Newbie buys 480 sedan bridge

K

knwebs

New Member
Oct 13, 2009
9
Ten Killer, Oklahoma
Boat Info
2000 480 Sedan Bridge
Engines
CATS
Hello guys, new to the large boating world. We just purchased a 2000 480 and know nothing about these large boats. Any experts that would like to chime in and give any advice it'd be appreicated...
 
That's a lot of boat for a "Newbie" , but a great choice. I don't know your past boating experience or what your travel intentions are. I've seen alot of people buy big boats. some catch on right away and some never get it. Right after 911 there was a sharp increase of large boat sales on Long Island. People wanted a second place to live and a way of getting off the island if they had to. This resulted in more then a few problems on the waterways. So here is my advice. Get proper training. Hire a captain with local knowledge. Spend time practicing your boating skills with him. Learn navigation and rules of the road. Find a good mechanic that will show you how to do pre underway inspection of your machinery. Take short local trips until you feel confident that you can handle your boat 100%.
and watch your wake. Most boats you pass will be much smaller then you. Remember they want to have a good day of boating also. Have a great time.
 
FireIsland1 said:
That's a lot of boat for a "Newbie" , but a great choice. I don't know your past boating experience or what your travel intentions are. I've seen alot of people buy big boats. some catch on right away and some never get it. Right after 911 there was a sharp increase of large boat sales on Long Island. People wanted a second place to live and a way of getting off the island if they had to. This resulted in more then a few problems on the waterways. So here is my advice. Get proper training. Hire a captain with local knowledge. Spend time practicing your boating skills with him. Learn navigation and rules of the road. Find a good mechanic that will show you how to do pre underway inspection of your machinery. Take short local trips until you feel confident that you can handle your boat 100%.
and watch your wake. Most boats you pass will be much smaller then you. Remember they want to have a good day of boating also. Have a great time.
Click to expand...

That's some very sound advice there.
 
FireIsland1 is right. Our first power boat was a 460 Sundancer. Both the Admiral and I went to Chapman School for week to take their basic course which includes on the water training. It was some of the best money that we ever spent Since the schopol is in Florida and we wnet in the winter that did not hurt.
 
Welcome to the board. Good to see another Oklahoma boater here. I've been on tenkiller a few times (altho it has been years) and it was always busy on the weekends. This time of year and particularly during the week should be a good time to get out and practice.
The best advice I received was don't go any faster than you want to hit something. :smt001 With our changing (and pretty constant winds) it seems it is always a little different out there. (I've had my 370 about a year now).

Find a friendly dock mate with a similar size boat and ask a lot of questions. I've made a lot of new friends at the marina and they have been the most help. As has been mentioned, having a captain to show you some tricks is very helpful. I can't remember if on tenkiller there were worries such as channel markers, etc. and hopefully you already know the general 'rules of the road' since you have been a boater already.

And Fireisland makes a great point about your wake.. mine still amazes me at just a 1K rpm.

Read this board and the archives, utilize the search feature as questions come to mind.. and go enjoy! It's a great time to boat in Oklahoma!
 
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Congratulations! The 480 is a great handling boat, both in rough water and maneuvering at the dock. One of the things to remember is to respect the weight when maneuvering. It's always surprising what happens when you "nudge" something with a 25 ton boat.

Good luck with your new toy.
 
Guys, thanks for the advice... I've been boating since I was knee hight to a grasshopper although nothing with two screws per say... However, this beast has been nothing but delight!!! Been out several times and haven't loved anything MORE (other than sex). Getting her in and out of the slip has been an easy task thanks to the bow thrusters. Did have a ECM go out on Port last weekend and thank god my next door neighbor (in our housing eddition) is the top sales guy at CAT. So 1900 bucks later and some elbow grease of my nephew (I'm too big of a guy to get in there to take off or replace) got it install this Sat and back off to the races. For those that want more details, it seems I had a short on my control panel where the keys for the ignition is and it sent a voltage surge to the ECM. Expensive lesson for a $40 part!!!!!!! We've been out the last few weekends with 65+ temps and will have everyone know that I haven't even "knudged" the sides of the slip getting her back home ;0). Do have a few projects with a bad freezer (sub zero) that I'll pull and get a replacement and the ice maker/freezer upstairs sucks to say the least!! New one planned very quickly. The salon air fan runs all the time whether it's heating or cooling so will need to figure that out but overall a fantasic freaking boat.... If anyone has any ideas of where to get new front pads or to have the plastics upstairs redone please advise...Someone stole my pads second week of ownership and the plasic upstairs is tearing where the zippers are (hell one is blown out for all intents and purposes)....
 
The normal position on the fan is "On." If you get the manual out, it'll tell you how to change that setting. Then, you'll have to dig the temp sensor out and move it away from the unit if it's like mine. They are strapped to the metal of the unit and work great as long as there is air flow. With the fan off, you'll need the sensor out in the living space. Mine had an extra 3 or 4' of cord to stretch out. Works great.
 
the better advice receive by me was:

Do not rush. take your time.

And has the better and useful advise used every time that I'm going to dock!!

congrats!!!
 
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