Spring in DC

[WDCboater]

Weather looks good for this upcoming Sunday. If it holds I'll be moving my boat from Prince William back to James Creek in DC.

If you're in the DC area say hi! Looking forward to a great new season.

 

[mpmiller]

Take it slow. Lots of junk floating this time of year.

 

[WDCboater]

Take it slow. Lots of junk floating this time of year.

Definitely.
Thanks

 

[1990-270-da-lover]

I hope the weather holds, so I can open her up for the first time and start the spring Get Ready stuff. I'm tired of cold and want to get on the water! Good Luck and watch for debris

 

[JimFromMD]

Time to shred the shrink wrap!

 

[WDCboater]

Time to shred the shrink wrap!

Definitely, well no shrink wrap here, but definitely time to jump into spring. Spent last weekend putting the cockpit carpets back in and minor cleaning, installed the new cockpit TV and turned on my DirectTV service. Good to go!

 

[Mikemapva]

I'm hoping to splash soon as well as it will be my first time with the new boat. I need to get the shrink wrap off and do some things on board before it goes in. Hoping to take a ride up the river while the cherry blossoms are in bloom as a shakedown cruise.

I pulled the shrink wrap off of the Sea Ray last weekend as a buyer was supposed to look at it, but then they bailed on the broker. The wet snow on Monday didn't make me too happy that I had just pulled it off.

Be careful this weekend with the debris and let me know what the gas price is if you fill up before heading up river.

Mike

 

[JimFromMD]

Definitely, well no shrink wrap here, but definitely time to jump into spring. Spent last weekend putting the cockpit carpets back in and minor cleaning, installed the new cockpit TV and turned on my DirectTV service. Good to go!

Were you already rigged for a cockpit TV and were upgrading or something you put together / in yourself? Any photos?

 

[WDCboater]

Were you already rigged for a cockpit TV and were upgrading or something you put together / in yourself? Any photos?

So when we purchased the new boat last fall we negotiated in the install of a new radar and satellite TV as well as the mount. I was there for some of the install, but Eric, the awesome electronics tech at Prince William did all of the hard work.

Here are some before and after pics. In the before you can see the lack of a radar mount and no satellite. We had the factory original Raymarine system replaced with an HD Digital system and C95 radar/chartplotter. We also had them install a KVH M3 system and DirecTV receiver.

With the mount and wiring in place, we installed a 24" LED LCD tv.

 

[ZZ13]

Looks great, WDC. Eric is the regular tech for my boat as well. He's the best. I bought two boats from PWM and they are trying to talk me into a 3rd. They're value is in what you get for the price, not the price itself.

 

[Mikemapva]

Ryan,

The install looks great! Enjoy!

Bill, you're definitely right that there is a value to PWM service, but you definitely pay for it. I opted to go outside the family on this purchase, and I hope I don't regret my decision.

Mike

 

[WDCboater]

Looks great, WDC. Eric is the regular tech for my boat as well. He's the best. I bought two boats from PWM and they are trying to talk me into a 3rd. They're value is in what you get for the price, not the price itself.

Thanks!
I go every year to the Ft Lauderdale Boat show and I've been to Annapolis a few times. After talking to reps at other dealers there is definitely value added at PWM. While not cheap, their service guys are top notch.

Hopefully they are trying to talk you into something nice.

 

[ZZ13]

Ryan,

The install looks great! Enjoy!

Bill, you're definitely right that there is a value to PWM service, but you definitely pay for it. I opted to go outside the family on this purchase, and I hope I don't regret my decision.

Mike

I am sure you will be fine as CSR should have trained you by now to do the proper due diligence (sea trials, surveys, etc). I am moving to salt water life in 2014 so I'm getting out of the gasser/sterndrive world and going to the deisel/inboard world. Poking around at opportunities. With PWM, its write them a check and they take care of everything (including trade-in). On my own I gotta chase everything about the purchase myself, including selling my 300DA. The right boat will dictate which route I take, but I am prepared for either route mostly from what I've learned here over the years.

 

[Mikemapva]

Bill,

It sounds like you've got a good plan. Wish I could join you in 2914. I did do all of the survey and sea trial items and think I did OK. Now I just need to sell my old boat which hopefully will take off here in the spring.

Mike

 

[WDCboater]

I am sure you will be fine as CSR should have trained you by now to do the proper due diligence (sea trials, surveys, etc). I am moving to salt water life in 2014 so I'm getting out of the gasser/sterndrive world and going to the deisel/inboard world. Poking around at opportunities. With PWM, its write them a check and they take care of everything (including trade-in). On my own I gotta chase everything about the purchase myself, including selling my 300DA. The right boat will dictate which route I take, but I am prepared for either route mostly from what I've learned here over the years.

Bill

Good advice. I probably do more research and comparison shopping than many boaters. When you're spending a small fortune you want to know what you're getting. Did two sea trials and a survey on my 350 last fall, which taught us a lot about the boat. The bank required the survey anyways, so that was a mute point.

Interestingly, with this purchase I financed it without using PWM because BoA could get me a better rate and they don't work directly with dealers. With that said, PWM bend over backwards to get us to closing. They basically paid me for my 240 what I paid for it two years earlier!

Ryan

 

[ZZ13]

Bill

Good advice. I probably do more research and comparison shopping than many boaters. When you're spending a small fortune you want to know what you're getting. Did two sea trials and a survey on my 350 last fall, which taught us a lot about the boat. The bank required the survey anyways, so that was a mute point.

Interestingly, with this purchase I financed it without using PWM because BoA could get me a better rate and they don't work directly with dealers. With that said, PWM bend over backwards to get us to closing. They basically paid me for my 240 what I paid for it two years earlier!

Ryan

Hopefully I'll see you and Mike on the Potomac this season. Now if spring would actually start... (I still have my bilge heater on)

 

[Aero Nautical]

New 300DA owner here. Only time I've been on my boat was during the sea trial last October so I'm really itching to get out there. The boat is still down on the York River on the hard and even forking over $$ to have the yard paint the bottom. Laundry list of things to do still (grease prop shafts, change oil, check impellers, change filters, the list goes on and on), but I'm hoping to bring her up in a few weeks. Since furlough is pushed a few months, I might even be able to afford to fill her up once! We probably won't be venturing too far the first year, maybe some Tims II people watching and over to Capt Billy's for some eats.

 

[Mikemapva]

Bill, I'll be looking for you and Ryan out on the water. I think you're right across the Occoquan from me (I'm at Fairfax Yacht Club). I hope it's warm enough this weekend for me to get some things done.

Dave, welcome aboard! Sounds like you've got a great boat. Are you keeping it in Dahlgren, or in Colonial Beach? Hope to make it down to Tim's II or Captain Billy's or Gilligan's at some point ths summer.

Mike

 

[WDCboater]

Bill, I'll be looking for you and Ryan out on the water. I think you're right across the Occoquan from me (I'm at Fairfax Yacht Club). I hope it's warm enough this weekend for me to get some things done.

Dave, welcome aboard! Sounds like you've got a great boat. Are you keeping it in Dahlgren, or in Colonial Beach? Hope to make it down to Tim's II or Captain Billy's or Gilligan's at some point ths summer.

Mike

Sounds good. We're docked at James Creek during the season and spend many weekends up by Georgetown and Three Sisters. Our plan with the bigger boat is to venture down to the bay at least once as well as a few trips around Tims and maybe another stop in Colonial Beach. We also make it PWM from time to time.

By the way, just bought some new outdoor throw pillows for the boat last night at Costco. They're made by Sunbrella. A two pack for $25.
Good deal if you're looking for some all-weather throw pillows for the boat.

Dave-- enjoy the new boat! Let us know if you ever make it up to DC.

 

[Mikemapva]

Ryan,

Thanks for the tip on the pillows. We're planning on heading up river some this summer, so if we do, I'll look you up. I may even be swinging into James Creek for fuel (even though I usually try to buy in VA to get the fuel tax refund).

Mike