“You can tell a new boater when”

So we got new boaters off the marina dock to come to the island …. Took a lot of convincing. I got them a slip next to me…. Bow in all good ..40’ carver. He parks perfect. With a lot of peoples help but what ever no incident.
Then comes Sunday. We untie him and hold the boat… tell him straight back you will be fine ……. Somehow he guns it forward and goes up the dock hitting that ladder but only one side…. So bent one side really good …… boat floated itself back down off the dock….. I said reverse this time :)…. That was last year he never left the dock again. He told me he left the dock this year…. I said ya okay I never saw you

before and after pics. The marina manager bent the other upright to match the other that he actually pulled up but that’s as far as he got

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So the other thing to remember is don’t leave evidence you were a newbie once :)
 
I will tell one on myself. Seahorse is my first inboard boat. I had a 14’ and a 18’ before I really started to move up. But never a inboard boat. I brought her from Richmond’s fall line to Jamestown. I took my time didn’t rush and enjoyed the ride. I got her home and went to back her into the slip. It took 4 tries but I did it. Opened the rear hatch to kill the batteries and all I saw was water pouring in! I panicked and called the mechanic, He laughed and made a few comments about me being new to shaft packing… he taught me how to tighten the packing and that I owed him a cold beer.

He has never let me forget that day and I drop a bottle every year before he goes hunting in Maine.
 
dwna1a said:
I will tell one on myself. Seahorse is my first inboard boat. I had a 14’ and a 18’ before I really started to move up. But never a inboard boat. I brought her from Richmond’s fall line to Jamestown. I took my time didn’t rush and enjoyed the ride. I got her home and went to back her into the slip. It took 4 tries but I did it. Opened the rear hatch to kill the batteries and all I saw was water pouring in! I panicked and called the mechanic, He laughed and made a few comments about me being new to shaft packing… he taught me how to tighten the packing and that I owed him a cold beer.

He has never let me forget that day and I drop a bottle every year before he goes hunting in Maine.
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My buddy had a 300 Weekender twin inboards while I had my I/Os. He was constantly in engine room messing with the stuffing boxes. Always down there, before a trip after a trip, loosen this, tighten that. Swore I’d never get inboards after years of watching him. YMMV.
 
When they ask how they should tie the "bumpers" and ropes to the boat...
 
Owner of the 1997 400 sundancer with diesels who claims to be mechanical, was trying to tell me the other day he has two holding tanks and two vacuflushes. And he couldn't figure out what that cycling noise was coming from the engine compartment. I walk over to his boat, the vacuflush is cycling the entire time we're sitting there talking. I quickly told him it's his vacuflush, probably needs new duck bills, he had no idea what duck bills were. I also told him he doesn't have two holding tanks.

I still can't get past the two holding tanks, and he's owned the boat for 10 years, how has he been emptying the second one?

Oh, his batteries were dead as a doorknob last time, he quickly told me he installed a new battery charger recently so he knew it wasn't that or the batteries. I asked him are you sure? Maybe you did something wrong. Tested all four batteries, all less than 6 months old, all fried.

I still get a kick out of the newbies who don't know what engines they have in their boat when you ask them.
 
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mrsrobinson said:
Owner of the 1997 400 sundancer with diesels who claims to be mechanical, was trying to tell me the other day he has two holding tanks and two vacuflushes. And he couldn't figure out what that cycling noise was coming from the engine compartment. I walk over to his boat, the vacuflush is cycling the entire time we're sitting there talking. I quickly told him it's his vacuflush, probably needs new duck bills, he had no idea what duck bills were. I also told him he doesn't have two holding tanks.

I still can't get past the two holding tanks, and he's owned the boat for 10 years, how has he been emptying the second one?

Oh, his batteries were dead as a doorknob last time, he quickly told me he installed a new battery charger recently so he knew it wasn't that or the batteries. I asked him are you sure? Maybe you did something wrong. Tested all four batteries, all less than 6 months old, all fried.

I still get a kick out of the newbies who don't know what engines they have in their boat when you ask them.
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If you asked me about my new to me boat right I now, I'd have no clue. I went from knowing every nook and crany, to struggling for 10 min to get the VHF radio cover off. :) Trying to locate and figure all this new stuff out is daunting.
 
jmcdboater said:
I always pull up my fenders, I have the OCD about flopping fenders….. I DO cinch our girl up against one finger in our two-finger slip, intentionally though,(which makes it OK, LOl) because the Admiral is a beautiful gal of 5’. So……that helps for her boarding and I do everything I can to keep our boat time as enjoyable as possible. Naturally, so it will continue as long as possible……my parents did raise some fools, but they were all girls…….:p:cool:
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I had a similar dilemma, but I solved it by setting my line lengths such that the boat sits at an angle in the slip, with the swim platform / boarding area close to (but not touching) one of the fingers. Nothing bugs me more than hearing the fenders squeak against the finger when I sleep on board while in the slip. I had one neighbor who didn't even bother with fenders, so his boat would bang against the finger all night. We had a chat.
 
mrsrobinson said:
Owner of the 1997 400 sundancer with diesels who claims to be mechanical, was trying to tell me the other day he has two holding tanks and two vacuflushes. And he couldn't figure out what that cycling noise was coming from the engine compartment. I walk over to his boat, the vacuflush is cycling the entire time we're sitting there talking. I quickly told him it's his vacuflush, probably needs new duck bills, he had no idea what duck bills were. I also told him he doesn't have two holding tanks.

I still can't get past the two holding tanks, and he's owned the boat for 10 years, how has he been emptying the second one?

Oh, his batteries were dead as a doorknob last time, he quickly told me he installed a new battery charger recently so he knew it wasn't that or the batteries. I asked him are you sure? Maybe you did something wrong. Tested all four batteries, all less than 6 months old, all fried.

I still get a kick out of the newbies who don't know what engines they have in their boat when you ask them.
Click to expand...
Our 1998 450 had 2 vac pumps and 2 holding tanks, One system for each head. When you pumped out you went down and switched valves to empty each tank. It was a factory set up.
 
Ok, I’ll come clean and not a newbie. Stopped by the place where boat on land last 2 weeks. They winterize yesterday. Guy tells me they have been hearing a squealing noise for the first week, driving them crazy. They finally realized I had not turned off the VHF when I had it hauled.
Before you ask, VHF is hard wired even if Perko is off. PO did it. I think it’s cause in case of an engine fire I can shut down all power but still have VHF, not a bad idea, just need remember to turn it off.
 
I was afraid you were going to tell us you left your pet pig on the boat.

Jus the two of us said:
Our 1998 450 had 2 vac pumps and 2 holding tanks, One system for each head. When you pumped out you went down and switched valves to empty each tank. It was a factory set up.
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I understand 2 vac pumps but was not aware of two holding tanks. I am now starting to think he does/did not either as he told me it's always full/over full, which suggests he's not aware of the valves.
 
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