My Boat ride

Post by **Johnny Bass** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 8:51 pm

Well I took my boat out for the first time. Headed for holland river off HWY 88. The launch was very successful(my dad backed it up).

Headed up river, and boy was it windy. The engine started nicely. Was burning alot of smoke at the beginning though.

Opened it up and it flew nicely. Absolutely no water came in the boat. The Hull was dry.

But it seemed that the boat would go really fast but at full throttle would sound like It is actually slowing down. Shouldn't it be fastest at full throttle? It was fastest slightly below full throttle, or maybe just in my mind?

How fast(MPH) should a Yamaha 40H.P. 2 stroke with 2 guys a bit over 200 lbs go? The boat is a 16 foot aluminum.

I tried the Troling motor and My legs felt like Jello. I couldn't even stay on the pedal with the waves hitting my boat. Is that normal? But it was VERY handy.

The fish finder I have is good but the beeping noise is too low. My old one was LOUD and went BEEP BEEP BEEP. this one goes bip,bip,bip(low notes).

The worst part was trying to get the boat back on the trailer. it took us 20 minutes. My dad had the trailer in 2 deep and we kept on missing the trailer guides.

Drove home, and then I took the van and boat for a few spins. You gotta watch the right turns but other than that it was a snap. Wednesday I will practice backing up.

Anyways we went up the holland river all the way to ravenshoe and it was all open water. The water was still a little murky though.

I fished for a bit(an hour). I hooked a carp on a 2inch white crub. But I realized I had no net and I have tried but cant land big carps from a boat without a net. It was around 20lbs. The hook finally popped free. The wind was pushing us down stream and he was running up......

No crappies to be seen. They were catching perch every where though.

Post by **M.T. Livewell** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 8:12 am

Congrats on the maiden voyage JohnnyB!!!

See if I can help with some of your questions ...

The engine started nicely. Was burning alot of smoke at the beginning though.

That is good news. That smoke should be the fogging spray you used last year. Unless of course you ran this in your driveway already to prep it for the season. In which case, the white smoke is likely that you are a little heavy on the oil mixture (which is fine) and likely pumped the primer ball a little extra.

But it seemed that the boat would go really fast but at full throttle would sound like It is actually slowing down. Shouldn't it be fastest at full throttle? It was fastest slightly below full throttle, or maybe just in my mind?

It should be fastest at full throttle. Do you have tilt and trim on the motor? I would expect you would need to play with the trim to find the sweet spot.

How fast(MPH) should a Yamaha 40H.P. 2 stroke with 2 guys a bit over 200 lbs go? The boat is a 16 foot aluminum.

Good question. I would guess you could expect between 30 to 35mph. But there are a lot of variables that will bring that number up and down. (i.e. prop pitch, distribution of weight in the boat, trim, etc).

I tried the Troling motor and My legs felt like Jello. I couldn't even stay on the pedal with the waves hitting my boat. Is that normal? But it was VERY handy.

You will learn to love this trolling motor. But any motor is tough to control when you have to balance on one foot while the waves bang your boat around. A calm day will be a treat, you'll see.

The fish finder I have is good but the beeping noise is too low. My old one was LOUD and went BEEP BEEP BEEP. this one goes bip,bip,bip(low notes).

Turn the damn beeper off. Nobody likes the beeper. It is like car alarms, when they go off, no one even bothers to look anymore.

The worst part was trying to get the boat back on the trailer. it took us 20 minutes. My dad had the trailer in 2 deep and we kept on missing the trailer guides.

I understand your woes here. But that is a matter of experience. Soon you will find the sweet spot, just by watching how far to back the trailer in.
The good news is you did not need to jump out of the boat, into the cold water, to take control of the truck.

I fished for a bit(an hour). I hooked a carp on a 2inch white crub.

And that is why you bought the boat!!!

Congrats again Johnny. Thanks for sharing your first day out with us.

M.T. Livewell

Post by **Mr.J.** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:07 pm

M.T. Livewell wrote: The good news is you did not need to jump out of the boat, into the cold water, to take control of the truck.
M.T. Livewell

Ok you've got to share the rest of this story with us.

Post by **zoomer** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:18 pm

rule of thumb on most trailers is to back in till just the tops of fenders are showing to drive a boat on ..good luck hope to launch mine this weekend

Post by **zoomer** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:20 pm

trailer fenders that is !!!!!
HEHEHEHE
seen a few vehicles backed in too far!

Post by **SkeeterJohn** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:42 pm

Beleive me Johnny Bass it does get easier to launch and reload the trailer with practice. You haven't tried to launch with the tie-downs still on....now that's when you start to scratch your head and wonder what you're doing wrong.

Enjoy your new ride.

Post by **zoomer** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:47 pm

hehehe john

or forget the plug ...Why is my boat riding so low today ..LOL

Post by **Moosebunk** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 8:01 pm

Holy smoke MT, didn't think you could be so serious with a post man??? Good on ya, you know yer crap by the sounds of it too. You never cease to amaze me bud.

Post by **M.T. Livewell** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 8:52 pm

Moosebunk wrote:Holy smoke MT, didn't think you could be so serious with a post man??? Good on ya, you know yer crap by the sounds of it too. You never cease to amaze me bud.

Well, I'm not just another pretty face.

Truth is I love boats. And have owned 3 different boat and 2 different trailers in the last 5 years. Which mean I have lived it all. And loved it.

Besides, the only fishing advice I have to give is white spinnerbaits.

M.T. Livewell

Post by **Johnny Bass** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 7:24 pm

Wow. When looking for information, I certainly came to the right place

Well, the smoke from what I heard is normal.

Yes I have a tilt and I have already been advized to play with it.

What is a prop pitch and how do I adjust it? And can a Dol-fin reduce speed on a boat by 15 MPH????

What else can be causing me too lose that kind of speed? There were 2 guys in the boat(including me) alittle over 200lbs.

Turn the beeper off???? If I dont hear that beeper noise, I dont want to fish in that area. I am fish finder spoiled. IF I know there is fish under me I will pound the water more aggressively.lol

My buddy used to complain that I kept killing his portable fish finder batteries. so I bought it off him.lol

Well hopefully the next time will be more easier due to things I've learned from my first launchinmg and tips on these boards. Thanks again guys.

Post by **M.T. Livewell** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 8:40 pm

Johnny,

As far as pitch for your prop, there should be number stamped into the casing somewhere. It might read something like 13x15. Or it may have a couple of extra digits. We can figure out the pitch from there.

Now, before you go spending big bucks trying get more mph, I don't mean for this to come off the wrong way, but it is only 40hp. I have a 90 hp on mine, and if I spend $400 on an SST prop and $250 for a jackplate, I might get 3-5 mph. That is a lot of money for very little return (cause I'll never beat a guy with 150+hp).

As far as the dole fin, they are nice if you are having trouble getting up on plane. If you have a lot of large friends, like me and many fish-hawkers, it might be worth considering. But it will not make you go faster (unless you are having trouble getting on plane, then it will help).

Do you have a tachometer on your boat to tell you your rpms?

M.T. Livewell

Post by **Johnny Bass** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 12:07 pm

I'm assuming a tacomoeter registers RPM'sd? No I do not have one. the dealership says that I have a pitch prop used for trolling. If I want to get my boat faster I will have to buy a prop with a higher pitch. Can a higher pitch make a 10MPH difference?

Post by **eye-tracker** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 12:43 pm

Johnny Bass wrote:I'm assuming a tacomoeter registers RPM'sd? No I do not have one. the dealership says that I have a pitch prop used for trolling. If I want to get my boat faster I will have to buy a prop with a higher pitch. Can a higher pitch make a 10MPH difference?

Jonny Bass...
I have a 16ft Deep V boat with a 75hp and it does 35mph on the GPS.

The weight and hull shape of the boat has a lot to do with the speed. The pitch of the prop will take a little bit of playing around...and you need a dealer that will lend you props to try and get it the way you like it.

good luck...

-et

Post by **SkeeterJohn** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 12:49 pm

A 10MPH increase is very unlikely... Low-mid 30's is what i'd expect to see.

I have a 15ft with a 30hp 4 stroke and i get about 28mph a little less with 2 people in.

Post by **Johnny Bass** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 8:22 am

Hey John What pitch do you have and do you have to play with your trim to achieve that speed? My pitch is 10 5/8 X 12. I may have to upgrade to a 15 pitch.