Maiden Voyage

RWilson2526 · #1 08-24-2008, 08:48 PM

So we got the boat out for the first time today. After rewiring the trailer and some general scrubbing and waxing there was nothing left to do but to see how she runs.

Launching.....
First thing I noticed right off was that I need a decent amount of water to make it float!!!. Although the lake is probably 2' lower than it was the last time we were out with our 180 classic, I could not get the boat to float off or slide down the trailer. Man is it heavy. After trying to drive it off (not to aggessively because it was literally the first time I put the boat in gear) the ramp attendant finally came down and held the ropes as I backed it down and hit the breaks to slide it off. Still took a couple of tries. I'm sure the level of the lake had a lot to do with it. I'm curious to see how other ramps with different angles will do.

Running....boat ran great all things considered. I have sone of investigating to do as I dont know what pitch prop I have yet. There is an aluminum prop on it now but the PO gave me a ss prop in a plastic bag thats a 17P. I suspect I may have a 19 on it now...RPM maxed out at 4500 and although I did not have a gps I'm guessing about 40-42 mph.
The only problem was it did not like to idle in neutral to well. I could idol in gear forever it seemed, but did not like to idol in neutral. It would kind of quite with a "pooooof." Also seemed like I needed to choke it to restart a few times even though the engine was warm.

Also appears two of the through hull fittings are leaking pretty good...should be able to take care of that.

Attached are some pics....unfortunately the photo documentation is sparse as I was preoccupied hoping the boat would start and run. most pics are from retrieving after I had a chance to relex.

Man that cuddy sure is nice!!!

THEFERMANATOR · #2 08-24-2008, 09:28 PM

Sounds like it went pretty well for a maiden voyage. Putting it in and retrieving it under it's own power makes for a good maiden voyage in any book. For your idling I would reccomend cleaning the carbs. The poof sound when it dies is what we call a lean sneeze, most likely due to some varnish in the idle circuit fuel pick-up. 4500 is also pretty low for WOT, with a good load on board I personally would like to see close to 5200-5300 as I believe that engine you have calls for a 4500-5500 WOT RPM range. Try the 17 first as that seems to be the magic number for most guys here. As for thru-hull fittings, that is to be expected with any boat older than 10 years old. My 96 PROLINE had a few cracked in it as well when I got it. And for your launching problem, a single axle trailer can have those problems. Try raising the tongue of your trailer some to see if that helps. It looks like your boat is sitting fairly bow low on the trailer which will make it harder to float the stern when unloading.

tsubaki · #3 08-25-2008, 05:09 AM

Good first splash!!!
Like FERM said, raising the ball up is needed, just turn the hitch over and see if that will be too high or allright.
Tongue weight; when we drug mine home for the first time, the previous owner had about 25lbs of tongue weight on it. I warned Daddy about this, even though he was pulling with a full size pickup, it would on a bump, pothole or road changes , get real squirrely and he would have to almost stop.
Don't be tempted to relocate the axle in order to reduce the weight on the Honda, it looks fine. For that boat size and trailer type, about 150lbs of tongue weight should be allright, anything less would be setting up for problems.

randlemanboater · #4 08-25-2008, 07:26 AM

Congrats on the successful first splash. Get those carbs cleaned and raise the hitch a little and you will be set.

I tow with a Pilot too, looks like it has the right amount of tongue weight.

nipper · #5 08-25-2008, 08:32 AM

Glad to see you got her in the water. Nice looking rig. Did the Pilot do a good job of towing? I have been considering switching from my wife's Suburban to a Honda Pilot for towing my v20 cuddy. I agree with the rest that you need to raise the hitch. You want the trailer to be as close to level as possible. If you need to check the tongue weight, you can go to a truck scale and do one of two things. You can weigh the rear wheels of the Honda without the trailer on it, then weigh with the trailer on, and subtract the difference. Or, you can simply disconnect the trailer from the Pilot over the scale, then lower the tongue onto your "wheelstand" (couldn't think of the right term for it) or onto a piece of 4x4 lumber cut to length so the trailer is level, then measure the weight on the scale. You should be between 7-10% tongue weight compared to the overall weight of the boat and trailer.

willy · #6 08-25-2008, 08:42 AM

well Wilson very nice, and I love seeing one of my favorite places pop up with someone else on the site, Lake Hopatcong NJ.
Oh and cute kids!
For you guys that is a sweet place to take your kids tubing skiing or whatever, lot of traffic on the weekends though. Fishing is great duing the week and in spring and fall when boat traffic is down. Summer you fish early in morning or late at night only due to number of people using lake.
About 50 minute tow from my house.
The GSpot has prowled that lake many times, Wilson never saw her though, cause I am camo

Pipe_Dream · #7 08-25-2008, 09:18 AM

Good maiden voyage report, RWilson, and great pics!

RWilson2526 · #8 08-25-2008, 10:50 AM

[quote=nipper;127009]Glad to see you got her in the water. Nice looking rig. Did the Pilot do a good job of towing? I have been considering switching from my wife's Suburban to a Honda Pilot for towing my v20 cuddy. quote]

Nipper, I was very impressed with the Piliot's towing. I think it tows the 3500+ lbs alot better than my Silverado 1500 did my 2500 lb bow rider. I think the biggest difference lies in the suspension, I used to hit a bump with my truck and felt like I was going to launch the boat right off the trailer (although maybe the tongue weight was too light but it seemed ok to me) The Pilot is smooooth , no bounce , nice and steady. Acceleration and stopping seemed really good too. I was a little nervous at first thinking maybe it was too small a vehicle but I think it does just fine. Definitely sucked down the gas though....havent figured out any mileage yet but it probably isnt pretty.

RWilson2526 · #9 08-25-2008, 10:55 AM

Ok so this is where I show I dont know jack about outboards....(dont know much about I/O's either) When we talk about cleaning the carbs, are we taking them apart and cleaning? putting some cleaner in with the gas and running them? I'll start doing some searches! thanks for all the kind words.

THEFERMANATOR · #10 08-25-2008, 11:25 AM

If the boat has sat for any period of time to speak of, then the carbs should be removed and disassembled. Then properly cleaned in a carb dunk cleaner, and with the age of that outboard carb kits with floats would be a good idea. If your not very handy, find a friend that is. I've done quite a few multi carb engines, and they come easy for me. But I know that most shops curse the YAMAHAS when it comes time to do the carbs. Try and find a friend that may have some experience with carbs.