a fool. Hopefully, he is off the water for good.

I walked by a guy, earlier this year, idling his engine, High and Dry on the ramp, and stopped and said: "Whatcha doin'". He said, "Warming it up". It was a late seventies Silverline-In line Merc, 165 I/O. Beautiful boat that someone had spent some time on. Great lines.

I told him that he had just burnt out his water pump. He told me to mind my own business.

That is too typical in AZ. Many boaters seem to be all knowing AAA+++ personalities.

I towed him in about a half hour later.

His wife went along in our boat and said: "god he can be a d*&k sometimes". Not a peep out of him. That marriage won't last. I gathered it was the second or third for both. Sheesh!

A few minutes later, his jacked up Black GMC squealed tires getting it up the ramp. I'm sure, never to be seen again.

BTW; only an idiot buys a black truck in ARIZONA. It was 118* degrees yesterday.
 

greenbush future

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Aug 28, 2009
Messages
1,814
The stories are numerous, and dang expensive if not dangerous too. The third engine meltdown guy, should not be on the water. There's ignorant people, and then there's stupid, I'll let you guys decide. Heck we all learned this stuff, it's not like you are born educated, but heck having some common sense really cuts the learning curve. I would not be going out with that guy, the result will be rather obvious I think. I've screwed up too, that's why I act like a sponge when I'm around others that are well informed. Knowledge is power!!
Keep em coming though, this is entertaining!!
 

basalt51

Seaman
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
65
Spent the weekend at Bridge Bay - Lake Shasta this weekend. It was stupid human tricks fest. Bridge Bay is one of only a couple launches left on the lake it is so low and it is also the busiest. The wait was easily an hour, the paved section is only wide enough for one trailer unless both are good at backing. There is a sandy section launchable for one next to it. Oh the entertainment was great! Those who thought they could fit on the pavement next to someone else but just hit their trailer or blocked them in, those who thought they would start loading their boat after backing in (cause the hour they already waited wasn't a good time), those who thought maybe if they just hit the trailer harder their pontoon boat might stay on, those who thought someone was cutting infront of them and kept peeling-out and jack-knifing their trailer, it went on, and on, and on. The guy in his brand new $80k Hewes jetboat the was BSing in the middle of the ramp with his buddy when we first showed up (It was early and we were the only two boats). We were going to put in on the sand, but he rushes his buddy to back him in, fires up the jet boat, ingear, full throttle forward (not sure why it even started) - THREE TIMES before he figured out neutral. Then as we back down and he is heading away I notice his Bilge is GUSHING. Next thing I know he is rushing to beach it, pops open his engine cover, throws some things around cursing and swaering, then puts in his plug... The guy screaming at his smoking hot girl friend cause his battery is dead. She asks how he is going to get the boat to the trailer and he says "Swim it". I offer a long rope so they can just pull it. She thinks it s a great idea, he just jumps in and starts swimming the boat, while 15 other people wait for him before they can launch... Once they finally get trailered he is yelling at the girl to raise the outdrive. When he finally finishes she just says "I already did." Good for her!!

Good times! Makes you realize where the saying "You know what the two best days of boat ownership are..." comes from but I just don't get it. My best two days of boat ownership are the last time I went out and the next time I'm going out!
 
Last edited:

Maclin

Admiral
Joined
May 27, 2007
Messages
6,761
A friend and I were waiting with others to retrieve our boats on a narrow 2-lane ramp once, just about to take our turns and it worked out we would go down together, when a guy decided every one was too slow, backed around the whole line in a huff, then took up both lanes! So no matter how fast he could have been he was not twice as fast, it was funny, we had a good snarky laugh at that one.
 
Top