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Happiest day in my life

KacksterK5 said:
Ok yeah, I mean there's a deep channel in the middle and shallower stuff around it. Yep just know what thee marks mean so you have a point of reference. get a plotter, just makes life easier
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I’m going to get something for sure. I would like a gps type thing with moving map. I don’t want another tracking device for the feds. (Don’t want them to know where to look for bodies)
 
WaterH said:
Yes, I will be checking out a boaters course. You guys are being a little mellow dramatic here. What could happen? I get stuck in shallow water? How about damage the boat? Nothing that money won’t fix.
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Or your boat comes to an abrupt stop from speed, but you and your unrestrained passengers continue at that speed until you are stopped by something hard.

It's not always mud, and it's not always natural obstructions that are marked.



Stick to the markers until you get a plotter and know what you are doing.
 
So I worked on the boat today. I re set up the trim and limit sensors after we screwed with them. I found a video that explained it all. My throttle control has a separate button for raising the drive for trailering. The regular trim only goes up about 4”.

I also watched a video on the bilge pump. In it they said the water had to be up 2 3/4” for it to turn on automatically. I didn’t have it that full, so I put a hose in there and let it run. When it got up the 3” or so it came on gang busters.

So basically, the whole boat is fine. (And always was) I need to work on the operator.
 
WaterH said:
Yes, I will be checking out a boaters course. You guys are being a little mellow dramatic here. What could happen? I get stuck in shallow water? How about damage the boat? Nothing that money won’t fix. All of my boating experiences are in 20 foot (or less) boat in lakes and we didn’t have no sand bars. Let’s face it, if I get stuck, I can walk ashore. I’m in a bay, not the ocean. I do have stuff to learn for sure.

The point I was making about the markers being for a bigger boat. Example, at my land the far shore is about a mile and a half. The red and green channel markers are about a 100 yards apart in the middle. My depth gage was reading 40-50 feet there. If I drove a 100 yards outside the channel marker sign, it was like 9-12 feet. So obviously it was not a big issue for my boat. When I go out in the boat I want to look at stuff on the shore whether it be other boats, houses or Sun bathing women. I’m not going to stay 3/4 mile from the shore.
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Are you AKnate but with money?
 
WaterH said:
I’m going to get something for sure. I would like a gps type thing with moving map. I don’t want another tracking device for the feds. (Don’t want them to know where to look for bodies)
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There’s probably an app for your phone that will get you familiar with your local water. I would get a real chart plotter for an offshore trip, but it worked fine for me getting used to running locally on the Mississippi River
 
Anybody have experience with bird repellers? I see electronic ones. Do they work?

I prefer these, but they seem to be out of stock.

IMG_1857.jpeg
 
WaterH said:
Anybody have experience with bird repellers? I see electronic ones. Do they work?

I prefer these, but they seem to be out of stock.

IMG_1857.jpeg
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CWIS, if it flies, it dies :laughing:
 
Motion sprinklers, spikey things, spinning flashy things, Fake coyote statues.

Pythons, YMMV

Just get a full cover and plan for it to get shit on or cover the boat. you said you have a dock. I've seen people use 12x20 EZ up tents at the dock to keep their boat covered from sun and birds. Seems to work ok, a little ghetto but whatever works
 
DirtRoads said:
There’s probably an app for your phone that will get you familiar with your local water. I would get a real chart plotter for an offshore trip, but it worked fine for me getting used to running locally on the Mississippi River
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KacksterK5 said:
Navionics, Argo Nav
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So I’m looking at some “chart plotters” on EBay. Do they all show water depth? If I get a subscription to the Navionics for iPad, does it always have depths?
 
WaterH said:
So I’m looking at some “chart plotters” on EBay. Do they all show water depth? If I get a subscription to the Navionics for iPad, does it always have depths?
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They all have depths and channels, but charts are not foolproof- they’re just a point of reference. the channels outside of main/ major waterways are Constantly shifting and/or silting in and so the data is only reliable for a season or two after the survey is done, if you’re not reading the water you’ll run aground sooner or later if you rely 100% on the chart.

in some spots When I’m running in the currently marked channel, my chart plotter will say I’m on land

Download navionics and get a free trial.

Aqua map is another free download/ trial program for phone/ iPad
 
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WTF? said:
They all have depths channels, but charts are not foolproof- they’re just a point of reference. the channels outside of main/ major waterways are Constantly shifting and so the data is only reliable for a season or two after the survey is done, if you’re not reading the water you’ll run aground sooner or later if you rely 100% on the chart.

in some spots When I’m running in the currently marked channel, my chart plotter will say I’m on land

Download navionics and get a free trial.

Aqua map is another free download/ trial program for phone/ iPad
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For some reason I couldn’t get the free download of navionics. It only cost $50 for the cheap version. Im thinking of just getting it if it has depths.
 
WaterH said:
For some reason I couldn’t get the free download of navionics. It only cost $50 for the cheap version. Im thinking of just getting it if it has depths.
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Garmin is taking over the world and fucking us in the process but yes. Navionics, Argo, iSailor as well as a bunch of others have depths shown based off of the most recent published charts. Navionics updates more frequently based on recorded chart info from people with recent depth updates IIRC. Navionics for $50 will get you phone access and tablet access but not access on a purchased chart plotter, you'll have to buy maps again from the manufacturer, Raymarine, Garmin, Simrad, and they all offer their own house brand and "Navionics" brand also if you like continuity. If you have Navionics, brand, all of your charts and mapping and routed from your phone will update and sync to your plotter. It's a racket but that's how they make money. A plotter with transducer will give you current depth and bottom imaging where you actively are boating.
 
I'm not positive how it works because I just don't really have a need for super up to date info but I think Garmin has something called the ActiveCaptain community that crowdsources map updates kind of like how Waze has drivers update maps for road hazards, construction, speed traps, etc. So in between "official" map updates, you can get real time info from boaters on the water, you just have to sync to your plotter.

Being on an inland lake and knowing my area really well I just update my plotter once a season and that has been enough for me, but you may want to look into it.
 
Just playing with the navionics and I see at one of the red triangles it says 30”, but all the water around it is 10 feet. Am I missing something?
 
WaterH said:
Just playing with the navionics and I see at one of the red triangles it says 30”, but all the water around it is 10 feet. Am I missing something?
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is it red channel marker number 30? :shaking:
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FIRST- go sign up for sea tow or towboat for the inevitability of you snapping a prop off running aground, hopefully without injuring yourself or passengers much less others.

then go back and read post 86 in this thread,

then go take some free classes online: Florida Boating Safety Course
 
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We use the Argo Nav app for free and it has been very accurate on the Illinois river as far as depths go.
 
KacksterK5 said:
Start here.

www.boatus.org

Florida Boating Safety Course

The BoatUS Foundation's Online Course is the only FREE Online Boating Safety Course approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
www.boatus.org www.boatus.org

Just learn how it all works.

Think of this as ground school.
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Been going through this course. Most of it is waste of time. (Starboard is right, front is bow, life vest for everyone)

It did say I need a horn. (Or a whistle) The guy who sold me the boat said everything works except the horn. So I went out to fix the horn. Well,,,,,,, can’t find a horn. It has a button, where is the horn typically on a small boat?

The other issue is my flares are out of date. Is this really something the feds will bust you for?

On that subject, have any of you been stopped for an equipment check? Do they have to have a reason to stop you? (Turn signal doesn’t work)
 
WaterH said:
Been going through this course. Most of it is waste of time. (Starboard is right, front is bow, life vest for everyone)

It did say I need a horn. (Or a whistle) The guy who sold me the boat said everything works except the horn. So I went out to fix the horn. Well,,,,,,, can’t find a horn. It has a button, where is the horn typically on a small boat?

The other issue is my flares are out of date. Is this really something the feds will bust you for?

On that subject, have any of you been stopped for an equipment check? Do they have to have a reason to stop you? (Turn signal doesn’t work)
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If your lady is sunnin herself on the deck, you'll probably get stopped
:beer:
 
WaterH said:
Just playing with the navionics and I see at one of the red triangles it says 30”, but all the water around it is 10 feet. Am I missing something?
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Navionics is definitely worth it for a reference. But It is not accurate and should not be relied on. Half the time it'll show the channel 100 ft away from where it really is.

Get yourself a simrad Go series chart plotter or Garmin equivalent with a good transducer for depth. Simrad is compatible with navionics charts
 
WaterH said:
Been going through this course. Most of it is waste of time. (Starboard is right, front is bow, life vest for everyone)

It did say I need a horn. (Or a whistle) The guy who sold me the boat said everything works except the horn. So I went out to fix the horn. Well,,,,,,, can’t find a horn. It has a button, where is the horn typically on a small boat?
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Somewhere on or near the bow. A whistle will let pass inspection while you're figuring out if you have a horn.

WaterH said:
The other issue is my flares are out of date. Is this really something the feds will bust you for?
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Absolutely. Coast guard and local cops can and will inspect you and that's an easy ticket.

WaterH said:
On that subject, have any of you been stopped for an equipment check? Do they have to have a reason to stop you? (Turn signal doesn’t work)
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If you're on the water, they don't need PC to stop you for a safety check. You're more likely to get stopped if you're being an ass clown and doing something that catches their attention.



Do you have a (good) fire extinguisher?
Life jackets and and a throwable?
Navigation lights?
 
WaterH said:
Been going through this course. Most of it is waste of time. (Starboard is right, front is bow, life vest for everyone)

It did say I need a horn. (Or a whistle) The guy who sold me the boat said everything works except the horn. So I went out to fix the horn. Well,,,,,,, can’t find a horn. It has a button, where is the horn typically on a small boat?

The other issue is my flares are out of date. Is this really something the feds will bust you for?

On that subject, have any of you been stopped for an equipment check? Do they have to have a reason to stop you? (Turn signal doesn’t work)
Click to expand...
FWC doesn't need a reason. They will check your boat at the ramp and they'll give you a ticket right then and there
 
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