Owning and operating your own boat is not easy. I have owned a few over the years, and it’s always hard work to get on and off the water. This year we have been fishing and skiing on the lakes in a vessel that our family has owned for 38 years! We have put some serious miles on our Sea Ray. To give you an idea of what it takes for a day on the lake, here is our Boating Checklist.
In boat stall
Life vests
Lowrance sonar
Fishing gear
Before Launching
Remove back straps, I/O drive blue plastic
Install drain plug
Connect battery cables
Raise kick motor, use strap to hold it to the left
Make sure valve to kick motor hose (lower left in motor compartment) is closed.
Launching
Back up trailer near water, remove front strap
back up until fenders are submerged
Starting motor
Lower trim at least 1/2 way by pushing down button on throttle (3-4 sed)
Put throttle in neutral, push in lower button, then advance throttle sligtly
First time squirt 3 sec ether into air filter
Turn key to start, pump throttle as necessary
Make sure to manually move key from “start” to “run” manually if necessary
Let motor fast idle until it warms up a little
Put in reverse to back off trailer, backing up truck if necessary.
Lowrance operation:
Turn switch neaer steering wheel up, observe green light on switch is on
PUsh power button on both units. Push Enter or OK to acknoledge prompts
Use the page key to select mode on each.
Select the “chart” page on the one with data for “lake” or ocean as appropiate
Recommend setting the other to “sonar” so U can see shallow water approaching
Kick motor operation:
Remove the black straps holding the motor to the left and the throttle bar up
Lower the unit by pulling up on the locking mechanism below the power head while pulling up
Open the valve in the motor compartment connecting the fuel hose and connect the hose to the motor
pump the fuel bulb until it’s firm
put the motor gear shift (near the fuel hose) in neutral, verify the on/off switch is “up”
pull the choke knob out, pull the start rope, adjusting the throttle from slightly open until motor starts
adjust the throttle to fast idle, then slowly closing the choke until motor warms up.
Shift the motor to forward/reverese as needed using minimum throttle that works.
When done for the day, remove the fuel hose, turn off the motor compartment valve,
and try to run the motor until it dies to remove the fuel from the carburetor (not absolutely required but nice)
Loading on trailer:
examine trailer for obvious problems, pull out plenty of nose strap.
Back trailer up until the fenders are just underwater
Maneuver boat onto trailer with either motor or by hand with ropes
When boat is fairly straight, use strap crank to pull boat forward
U can use motor to help some and/or lower truck into water to assist
RAISE TRIM ALL THE WAY using both inside and outside top buttons at the same time,
pull trailer out of the water slowly, using 4wd if ramp is slick
Preparing to trailer home:
Install blue and black plastic tubes on I/O unit hydraulic rams
Remove drain plug
Remove battery straps (or batteries will be dead next time U use boat)
Add hold down straps to rear of boat
Secure loose items, such as life vests or they will blow out
(closing center window helps)
Make sure motor compartment snap is engaged and theres a cord holding the top cover at rear.