First post here. Just bought a boat.

ScotWithOne_t

Seaman
Joined
Aug 9, 2010
Messages
69
I guess today would be the first of two days that I will be happy owning a boat, since it is the day I bought it.

1996 Sylvan 196
5.7L Mercruiser V8 / Alpha 1 outdrive.

Didn't get any real good pics before we parked it and it got dark, but here she is.

New driveway ornament!
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/ScotWithOne_t/Boat/Boat01.jpg

Outdrive was quite clean. Skag looks like it's been hit a couple times, and the prop has some dings, but it still went like hell on the Mississippi.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/ScotWithOne_t/Boat/Boat03.jpg

Only major flaws are some cracks in the vinyl on the rear seat and one on the sun-pad/engine-cover.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/ScotWithOne_t/Boat/Boat02.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/ScotWithOne_t/Boat/Boat04.jpg

350 Chevy. Only 80 hours on the clock! Practically brand new. WOT is about 4200 RPM which is on the lower end of the max-range (4200-4600), so maybe a different prop is in the future next season or later. Still goes about 47-48mph on the spedo. Didn't have a GPS to verify, so who knows.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/ScotWithOne_t/Boat/Boat05.jpg
 
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ScotWithOne_t

Seaman
Joined
Aug 9, 2010
Messages
69
Re: First post here. Just bought a boat.

I was iffy about the Totally-90s-Green color, but it looks pretty nice on the water. The color goes great with the other blues and greens in a lake setting.
Launching it on the Mississippi for it's maiden voyage.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/ScotWithOne_t/Boat/Boat06.jpg

The guy threw in an old pair of (pretty much unused) skis.
Gonna have to go buy a rope and a decent life jacket this weekend and see if I remember how to waterski. Last time I was like 12, and was being pulled by a 14' Bayliner with a 50hp outboard. This boat should struggle less to get me out of the water, even though I weigh 2 bills now.

Now to start searching for a wakeboard, electric brakes, kneebaord, wetsuit, .... it never ends, does it? :D
 
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Summer Fun

Banned
Joined
Mar 2, 2002
Messages
2,251
Re: First post here. Just bought a boat.

Very nice !!. Congrats & Welcome to iboats. :)
 

JZammetti

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Apr 20, 2008
Messages
181
Re: First post here. Just bought a boat.

Welcome to iBoats, there is a wealth of knowledge to be found here. Nice pictures, enjoy her.

-Joe
 

bitterboater

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 7, 2009
Messages
214
Re: First post here. Just bought a boat.

Congratulations and welcome aboard.

They don't say that BOAT stands for Break Out Another Thousand for nothing. I think its because of what you've already said, about it never ending, what with life jackets, water skis, fuel, insurance, trailer parts, engine parts......:rolleyes:

I think you'll enjoy your self quite a bit, and again congratulations.
 

ScotWithOne_t

Seaman
Joined
Aug 9, 2010
Messages
69
Re: First post here. Just bought a boat.

Pics were too big? What is the size limit? They were only 1024 width.
 

MAXXIE

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Feb 26, 2009
Messages
556
Re: First post here. Just bought a boat.

Really nice boat, that's what I wanted: a '90's bowrider with I/O. I ended up with an older one with O/B, but I will be fixing it up & trading up as soon as I can. How much did you pay? I love the green, your right, it does look great in the water. Good luck with it.
 

INJUN

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Apr 29, 2008
Messages
358
Re: First post here. Just bought a boat.

Reel nice boat!
No rod holders though;)
 

The Famous Grouse

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Sep 26, 2008
Messages
291
Re: First post here. Just bought a boat.

Scott, from a fellow Land o' 10k Laker, congrats and welcome to the club. There's nothing better than having a little gloat from behind the wheel of your own boat on a summer day like we had back on Sunday.

That's a nice rig. Don't worry about the vinyl. Even with the boat kept covered, vinyl is a "wear part" and realistically you need to replace it every 5-10 years in high wear areas. Those sun decks and the rear bench seat are always needing it because people are stepping on it all the time. Good winter project.

I have to admit, that picture of you (I assume it's you) on the dock has me baffled. I'm a lifelong river guy (Miss, obviously) and I cannot for the life of me pick out where that launch is. It looks like some kind of dam back behind you, but I'm just racking my brain trying to think of where that was taken.

Just take your time and carefully get to know both the boat and the rivers. You mention the prop and the skeg is a little nicked up and that'd be about right, it's hard to avoid it on the river. If you don't already have it, I'd consider it mandatory on the river to have an extra prop and hub and all the tools to change it, including an adjustable wrench that's big enough to fit the prop nut. It isn't a matter of if, it's when.

Be extra careful out there on the river right now. It's very high, very fast, and lots of debris out there because of all the rain. We were out on Sunday and I took one look at the water and decided that when we stopped to swim that lifejackets were mandatory while swimming, not just for kids but adults too. The current was just ripping along in many places, it was tough to find a safe spot to swim.

Take care and see you out there. I'm a 22 foot Wellcraft cuddy called the Distant Sun.

Grouse
 

ScotWithOne_t

Seaman
Joined
Aug 9, 2010
Messages
69
Re: First post here. Just bought a boat.

Scott, from a fellow Land o' 10k Laker, congrats and welcome to the club. There's nothing better than having a little gloat from behind the wheel of your own boat on a summer day like we had back on Sunday.

That's a nice rig. Don't worry about the vinyl. Even with the boat kept covered, vinyl is a "wear part" and realistically you need to replace it every 5-10 years in high wear areas. Those sun decks and the rear bench seat are always needing it because people are stepping on it all the time. Good winter project.

The vinyl doesn't really bother me that much, nor does the minor scratches and stuff on the hull. In fact, I'd rather have an un-perfect boat than a brand spankin' new one, because then I'd be afraid of using it, and obsessing over every little blemish I put on it. I'll probably just look into a patch-kit, or some sealing-glue or something to prevent water from soaking into the pad beneath and getting moldy. Maybe in a couple years I'll re-cover it.

In my boat search I looked at one that was in dire need of a complete interior re-wrap, took some pictures and got a couple quotes. Average was about $1,800 for the full interior, so I'm guessing a minor repair like on my sun-pad, and a new rear seat cover would only be in the neighborhood of a few hundred buck.

I have to admit, that picture of you (I assume it's you) on the dock has me baffled. I'm a lifelong river guy (Miss, obviously) and I cannot for the life of me pick out where that launch is. It looks like some kind of dam back behind you, but I'm just racking my brain trying to think of where that was taken.

It's the Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park. Great boat launch that's real calm. Never really a whole lot of traffic there either. I've lived about 2 blocks from the park entrance for 5 years and decided it was time to actually utilize my convenient location.

Just take your time and carefully get to know both the boat and the rivers. You mention the prop and the skeg is a little nicked up and that'd be about right, it's hard to avoid it on the river. If you don't already have it, I'd consider it mandatory on the river to have an extra prop and hub and all the tools to change it, including an adjustable wrench that's big enough to fit the prop nut. It isn't a matter of if, it's when.

I'll have to read up on river-boating: what to watch out for, when and when not to go, etc.

I might look around for a cheap, used aluminum prop to have as a backup. Thanks for the tip.

Be extra careful out there on the river right now. It's very high, very fast, and lots of debris out there because of all the rain. We were out on Sunday and I took one look at the water and decided that when we stopped to swim that lifejackets were mandatory while swimming, not just for kids but adults too. The current was just ripping along in many places, it was tough to find a safe spot to swim.

Water didn't seem to bad yesterday, but I really don't have any experience, so my opinion is pretty much worthless right now. Do you just stop in the middle of the river and throw anchor, or just drift along? We stopped in the deep part of a lake with my friend's family's boat and had one person always holding on to a long rope so that the boat couldn't get away from us.

Take care and see you out there. I'm a 22 foot Wellcraft cuddy called the Distant Sun.

Grouse

Cool. Haven't thought of a name for mine yet. (Maybe "BoatWithOne_t" :D ) Although my transom doesn't really have a good spot for tall lettering, what with the green stripe across it.

-Scot
 

korygrandy

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 14, 2010
Messages
698
Re: First post here. Just bought a boat.

Scot welcome to the club. I live in White Bear Lake...we'll have to get together on one of our many lakes/rivers sometime.
 

The Famous Grouse

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Sep 26, 2008
Messages
291
Re: First post here. Just bought a boat.

Coon Rapids, that explains the dam in the background. Are you above the dam at that launch so you can't come downriver any farther? I don't go up that high with my rig, in fact I've never been above L&D #1 at St. Anthony Falls.

The reason I consider a spare prop mandatory on the river is it's easy to travel a fair distance from the landing. If you tear up a prop on a lake, worst case is you go to shore and walk or get a ride around to the access. On a river, it's not uncommon for us to be 20-30 miles from the landing, so tearing up a prop would be a much bigger issue if you didn't have a spare.

On Sunday we launched at Hastings (very nice and thankfully lots of parking places but the current at the ramp is tricky) downbound through the lock by Prarie Island (where Treasure Island Casino is) to Red Wing and then down to Pepin and back. It's a nice run with some good places to stop and it's not as busy as the Croix. You can make this as long of a run as you want, I've gone all the way down to Wabasha and back.

There's some sweet spots to throw out the anchor down on Pepin. We usually throw out the hook down there and just swim off the platform. It's a little tricky beaching a boat in some of the calmer spots because they tend to be very shallow.

There's also some good spots to anchor if you turn up the St. Croix at Prescott WI. I don't want to give out specific anchoring spots on the open net, so PM me if you want to know more.

See you out there.


Grouse
 

howlnmad

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 29, 2009
Messages
178
Re: First post here. Just bought a boat.

SUCKER !! Just kidding :D. Congrats and Welcome Aboard iboats.

Now get ready to max out your credit cards, drain your bank accounts and remortgage your home.
 

ScotWithOne_t

Seaman
Joined
Aug 9, 2010
Messages
69
Re: First post here. Just bought a boat.

SUCKER !! Just kidding :D. Congrats and Welcome Aboard iboats.

Now get ready to max out your credit cards, drain your bank accounts and remortgage your home.

Whoever dies with the most money, still dies, but whoever dies with the most toys, wins. :D
 

ScotWithOne_t

Seaman
Joined
Aug 9, 2010
Messages
69
Re: First post here. Just bought a boat.

Coon Rapids, that explains the dam in the background. Are you above the dam at that launch so you can't come downriver any farther? I don't go up that high with my rig, in fact I've never been above L&D #1 at St. Anthony Falls.

I think it would be kinda fun to go through the L&D. maybe I'll launch someday on the south end of town and go upriver through downtown Minneapolis and teh UofM and stuff.

The reason I consider a spare prop mandatory on the river is it's easy to travel a fair distance from the landing. If you tear up a prop on a lake, worst case is you go to shore and walk or get a ride around to the access. On a river, it's not uncommon for us to be 20-30 miles from the landing, so tearing up a prop would be a much bigger issue if you didn't have a spare.

If I do any river runs, I'll probably launch downriver, then go upstream. that way if something drastic happens and the motor goes out or whatever, I can still float downstream back to where I started, or at least close to it.

There's some sweet spots to throw out the anchor down on Pepin. We usually throw out the hook down there and just swim off the platform. It's a little tricky beaching a boat in some of the calmer spots because they tend to be very shallow.

There's also some good spots to anchor if you turn up the St. Croix at Prescott WI. I don't want to give out specific anchoring spots on the open net, so PM me if you want to know more.

See you out there.


Grouse

Forgive my boating ignorance, but is a "hook" anchor better for rivers? All I have is a small round anchor that came with the boat. Might be fine for beaching or whatever, but I don't think it would hold a heavy 19.5 footer in the Mississippi. Is a "hook" kinda like a classic cartoon anchor?
 
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