This is a longer than normal post but I am just enjoying writing it
My Shabah 180, known as"
Fiona", went out for its run today since a I bought it about 10 days ago. Spent time going over the boat from bow to stern, rewiring, cleaning connections, adjusting the outdrive trim, changing glass fuse holders to waterproof blade fuses and a few others things.
There's a lake about 10 mins from us, called Wamplers Lake, approx 650 acres. Wind today was 15-20 mph, so a bit choppy BUT I didn't care, this boat was going out. Lake has a very nice inlet where it's very calm and where the 4 concrete boat launches and docks are.
So here I am, pulled onto the slip, safety checks done, transom straps off, drain plug in, the missus standing on the dock praying I don't hit her with the boat.....I back the trailer up, she has the rope on the bow of the boat...the trailer slid into the water perfect...boat raised off the trailer just enough to float...I pull the truck and trailer out and park it, when walking back to the dock I see the wind has turned the boat almost 90 degrees and the missus with a look of concern. It's all ok though as the docks are wide enough to swing a boat around and not hit anything.
Ok, moving forward...boat in the water, me, the missus and kids in boat, life-jackets on, boat tied to dock....I turn the key and she won't start!!!!...WTF!, I crank it again.....Ever have one of the those "face-palm" moments? I did! How about if I flip the switch to "run", maybe that will help hahaha...funny how the boat will now start after 1 second of cranking isn't it!!
So we pull away from the dock in water that looks like glass in the inlet...we round the bend, I look ahead and the waves are whipping up real good...so I take a deep breath and head out into them just adding a little more power......
Now we're out in the lake, bouncing around and loving every second of it and about 5 knots...so I make sure I'm all clear both ways and I gun it......
All I can say is that I screamed like a lil girl with excitement ( not something you hear everyday from a 48 year old 225lb man) as the revs went up, bow lifted and we're off...slow turns, fast turns, fast stops, slow stops and not a leak anywhere...she performed better than I could ever imagine.....
4 hours later, the fun is over and I'm sweating as I pull back into the inlet to get the boat to the dock safely...I've been reading and watching movies on how to do this without taking out the dock, the boat and any neighboring wildlife....a little throttle, back to neutral, a bit more, back again...a little reverse and we're docked, no bumps, bruises no "Holy crap, watch out"'s...missus steps out of boat onto dock, holding rope...I go get the truck, back the trailer up....Nailed it first time...no power docking allowed at the dock....pulled the boat out, done a safety check...stood back and almost patted myself on the back....even a guy standing at the dock said, "very nicely done". That in itself has given me all the confidence in the world on handling docking.
So long story short, my $2500 investment is now our fun toy and we've already made plans to go out 3 nights this week in it....
Btw, I'm going to get some Smart Tabs so the boat doesn't have a case of "Fat-Ass-itis"
Thanks to everyone's help with my noob questions over the past week or so, I appreciate it bigtime helping me with my first boat!!
Pics are coming later today...
Fiona's Review
)
. On my VERY first trip out with the family (by the way.. I was in the doghouse for buying the boat.. so I really needed to impress the wife).. we took our shiny and new to us boat to my father in-law's river lot. I had never been there, nor been on another boat anywhere around there EVER.. so not only was it my first time really launching (with the exception of test driving it the day before with my cousin.. who is a veteran boater and was there to give me pointers).. but I have also gathered a huge crowd of drunken campground spectators (all of which knew how to launch a boat with their eyes closed and one arm tied behind their back while holding a beer with the free arm.. although I suspect to this day that 99% of them never owned a boat lol). Anyways.. i'm directed to the ramp.. a ramp that looked like it was put in 50 years prior and was so steep that I was concerned i'd never get my vehicle back up it. It was completely grown over and didn't look to have been used (although every drunk there had claimed to of used it recently lol). As I backed down it - nervous as all hell.. i could feel my tow rig (aka my wife's soccer mom mobile) start to slide backwards. I instantly had this fear of sinking my boat, trailer, and our vehicle. Luckily.. it grabbed traction just as the trailer wheels went under water. Of course.. that didn't matter.. because I had to burn the tires off pulling back up the ramp.... apparently it's a good idea to REMOVE THE TRANSOM TIE DOWNS.. opps. Sooooo STRIKE #1 on me. I get those removed and slowly creep back down (I now have better traction after laying down 2/3rds of the remaining tread from our tires on the ramp). Boat is now in the water, check. Vehicle isn't sliding into davey jones locker, check. Parking brake secured, check. Soooo i'm ready to crawl out and head to the boat. I open the door.. step outside the car.. and whoosh.. feet up and down the ramp i go.. sliding all the way down to the water on my A$$. I'm covered in slime.. and mud.... and lord knows what else !@#$ me. (how am I going to get in my pristine boat with it's SNOW WHITE interior !@#$). Apparently dragging water up on the ramp created this ultra slick.. nasty smelling.. goose poop consistency gunk..... so STRIKE #2 on me. I yank my muddy shirt off.. and throw it to the side..which is where I left most of my pride on impact.. I then proceeded to carefully tip toe across the sludge like a ballerina to the boat and trailer. Once I get to the front of the bow.. I step up on the tongue of the trailer and proceed to pull myself head first and belly down up and over the front bow and nav light (by the way... this is a very uncomfortable maneuver for a guy.. and i'm sure I looked like a walrus doing some exotic mating ritual lol). Anyways, once I am fully slid in the boat (trying not to touch any of the snow white interior) I get on my feet only to realize that reloading at this ramp is not gonna be an option. The current has decided to drag me sideways off the trailer and I haven't even unhooked !@#$ me again.. this isn't going good at all... sooo STRIKE #3 on me. My wife.. she isn't amused so far. I keep getting the evil eye from the distance... and i'm sure she was probably cursing at me under her breath or maybe stabbing a voodoo doll that looked like me (which was understandable because I went and looked at a used Marada a few days prior.. was ready to pull the trigger on it...but was given strict orders from the wife not to buy "that boat".. so the next day I happened to stumble across the Diablo.. and since it wasn't "THAT BOAT" I went ahead and read between the lines and brought it home instead lol.. but that's a WHOLE different and much longer story that involves me sleeping on the couch for a week). Anyways.. back to the main story. The wife.. she isn't thrilled thus far.. and i'm on my 3rd strike....However the rest of the audience seems to be enjoying my pain... I've received clapping, and various yells of encouragement for burning the tires off my wife's car.. busting my rear.. and well..belly dancing myself up and over the bow. Now they are really enjoying watching me panic as my boat is literally jack knifing itself on the trailer. I'm frantic trying to figure out what to do.. so I jump up front and reach over the bow and unhook the boat from the winch line. I'm now free of the trailer.. but i'm being swept toward a dock and another boat that looks to have been tied off 10 years prior.... I jump in the captains seat.. run the check list through my head.. blower on.. kill switch off...key in ignition.. etc etc. I pump the throttle a few times and crank it over. The boat fires up immediately.. I survey the situation and click the boat into reverse and power myself backwards out and away from the dock and older boat. I suck in a big breath of air and exhale with a sigh of relief. I'm now backed out a good 30-40 ft from shore.. so I know i'm clear of any stumps.. etc.. and the crowd is now giving me an ovation for completing the longest boat launching sequence in history. I figure I should make a celebratory circle/donut and swing up to the dock to pick up my family.. cause i'm officially a boat owner! I can hear the opening theme to Miami Vice start to play in my head and I decide its time to hammer down the throttle and regain some of that lost pride. Just as the throttle cracks open and I start to get the worlds largest grin of enjoyment...KERBAM.. or some other loud noise that can't be expressed by typed letters... happens...so i'll just type !@#$$#@!!@# .... I had no idea what happened.. it was so sudden.. and It felt like the boat jumped out of the water.. perhaps I hit the lochness monster? a grouping of alligators... Amelia's lost plane? Then the culprit surfaced. A HUGE tree limb!!!!! LAST AND FINAL STRIKE of the day. It was apparently like a snake in the grass.. hiding under the water at the bottom of the ramp.. waiting to strike. When I backed the boat trailer in we suspected that the limb which was not visible had lined up just right and wedged itself between the prop and the lower unit's cavitation plate. When I reversed out it wasn't an issue because the water flow kept it shoved forward.. then when I blipped the throttle forward it kicked out and the rest is history. It destroyed the prop (which was brand new with the exception of the 10 minute test drive the day before). To make matters worse.. I couldn't load back onto the trailer because of the incline and current of the ramp.. so I had to limp my new baby down river a few miles to the next ramp.. as I passed multiple campgrounds and boaters it was like the equivalent of the walk of shame. When I finally made it to the other ramp I was greeted by my very enthusiastic wife (insert sarcasm here) and my father in-law who enjoyed the days show. The couch that I had finally been excused from was waiting for me once again that night lol. The irony now is that my wife would make me sleep on the couch if I sold the Mariah? It just took me getting a new prop the following weekend and some nice weather to convince her that buying a boat without her permission wasn't so bad lol.
thats for sure. I'm not sure who or what I would have been mad at more, the tree limb or the Beavis and Butthead crowd egging you on!
