I figured this would be the best place to ask this.
My brother is letting me barrow his boat while he's out of the country to go fishing with my friend. I usually fish off a dock or off shore but I've only driven a boat once and that was 15 years ago when my uncle go so drunk he passed out so i drove the boat to shore. An i was only 13 then
I know how to drive and back a tandem axle trailer very well, so trailing it will be no problem. An i know my truck can pull it easily.
But what should i know about driving a boat?
My brother wasn't really helpful, he only said be careful not to fuck up the props in shallow water and told me where the keys to it were and rushed me off the phone (busy guy i guess)
Do i just let it start flowing in water on the launch before starting to un winch it? Where should the water level be on the trailer?
Any advice?
It look just like this one but I have no idea brand/model his actually is.
just back the trailer in so the very end of the boat is lifting off the trailer and then get out and push it by hand off the roller. once its back far enough just hop in and start it up and bring it over to the dock and tie it up. then go park your truck and then just hop back in and you're off
>>802124
This. It's not that complicated.
Push it off by hand and if anything use some ropes to pull it over to the dock from the launch. Tie it up, go park the trailer, and do your thing.
Make sure you note where any drain plugs and shit are. Put them in before you drop it in the water and take them out when you get it back on the trailer.
>>802121
>>802126
Also one thing that doesn't always come naturally to people at first- boats don't turn well unless you give them power. So say you have an obstruction directly ahead of you. In a car, you would let off the throttle and turn the wheel while hitting the brakes. In a boat, you need to keep on the throttle while turning if you want the thing to turn well. If you completely let off the gas, the thing will just go straight.
And if you notice a lack of power, just keep an eye out for shit tangled in the props.
Needless to say as well, boats don't have brakes. They won't stop, quickly so you need to be aware of what's ahead of you at all times.
Check your state laws, my state Pennsylvania you need a license to operate a boat, so check and see if you need that. You can take the course online for my state.
>>802121
US coast guard coxswain here.
Driving a boat is actually simple, the hardest part is pulling up to a pier and not damaging your props, whish isn't even that hard. When you untrailer, back the truck into the water until the boat is just barely sitting on the slips on the trailer. It's usually about halfway up your rear wheel on the truck. At that point, turn your engine on and clutch in reverse on your boat and unclip the shackle from the trailer. After that just gun it and let your momentum carry you out. The biggest thing to remember is boats steer from behind, so imagine a forklift on ice. If it's tour first time out on the water, I recommend you take a look at the uscg rules of the road book, and be courteous of other boaters and fishers
>>802209
>safety course
Fuck. My state too. Guess im not going tomorrow.
Have to take the course first
>>802217
Good advice, An the courteous to other boaters with the waves things I already kind of knew from the signs near the piers.
Also what are my chances of being stopped by the coast guard? An is there anything his boat MUST have in order to not get a fine. I want to make sure everything I need is on his boat already.
>>802220
Uscg coxswain here again.
Where are you boating at? If you give me an area I could tell you how likely to get boarded you are.
If your coastal, have the papers on the boat, life jackets and flares. That's what's most important and for the love of god, monitor channel 16 on your radio, that can cause a ton of issues
>>802231
>onitor channel 16 on your radio, that can cause a ton of issues
what do you mean?
off the coast of MD
taking it off/putting it on the trailer is the hardest part.
depending on how steep the launch ramp is you can get the boat floating on its own from the trailer, the steeper the ramp the better.
afterwards you just have to watch out for shallow water, stay close to the big red boys (on the right side of them), those mark the deepest spots. once yo're out of the harbor, feel free to floor it
>>802209
if you need to stop qickly you need to basically slam it into reverse. most small boats have the throttle and tramsission hooked up into one control, but larger boats have two seperate controls. for the bigger ones you need to put it to idle speed, go to neutral, then reverse. my boss ran into a sailboat once in heavy fog and blew his transmission because he just slammed it into reverse without going back down to idle
>>802220
you need life jackets for every person on board, some sort of throwable flotation device (no tossing a life jacket doesn't count), i think both a flare gun and handheld flares, documentation showing the boat is registered, a signal mirror, and fishing license if your state requires it
all of that shit should be in the boat AND NOT EXPIRED. i've gotten shit from coasties for expired flares. having expired stuff as extra is fine, but make sure you have stuff that is still good too.
>>802209
>Boats don't have brakes
Skulls do. I used to bring mine up to SANICK SPEED then square my oars, drop them in all the way back, and push as hard I could to see how fast I could stop.
anyone going boating should WEAR a life jacket, it won't help one bit otherwise
several people already drown this summer, some after jumping in and others after falling/being thrown, and of course, none of them were wearing protective gear
>>802121
It's a fucking outboard driven v hull boat. If you can't drive it, you should consider suicide.
Know your weather forecast. You will live or die according to this.
Before you back it into the water, check for plugs. My boat has two. One on the transom and one in the center of the boat in the bilge. Next, check the battery. If the gauges cycle, you are most likely good. Start the bilge blower. If it doesn't run, don't take the boat out. Now that you are in the bilge checking out the blower, visually verify the fuel level. If you run out of gas, you are SOL. Remove the rear fucking straps. The boat will likely float the trailer, but you don't want to find out. Back the trailer into the water far enough to float the little shit, and then release the front winch. If you haven't thought of docking ropes at this point on your own, don't go out because you are a retard. If you did, pull the boat off the trailer and tie it to the dock. Make sure it starts. Now check the trim system. It is an outboard, so you should have to lower the prop into the water anyways. Now is a great time to run through a standard CG vessel safety checklist. Lifejackets, flares, fire extinguisher, beer, rods and tackle, etc. If you are missing any of these, don't go out. If you are going off shore or are in a remote location where no other traffic passes by, shortwave radio and/or epirb is a very good idea. Know your waterway. If you are unsure of depth and your vessels draft, motor slowly. Running the prop is not nearly as bad as an at speed strike. If you are not retarded, you will be fine. If you are retarded, god will show you mercy in death.
Honestly man, there's a lot to know if you don't have any knowledge of the boat. The owner should be there.
Need to know how to unhook it from trailer, where the tie down straps are and how they fit back on.
Need to know where the plug is so you don't sink
Need to know where the bilge is
Need to know to when you run the blower before starting
Need to know how to back off the trailer
Need to know how to load on the trailer
Need to know where the trim needs to be to run, a d what the trim level does, especially when loading and unloading
Need to know rules about life jackets, one for each person, and they have to fit that person. And be within reach, and have a throwable
Need to have a safety licence for you state
I mean it's all minor stuff, and a day on the water with your brother you'd learn it all. I don't think know taking it just right out is a great idea.
Are you going in the chesapeake bay or off the coast of ocean city OP?
The assawoman bay behind OC is a fucking nut house on weekends.
>>802683
Yea i was gonna say this but im too lazy to type it out on my phone
Ton of little things that could go wrong but probably wont. Being a newb definetely increases those chances significantly
