…Finally got it in the water tonight. Awesome. Engine started right up, never hiccupped. After an hour and a half of fucking around the gas needled hadn’t moved off of “F”. The thing drives fantastically. Gets up and planes with the quickness. With 4 adults on board the little 4 banger still hit 40 with no problem. Handles nice. I don’t know much about boats, but my father in law has been boating on these waters since before most of us were born and he was thoroughly impressed.
For my first time, launching it went pretty smoothly. But that’s going to get to be a pain so I’m probably going to just dock it at my father in law’s dock this summer. I may have to drop a grand getting an extra piling put in at his dock, but it’ll be worth it. I can probably find a cheaper way to dock it there safely too.
actually was out on the river today and went by grass island. I was pretty suprised at how dead the river was! All in all it was a perfect day out in the water and i used a gps unit and topped my boat out at 62mph, not bad for a 1972 16’ Glastron.
Right now i have a 140hp chrysler outboard, but looking to upgrade to a newer 4 stroke in the near future. The hull of the boat only weighs 740 pounds and the motor maybe 300-400 pounds, so its pretty light. here is a picture of it, needs a good buff soon.
I went out on a Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday, and Monday over Memorial Day Weekend. A lot of the time was spent floating down the river, so maybe running 5-6 hours. Burned 12 gallons of gas. Not too shabby. I’m going to find a gps tracking program for my blackberry and get a legit miles per gallon number at some point this summer.
I went out last night by myself to take a few casts. It was cold so I had the whole river to myself and right at dusk it was almost smooth as glass it was so calm, so I did what any racer, any real racer, would do. I fucking hammered it. :eekdance: After a couple of runs and cranking the trim up higher and higher I just barely touched 45mph. Not too shabby for a 2100 pound boat with a gas sipping 135hp 4 cylinder. :tup:
Ugh… don’t slip it. In 5 years the boat will look like it’s 30 years old. I can launch and retrieve my 18 footer in about 2 minutes. The key is backing the trailer down just far enough that the boat automatically centers and a little blip of the throttle gets it within 6" of the front stop. Hope over the bow, one light crank of the winch and it’s all set.
Launching I get lined up on the ramp and unhook the boat from the trailer. Hand the ropes off to a helper and back down until it floats off. Pull forward, park, leave. I don’t suggest trying this with a roller trailer though because the boat can roll off the trailer before it’s in the water.
i saw someone dump a brand new 4 winns cabin cruiser on the pavement at dunkirk harbor that way. On one hand it was hilarious and i dove into my truck so i could laugh my ass off, but on the other i kind of felt bad for the boat.
Yeah we bounced my father-in-law’s Sea Ray off the pavement last year that way. He forgot that his new trailer had rollers and unhooked it. Slid off the trailer onto the pavement, then slid down the pavement into the water.
Yeah at this point launching/retreiving is getting so much easier after doing it a couple of times I’m really losing my motivation to drop a grand or two on new pilings at my father in law’s just to get it covered in river scum and have to pay an extra buck a gallon to fill up on the water. :tdown:
I launched it and retrieved it by myself last night. It was actually easier to do without other people telling me to go this way or that way or farther in or stop there :rant:
My technique, it’s a work in progress:
To launch: Stick the gaff in the truck, tie the dock lines to the boat cleats, back in till it starts to float, use the gaff to reach the dock lines if needed, tie it do the dock, hop in, stow the gaff, unhook the winch, start the motor and blip the throttle in reverse to get it off the trailer, go park the truck.
To retrieve: Tie it to the dock with a good 4 feet of slack so it can center itself on the trailer. Back the trailer in as centered on the boat as possible, hook up the winch, crank it in slowly so it centers itself, go home.
I’ll try your driving it onto the trailer method as I get more comfortable. For now winching it by hand will make the consequences of a fuck up less severe.
I back mine in
hop in the boat and start her up
help the GF into the boat
Un-hook it, have her throw it in reverse with full throttle and give a little push
park car
pulling out, she drops me and other passengers at the dock
back car up
she drives it onto the trailer
I hook it up, crank it up, and drive off
lol careful, you know if the camera is on Murphy’s law will guarantee you fuck it up. Although I would love a youtube vid of you driving your boat into the back of the Expedition.
you guys are talking about launching a boat, undo all the clips and put someone in the boat, back the fucking thing up, hit the brakes, it should come right off. just make sure who ever is backing up to get the boat after the day, opens the tailgate, so you dont jack knife the trailer and put a hole in the bumper! hahaha my mom did that to the trailblazer with the jetski trailer, because she couldnt see the trailer. very funny.
