Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

[MikePNJ]

Re: Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

SOLAR BATTERY CHARGER!!! That's it.. That's the answer! Atleast that's what's gonna make me feel better when I'm away for 2 weeks. Just something to stop the bilge from draining the battery if I start taking on water.. No nay Sayers! That's my peace of mind

I replaced my bilge pump with a new automatic switch also. I only go and flip it on automatic when I think it's going to rain. I check on my boat a few times a week, and take it out 3-4 times a week weather permitting. I've been out a few times in the rain. Not as much fun with the family on board, but made for a few good stories along with me wanting a camper top! Ah the list of wants goes on.

I looked into a solar powered bilge pump switch myself ... 2 problems ... (1) when it rains there is NO SUN, (2) I plan on replacing the covers and want the 2 piece cover to go over the windshield and connect over the bow cover. I like the look of the exposed windshield (which would work with a solar charger) but prefer better water repelling with a cover that takes a leaky windshield out of the equation. And leaves no place for a solar panel.

Mike

 

[BonairII]

Re: Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

SOLAR BATTERY CHARGER!!! That's it.. That's the answer! Atleast that's what's gonna make me feel better when I'm away for 2 weeks. Just something to stop the bilge from draining the battery if I start taking on water.. No nay Sayers! That's my peace of mind

You might want to see someone about that OCD.

 

[ericp501]

Re: Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

You might want to see someone about that OCD.

Lol!!! I'm just making fun of myself now

 

[jmarty10]

Re: Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

eric - if youre worried about boat being on water/slipped, ask youre marina if they do in/out service. Boat stays on the trailer and when youre ready to use it, they put it on the water for you. When youre done they take it off the water and store it on their property. Its a great alternative if you dont like boat on water all the time. See if marina does that.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

You might want to see someone about that OCD.

That's CDO. let's get it in alphabetical order at least.

Your solar battery charger will make you feel better. So will sleeping in a tin-foil beanie to block the aliens from sucking out your brains.

here's something to help you sleep: hot water heaters don't make any noise at all just before they explode.

Nighty-night

 

[Shark_bait99]

Re: Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

I feel your pain. I am in the same boat with my new boat. A 2004 Four Winns Sundowner 225. I though I was paying a premium for reliability as the boat appeared mint. But as my boat sits in the shop after only 2 short boating days, I am reconsidering... I have the money for it, just don't know if I want the anxiety. I've got enough stress in my life.

I hope you find a good solution. Also I would recommend a little 30 lb thrust electric trolling motor as a backup emergency motor. Will save you having to be towed home. I used mine yesterday for the first time to push my 4500 lb boat to the dock into the wind. It was slow but for $100, it can provide a little peace of mind.

 

[wagnerz]

Re: Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

Boating isn't for everyone. If you get so worried that you don't even enjoy it, what is the point of boating? Maybe gardening would be a good hobby for you.

 

[BonairII]

Re: Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

Maybe gardening would be a good hobby for you.

Nope....he'd be worrying that he watering too much, wasn't using enough fertilizer etc etc etc.

 

[ericp501]

Re: Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

Nope....he'd be worrying that he watering too much, wasn't using enough fertilizer etc etc etc.

I have a garden.. It has 2 fences to keep out rabbits, 30 bug zappers, 4 watering systems incase some fail, and underground radar so I can check the roots growing.

And to the other poster.. I already have a 101 thrust trolling motor mounted on the bow with 3 new deep cycle batteries. For fishing and as a backup motor. Plus tow insurance through progressive, only $16 a year

 

[MikePNJ]

Re: Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

You could ask the guys at the marina also. They might provide free towing back to the marina because you have a slip with them.

It would depend on how late you were out on the lake and who you can call at that time.

 

[98Shabah]

Re: Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

I'll be completely honest here, there is no way I could afford to own a boat or have any piece of mind if I had to pay for maintenance and repairs... My piece of mind comes from knowing the ins and outs of the mechanical things that I own and knowing what to do if something should go wrong. I can't imagine the stress of being out in a boat and not knowing how things work.

With that said, a boat with a good maintenance history is nothing to worry about, my boat is a 1998, since 2000 it was owned by my father until I bought it a few years ago..It's a trailer boat that has always been stored in a garage. In the last 12 years and 245hrs of use that it has been owned by my father and I it has never had a failure.. sure, little things here and there, but none were major problems.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

...a boat with a good maintenance history is nothing to worry about, my boat is a 1998, since 2000 it was owned by my father until I bought it a few years ago..It's a trailer boat that has always been stored in a garage. In the last 12 years and 245hrs of use that it has been owned by my father and I it has never had a failure.. sure, little things here and there, but none were major problems.

Now you've done it. Godsmack.

 

[ericp501]

Re: Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

Put my boat in the slip today.. I started telling myself that the things I worry about are like worrying about getting a flat tire, or a cracked windshield while driving on the highway.. sure it happens, but you don't let it keep you off the road. I let the boat run floating just over the trailer, moved the wheel all around and checked for leaks.. she stayed dry. I ran her of the trailer and took her around to my slip, what an amazing feeling. Not just being on the boat, but all the time, the effort, my new designs of the interior, the bellows, the impellers, shift cables, etc.. I did it all myself, and it was just such an awesome feeling to get this machine on the water. I'm actually very calm, much more then I'd though I'd be the first night. I bought a trailer/mooring cover, which sucks as a mooring cover, its supposed to rain the next 3 days so I'll have to swing by once or twice to empty the collected water I'm sure will be there. I'm looking into a new cover.. other then that, I'm happy.

 

[MikePNJ]

Re: Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

Congrats Eric! I was just over at that marina last week working on a captains chair. After I was finished I was looking to see if I could spot your boat. No wonder I didn't see it, it wasn't in yet!

Mine goes in on Wednesday. I'm having some small chips filled with Marinetek by my marina. They need to suspend it off my trailer to fill an area for me. I can't wait to get out on the water!

Mike

 

[skydiveD30571]

Re: Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

I'll be completely honest here, there is no way I could afford to own a boat or have any piece of mind if I had to pay for maintenance and repairs... My piece of mind comes from knowing the ins and outs of the mechanical things that I own and knowing what to do if something should go wrong. I can't imagine the stress of being out in a boat and not knowing how things work.

I know this feeling. Last year was my first year owning a boat, and it was a complete PITA. It seemed like there was always something going wrong. I was comparing it to when I was younger and went to the lake with friends, and how I was so laid back and worry-free during those times. As I winterized it in the fall, I decided if this summer is like last summer I'm dont messing with it.

Fortunately, I don't let things beat me that easily. Since that time, I've started learning the in's and out's of engines and anything related to my engine or boat. I started with the basics, and slowly learned about more complicated things. Exploded diagrams of the engine systems really helped to understand stuff. Now everytime I go out and look at my engine, I can identify one more component that I was clueless about. Just last week out on the water I experienced an overheating issue. Luckily I've studied the cooling system enough to know what can cause this, and had the problem fixed in 5 minutes. Last year I would have just gotten angry, called it a day, and spent the rest of the weekend wishing I didn't have to deal with it.

I now have a bit of a bogging idle issue, so I'm going thru and doing all the basics first (full tune-up, idle mixture and speed, etc) and to be honest its a really good feeling knowing all those components are in good shape. I've even started checking things that were supposed to be done during the winterization process that I never got to witness the mechanic do.

Peace of mind is worth a lot of time and money to me.

 

[ericp501]

Re: Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

Congrats Eric! I was just over at that marina last week working on a captains chair. After I was finished I was looking to see if I could spot your boat. No wonder I didn't see it, it wasn't in yet!

Mine goes in on Wednesday. I'm having some small chips filled with Marinetek by my marina. They need to suspend it off my trailer to fill an area for me. I can't wait to get out on the water!

Mike

Slip #14 next time you're there feel free to unclip the cover and take a look, I did a lot of custom work in there I'm really proud of.

 

[MikePNJ]

Re: Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

We were so worried about the water level at the lake, now I wonder if it will ever stop raining!

The first rain free day I'm taking mine out. I did a bunch of custom interior work also. It's far from done though, lots more to do.

This weekend is busy for me, looks like next week some time before I get out.

 

[ericp501]

Re: Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

We were so worried about the water level at the lake, now I wonder if it will ever stop raining!

The first rain free day I'm taking mine out. I did a bunch of custom interior work also. It's far from done though, lots more to do.

This weekend is busy for me, looks like next week some time before I get out.

I'm actually not even gonna take it out this weekend.. I'm sure the lake is gonna be clogged with boats and being a new lake for me I wanna get out early morning during the week and learn the water a bit.

 

[Boatinjones]

Re: Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

I know the feeling, first time boat owner thought I got A good deal. Had it appraised they said it was A good boat. First time out with the famialy Port side motor just quit running Had the motor pulled gear on the dist. broke pulled the pan got the crap out new Dist. coil alt. 3500 dollars later, took it out same motor just stoped but did fire right back up and ran good for a while. So took it out yesterday after about 20 min. cruising on a plain LOUD BOOM and just quit, would not crank nothing.(thank god for twin motors) Called the people who worked on it they said pull the plgs and look for water. Now the wife hates goin out preasuring me to get rid of it I got 15 grand into it plus mooring and havent been able to enjoy it yet, So i am right there with you buddie, I JUST DON"T KNOW WICH WAY TO TURN ANYMORE. I don't wanna give up yet but it seems the chips are stacked against me. QUOTE=ericp501;3753936]I bought my boat last year and feel like I haven't enjoyed it cause there is just always something wrong.. First my starter mount broke, then my trim pump went, then my bellow got a hole, then my shift cable froze.. and this is all since I summerized it this year! I just went to put it in my marina an hour and half away today but it had a small trickle leak that looks to be from the shift bellow cause the guy did a bad job. So now the boat is back home AGAIN!.. And even as I was trying to put it in and out of the water with it slightly trimmed up I was so nervous to give it gas thinking something else was going to break or go wrong. I'm so paranoid to take it out on the water now, I've spent more time fixing it then I've actually spent on the water. I'm really thinking about getting a refund on my slip and trying to sell the boat, but I feel like I'm so close to it being a working machine and I love being out on my friend's boat. I just don't know how much more I can put into this thing.. As of right now its been a huge waste of time and money. My heart is in my throat, my hands shake and my stomach has butterflys everytime I go to launch it now. Anyone else ever go through this? Did you get over it? Have you ever made it through a season where nothing went wrong?[/QUOTE]

 

[ericp501]

Re: Boat has me paranoid.. can't even enjoy it

Sorry to hear that man.. I've actually had my boat in the slip for a few weeks now.. and am slowly getting more and more comfortable taking it out and leaving it for a week unseen at the slip. I was so used to things going wrong because I wasn't giving it the chance to do anything right. I've taken it out a few times now and its been great.