First trip out report, a little long.

Saturday we made our first trip in our new to us 1995 Searay 180 with a 4.3LX and gen II. I had spent the first few weekends redoing the brake system on the trailer and making little adjustments here and there that were needed. The boat was at a marina and trailered only in and out of the lake from the marina storage facility whenever they used it so the trailer needed some love.
After reading about launching, docking, trailering, launch ramp etiquette, plugs, straps and everything else on here, we did it. My wife can't back the trailer or drive the boat well enough to launch so together we put it in close to the dock, she walked it back and tied it up and I parked the trailer. She had to wait for some people on the launching side of the dock who just sat there but we were in no hurry. I dropped the outdrive down, started the boat and let it warm up a few minutes, pushed off and off we went.
Boat ran excellent except for a nervous moment when I had the kill switch "off" and tried to start the boat a few times. Doh, rookie. Flipped it to "run" and back in business. Engine felt strong, engine temp stayed about 145-150, oil pressure steady and about 50 psi all day. Kids loved it, I loved it, and my wife loved it. She calls it "our" boat now where it used to be just my boat.
Thanks for all the tips on here even though most of my time was spent reading about others lessons and problems. We got the boat back on the trailer with no troubles and had an excellent time.
FWIW, I put a 19p prop on and it seems great, nice torque and good speed although we never went past 35 mph but there was plenty throttle left. Next time I'll bring the GPS.

Re: First trip out report, a little long.

You did it the right way and everything worked fine, congrats and good luck in all your travels. Are you a year round boater ?

Re: First trip out report, a little long.

I hope to be. We are in Northern California so we never get too cold for boating. My wife was already trying to figure out our next trip to the lake while I was teaching here to drive the boat.

Re: First trip out report, a little long.

tractoman said:

I hope to be. We are in Northern California so we never get too cold for boating. My wife was already trying to figure out our next trip to the lake while I was teaching here to drive the boat.

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Did you go to Lake Sonoma? Is there enough water? It did look a bit low from pictures but I actually haven't been.

Happy boating !!!

Roland

Re: First trip out report, a little long.

Yep, Lake Sonoma. It's a little low but has plenty of water. I've never been there before so not too sure. If I had to guess, it's probably 8-10 feet lower than the high water marks on the bank. Not sure how high the lake normally is. Had lots of fun.