took the plunge........

[shrimpman steve]

1) I will look for those muffs that tighen up, thanks

2) don't think there is a name on the boat yet. If I bought it alone I would have named it "the shrimp box", but I am partners with dirty chimney man, so we decided on "the dirty shrimp". What is the renaming ritual.

mortgage man, don't call me, I'll call you JK! cant wait to have you on board.

LAB, thanks for the one day grace period!

[Gerry Zagorski]

Congrats on the Dirty Shrimp Steve...

I would add Stabil on every fill up especially if you purchase fuel on land since they all contain 10% ethanol. Some marinas on the water sell Valve Tech fuels and in that case you don't need to use Stabil.

As far as oil, find out what the other guy was using and stick with it. If he used "whatever" I would suggest using the least expensive TCW3 rated oil you can find.

[cool hand fluke]

First, Congrats Steve - owning a boat and finding fish is a VERY satisfying feeling.

I have a couple thoughts:

Purchase the best electronics you can afford- best thing I ever did boat wise was buy a new 10 inch color monitor, gps and fish finder. Seems pricey up front but pays dividends the more you use it to find those fluke structure/honey holes. Also makes it easier to repeat successful drifts

I also spend a little more to get the best oil - I don't take any chances in that area

Stabil - I've never used but I always buy my gas from marina and haven't had a problem

Best of luck! The more you fish, the "luckier" you will get! Al

[TDaly25]

Shrimpman,

FWIW, I think the name Dirty Shrimp rocks!

below is a link to instructions for carrying out the ritual. Again, it may sound hokey but If I had a chance to do it all over again I certainly would and without any shortcuts. In any event you can make it fun. Best of luck to you and Dirty Chimneyman!

http://boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/rename.htmh

[shrimpman steve]

OK guys....another question.

I am going to take the on line saftey coarse in the next day or two and take the test first chance during the week. Does anyone know if the y give you a temporary card, or do I have to wait for the hard copy in the mail. I would like to get on the water ASAP, but don't want take the chance of getting a ticket first time out.

Keep the input commin, it is all very useful to someone who is brand new at this!

[buckfin732]

When i took the class years ago they gave them out right at the class just have it laminated Office depot office max one of them does it

[hammer4reel]

DONT take the boat out without first purchasing either Boat US or Sea tow towing insurance. that is NUMBER 1 on the boat owners list.

Is your merc an optimax ???? if it is while expensive, use Optimax oil.
only use stabil if your going to let the boat sit for a long time.
only time I ever use it is during winter storage.

buy the biggest screen GPS you can fit on your boat, as you will find it much easier to find the areas that will hold those little blackfish you like to fish with shrimp for

best of luck with it !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[NoLimit]

You might want to check the factory specs for compression.

Its good that they are evenly matched but most compressions tests I have done on like new cylinders are around 128

[TomKaye]

Originally Posted by Gerry Zagorski

Congrats on the Dirty Shrimp Steve...

I would add Stabil on every fill up especially if you purchase fuel on land since they all contain 10% ethanol. Some marinas on the water sell Valve Tech fuels and in that case you don't need to use Stabil.

As far as oil, find out what the other guy was using and stick with it. If he used "whatever" I would suggest using the least expensive TCW3 rated oil you can find.

This ^^^^^^is excellent input. I used Star-tron rather than Sta-bil, and over-dosed at every fill-up, which was every time we came back, we topped off.
An ounce of prevention against potential ethanol damage , etc....etc......

TCW3 is TCW3 as far as i'm concerned. Never had an oil-related issue
( did have an ignition computer problem ) and ran Walmart or West Marine ( on sale ) in a 150hp 2-stroke Zuke for 14 years.
I sold it and it's now 15 years old. Still running fine as far as I know. Haven't heard from the new owner in a while.
The Boat U.S. or Sea Tow insurance, including highway towing, as someone stated, is mandatory. It's a cheap investment, and you never know.

Good luck, & Tight lines.
Tom.

[TomKaye]

Originally Posted by hammer4reel

DONT take the boat out without first purchasing either Boat US or Sea tow towing insurance. that is NUMBER 1 on the boat owners list.

Is your merc an optimax ???? if it is while expensive, use Optimax oil.
only use stabil if your going to let the boat sit for a long time.
only time I ever use it is during winter storage.

best of luck with it !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Forget what I said about the Suzuki. I'm sure Capt. Dan ran his Merc
more than I did a Zuke..............35-40 trips annually April--November for me.

Welcome to boat owership. A hole in the ocean into which you pour money.

I'm boatless right now, but ............