Hi, I'm new here

Welcome to the board it's a great place to get good advice , nice boat can't wait to see you get itis like 6 ft 8ft itis for a bigger boat , there's no vaccine
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Boltman
 
Welcome to clubsearay.com.

The 185 is a great lake boat and small enough that you can easily trailer it to Tim's, Woods, Priest, the Tennessee River, etc. as you explore the area. We live in Shelbyville and raised our kids skiing on Normandy Lake. Tim's gets crowded, but after June, the traffic on Normandy thins out and it is our preference for skiing. Also, a slow cruise up Normandy to the headwater where it becomes a river is a very nice Sunday afternoon run in the Fall when the leaves change color.

CSR contains a wealth of boating experience and knowledge….take advantage of all we have to offer here.
 
Everything done and the boat is now home waiting for it to worm up and the lakes to start rising. April 1st, is just over 45 days away.

fwebster said:
Welcome to clubsearay.com.

The 185 is a great lake boat and small enough that you can easily trailer it to Tim's, Woods, Priest, the Tennessee River, etc. as you explore the area. We live in Shelbyville and raised our kids skiing on Normandy Lake. Tim's gets crowded, but after June, the traffic on Normandy thins out and it is our preference for skiing. Also, a slow cruise up Normandy to the headwater where it becomes a river is a very nice Sunday afternoon run in the Fall when the leaves change color.

CSR contains a wealth of boating experience and knowledge….take advantage of all we have to offer here.
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Thanks for the info. We rented boats on Tim's so, for now we want to see what Normandy and Woods ave to offer. Thanks for the suggestion on Priest. I'm new in the are and never heard of that one.

Crosis said:
Boy that's a clean boat
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Thanks, only 56.6 hours for the sea trial

boltman said:
Welcome to the board it's a great place to get good advice , nice boat can't wait to see you get itis like 6 ft 8ft itis for a bigger boat , there's no vaccine
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Boltman
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Thanks, I think I'll be OK with this for a while, If I was still on Lake Erie, that would be a different story

villain style said:
Congrats!! Looks like alot of fun!
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Searaybio270 said:
Welcome aboard. Nice looking boat and should be some nice fun with it. congrats.
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Thanks

Banagy said:
Welcome aboard
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Thanks
 
Percy Priest is my home lake, we live close to it and is where we do most of our boating.

The one thing about Priest though, it is very hazardous unless you are in the upper end close to the dam.
Unless one knows that lake like the back of their hand, it is best to have a GPS and pay close attention to what is around you. You can be running fine in 30ft of water then all of a sudden your in 4 ft or less.

I really love Tims Ford, we spent 4th of July on that lake, all day and then stayed for a while at night to watch the great fireworks show. It is a very deep lake in most places, and a lot of fun.
 
Thanks for the info. We live on the edge of Normandy so, that will be our home lake. Tims Ford and Woods are relatively close and we'll probably hit them fairly regularly. I'm very interested in Percy Priest but, it looks to be nearly an hour away. If I do decide to try Percy Priest, what would be my best ramp to use, coming from the south on I24?
 
Docsteder said:
Thanks for the info. We live on the edge of Normandy so, that will be our home lake. Tims Ford and Woods are relatively close and we'll probably hit them fairly regularly. I'm very interested in Percy Priest but, it looks to be nearly an hour away. If I do decide to try Percy Priest, what would be my best ramp to use, coming from the south on I24?
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Stewarts Creek would probably be the closest coming from the south. There is also Fate Sanders Marina close to there, and there is a ramp by it as well.

Just that part of the lake, is where one really needs a GPS to navigate, lot of shallows you need to be aware of. The channel does have some markings but not as many as I would like to see. Lot of lower units get banged up on Percy Priest, especially on the southern end.
We put in on the south side, and then cruise on up the lake to around the dam area. The further up you get the more the lake really opens up nicely.

Tims Ford will be a great lake to cut your teeth on, very deep in most areas. Very pretty also.
 
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Thanks for the info about Percy Priest!

I know about Tims Ford, we've spent several days on rented pontoons there.


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We Christened our new boat last weekend. Everything went well but, it will definitely be better with more experience. Had a few of these First Timer issues.

1. Did the Un-winterising myself and found it very user friendly. On the down side; the gas tank was less than a 1/4, (the sales gut promised a full tank). He does know and will make good on this in the future.

2. Took a little bit extra to get her off the trailer. Had to back up much further that I had originally anticipated. Had an issue seeing the second safety chain and had to re tighten the spool to get it released.

3. It was in the mid 60s so, a little cold but no issues.

4. the depth finder worked well on the first exploration of the lake. never got below 5 feet and it gave me a good idea of what was below. Question: Looking at a Garmin ECHOMAP 43 DV US Fish Finder. Can I use the Depth Finder transducer or, do i have to drill and add the Garmin Transducer?

5. Back on the trailer was a bit of a challenge, at least compared to the Bass Boats. Can't tell what way the out drive is heading, (can't see it with the swim platform). Needed to learn the second click on the trim to raise the out drive.

6. The replacement trailer tail light and width marking lights arrived from the dealer today and the installation went on without any problems. Everything appears to be good except, I need to ask my sales guy for a new taillight for the opposite side because, now they don't match anymore. I think that one will be on my dime. :(

We're back in the freeze this weekend with a low tonight of 25. I pulled and drained the coolant lines last night so, we should be good. Family starts arriving Wednesday so, we're hoping to put her to good use for the next week or two.
 
I am not familiar with that particular Garmin model, but yes you can just use your built in depth finder, you do not have to use the Garmin transducer.

I have the Garmin 531s, and I did not install the transducer. I use the Garmin for the maps, which are shaded to give me an idea of the depth of water I am in, and my depth finder that came with the boat to reference actual app depth.

Re: unloading and loading the boat - that will come with time, in no time you will be doing it quickly with no issues. On my Sport 190, I back it into the water until the water is about level with the top of the trailer tires. From there I can loosen the strap some ( after unhooking chain - I have done the same before forgetting that, push the boat back about 3-4 ft, then with it still strapped climb into the boat , lower the outdrive some and get her started. Once idling comfortably with no issue, the wife releases the strap, coils it back up, and parks the truck and trailer.

Loading the boat- after I get the trailer backed into the water about the same, water level with top of trailer tires, I then line up and load the boat, leaving it in idle putting it in gear for a moment the neutral, guiding it as straight as I can onto the trailer, till it eases up on the trailer. The wife then hooks the strap to the boat, and winches it all the way up, while I kill the engine and raise the outdrive all the way up into trailer position.

Sounds like you had a fun first outing, congrats!! Still too cool for us, we will probably make our first outing around the end of April - 1st of May.
 
After a few launches you will know exactly where the water needs to be to easily float off the trailer, on mine it is just about when the fenders are submerged. I take the winch strap off on the ramp just before I back into the water, then once floating I remove the safety chain while the admiral is in the boat, a gentle push and shes heading straight back.
Once you know where the trailer needs to be pulling out is an easy 1 or 2 minute painless task. I have made it a habit to always double check and have my mates ask, Is the leg up? even if I know i I did it I still double check .
Enjoy that new boat and take everything easy, I refuse to be stressed with anything boat related.
Welcome to the club.
 
Sorry for the delayed response to your original post, but like others I agree your new ride has big curb appeal, or should that be "dock" appeal, LOL. Makes me wonder why, but I "think" it's many reasons, with the red color being one of the biggest. That red really pops, and looks like a lot of fun.

Keep on learning all the quirks, etc. and before you know it, all will be like you've been doing it forever. Have a great first season.
 
Beautiful boat and welcome to the Club! Your pic of the lake makes me wish I was on the water.
 
Getting close to the end of our first season and what a great year. In all we've added more than 60 hours to the clock and had the boat on three different lakes. A few small dings on the prop but, other than that everything's good.

The only addition to the boat was a Garmin ehcoMAP 43db fish finder / chart plotter and a in hull transducer. Very pleased with the unit and the fact that I only drilled 3 three small holes in the dash to mount. With the in hull transducer I lost some of the side view and down view functionality which was by choice.

The boat sure worked wonders on getting family to visit from out of town. All three of our kids mad it down with their significant other and grand sons as well as the father-in-law (3 times) and brother-in-law with his daughter.

Should still have a month or two of boating left this year. In the spring I'm looking to add a SS prop and mayn't try a few more lakes next summer.


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That's terrific. Sounds like your new Sea Ray is fitting in well.

Stainless prop should reduce the accumulation of dings as long as you hit softer stuff and not rocks!
 
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