Jims Tips on putting the "Pleasure" back in boating

1) Take a boating class. Contact your local game and fish office, or the Coast Guard, to find out where classes are being offered. We have links on our main page for the VA Game and Inland Fisheries, and the US Coast Guard.

2) For trailed boats, always prep your boat before launch. This means make sure all batteries are fully charged,everything is stowed properly, and the drain plug is in.

3) When approaching a boat ramp area, pull off to the side somewhere to get your boat ready. Never stop in front of a busy ramp and decided this is where you are going to start working on your boat. Prepare the boat so that you can spend as little time as necessary at the actual ramp. This will speed things up at the ramp, and will keep you from being yelled at by other boaters.

4) Always check your bearings on your trailer tires. Make sure they have plenty of grease, and carry a small grease gun in your car at all times. We learned this lesson the hard way. Should you question the condition and what kind of bearings you have, contact your local marine dealer and have them inspect your trailer.

5) For outboards, check engines first while at home by simply starting them. Be sure to run water through the engine.

6) "Set it and forget it", does not apply to boating. All boats will need regular maintenance, some boats more than others. Follow regular engine maintenance guidelines that are included with your engine manual, and get to know a good local marine mechanic. Keep in mind that the larger and more complex systems on a boat, the more maintenance and cost there will be. Many folks feel that a boat is a hole in the water that one pours money into. This may be true in a lot of cases, especially in boat restoration. However if you are purchasing a larger used boat, and follow our pre purchase tips, you should be able to not over spend what the value of the boat is worth.

Smaller boats in the 16 to 24 foot class, generally have little maintenance issues. For example our 23 foot center console, we wax several times a year, change the oil in the engines, and fresh water flush after use, and that is about it. Our 36 foot production boat is a different story all together, again, larger boat, larger maintenance.

To really enjoy your time on the water, you will have to get a handle on how much maintenance your boat is going to need on an annual basis. Allocate enough time to do the things that the boat needs, and try to separate "working time" and "pleasure time". You will find that your friends and family do not wish to clean you bilge and work on your toilet macerator while on the boat.

7) NEVER, NEVER, take your wife, kids, friends, or your favorite party buddy on a break in or shake down cruise. This is a BIG mistake for a lot of boaters. "Hey honey, grab the cooler and lets go for a ride in our new boat!"---BIG MISTAKE!!

The reason is this, usually everything that is going to go wrong mechanically on a boat, will go wrong during the break in. Or if you have bought a used boat, and it has not been run a lot, things will most likely start to go wrong once you start running the boat. This is not the time you want guest on your vessel. Weather you have just purchased a new or used boat, break the boat in with someone who knows something about boats, hopefully someone with some marine engine knowledge. Hire a mechanic for an hour to go for a ride, get him to take note on all the things that looks like will need some servicing, and have those things done. After any work has been done to the boat, take it out again to insure everything is operational.

With as many new boats as we have run over the years, almost all of them had problems during the break in. We never encounter serious problems on a new boat, usually small things like no pick up tube in the oil tank, or bad switches. However I have seen brand new boats sink at the dock, is this when you want guest to come see your new boat! NO!

EXAMPLE: When we made our voyage from Myrtle Beach SC to Hampton VA via the Inland Waterway in the Trojan, I had three people on the boat. Myself, our cameraman who was a veteran yachtsmen, and a professional marine mechanic who also happened to be one of the past owners of the boat. Sounds like a fun cruise, right? Well, trash in the gas tanks, bad Carburetors, and a busted starter kept all three of us busy just trying to keep the boat running. Keep in mind these were problems we encountered even after a good survey.

Again, shake down cruises are not for entertaining guest. Get the bugs out of the vessel, maintain the boat, then have your guest aboard for a pleasurable boating experience.

8) Plan your boating trip and use appropriate navigational charts. Always tell someone where you plan to go and when you plan on getting back. Carry plenty of drinking water on your boat, and have a VHF radio and a Cell Phone on board. Other good things to have on hand is Sunscreen, Sunglasses, Towls, First Aid Kit (still surprised how many boats do not have First Aid Kits on board, every summer someone is pulling us over asking for a Band-Aid or something). Make sure that your boat meets Coast Guard Regs., Proper floatation devices, horns, distress equipment, fire extinguishers, etc.

9) Monitor sea conditions with a weatherband radio.

10) "Can everyone on this boat swim?" That is something I ask every guest that comes on any of our boats that will be heading out to sea. People think I am kidding when I ask them, I am not. They figure it out pretty quick.

If I am on a boat that is going down, I want to know who can swim. This is not something I want to find out at the wrong time. I have been in this situation before on a chartered fishing boat. Now I always ask before we head out. It really is a good thing to know.

11) Don't make your day on the water to long. Yes, you heard me correctly. I see a lot of problems occur at boat ramps and Marinas when a boat full of people have been out all day in the Summer Sun, and get back to the ramp totally whipt out. Now there is a line at the ramp, the kids are fussing because they are hungry and tired, and everything starts to move very slowly. By the time just a few boaters start to hold things up, tempers start to flair, and your day is ruined. This is when fights break out, a lot of name calling, etc. Of course someone usually throughs a little Alcohol in to the mix, then things really heat up. I have seen this scenario time and time again at Marinas and Boat Ramps.

Here is the solution, and if you take my advice, you will defiantly enjoy boating a LOT more.

A) Plan for shorter days on the water, and avoid busy times at boat ramps and Marinas. The "Half Day" trip, still turns out to be an all day affair. By the time you get back in, do some regular maintenance on your boat, and get on the road, the day is pretty much over.

B) Plan to boat in an area that you can stay overnight in. Hampton is just a great example of a place that offers the boater everything, and at the end of the day you can check in to a nice Hotel and have a wonderful dinner. Now what would you rather do, get in a fight at the boat ramp, or enjoy a nice dinner overlooking the waterfront with your wife and kids?

C) Plan on taking in some of the local sights in the area. Check with the local Tourism Department where you will be boating. You will most likely find a lot of things to do that are entertaining and educational for the family. You will find that learning something about the area you are boating in will enhance your overall boating experience.

D) Economy: Most people will try to conserve on the wallet when taking the boat out for a day of fishing\cruising. Afterall by the time you add up the expenses, it is not a cheap day. However if you look at what it cost to spend one day on the water, an overnight stay in a hotel is NOT going to break the bank. On a lot of boats, the fuel savings alone by not running the boat an extra four hours would pay for the hotel room. Believe me, you will enjoy your boating experience a lot more, and overall it is safer for everyone involved. Driving late at night towing a boat after an all day sun and fun experience, is not a good idea.

Get a room, take in some sights. PLAN your trip, everyone will thank you for it.

SIDE NOTE: I get a lot of people ask me what is my favorite fishing trip. Here is what I tell them.

My Favorite Fishing trip is one that leaves the dock around 6am, and we are back at the dock between 10 and 11 am. with our limit. Then we clean the boats, clean the fish, which puts us around 2pm. Then we all hit the hotel for a dunk in the pool, then get the showers going. Then it is around 4pm, and we start to plan what we will do for dinner.

This is how I try to plan all of our fishing trips. When we have to run into the all dayers is when the fish do not cooperate. Out of all the trips that we do to produce our program, 90% are half day trips.

These are just a few guidlines and suggestions to help make your day on the water a more pleasureable one.

J.B,