bought my first boat!!

i bought a nice and clean 1979 Ranger 1600 V-1 with a '79 Johnson 70 hp. I'm very excited. Planning to take the kids out for the first time tomorrow.

check out the first pic

Re: bought my first boat!!

Congratulations....let the fun begin....There's nothing better for family fun then having everyone out on the boat together. (once they learn to sitdown and shut up) Enjoy....hope your maiden voyage is trouble free.

Re: bought my first boat!!

brichbk said:

i bought a nice and clean 1979 Ranger 1600 V-1 with a '79 Johnson 70 hp. I'm very excited. Planning to take the kids out for the first time tomorrow.

check out the first pic

Click to expand...

Congratulations on the new boat. Make sure you have all your safety equipment and enjoy. Don't want to rain on your parade but did you change out the impeller ?? Nothing ruins a first outing like a siezed motor.

Re: bought my first boat!!

Congrats, good looking boat !!

Re: bought my first boat!!

Congrats, Looks good. I agree with kenmyfam, replace the impeller (and check all fluids) even if it doesn't need it no matter what the previous ower told you. My first boat and boating trip I learned the hard way. Mine didn't seize up because I was close to the dock when it started overheating. My kids were all excited only to be ruined by a 15 minute boating trip with antifreeze steaming from the engine compartment. Enjoy, have fun and happy boating.

Re: bought my first boat!!

Congrats! I'm jealous, mine's not ready for the water yet.

Re: bought my first boat!!

Took my boat out for the first time today and had a blast!!

Only had a couple of minor issues, I stopped the boat and turned off the motor to try out the trolling motor. The trolling motor worked great, but I couldn't get it pulled back up. So I eventually had to just take it off and put it in the boat. Then I couldn't get the main motor started and it smelled like it was flooded. I waited a few minutes and then the motor fired right up. Turned it on and off a few more times without trouble.

My first launch and trailering went well. The launch was pretty easy. The landing a bit more tricky, but I managed to get it without losing my patience. Thankfully I choose a nice quiet boat landing to go to, so there wasn't much traffic.

Now I have to wait about a week before I can take it out again.