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C

Cocky Cruiser

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Hey Everyone, Newbie to the site , look forward to a lot of good info. Will be picking up a 2013 Bennington SLX tomorrow 20 ft. With 90 hp yamaha. Never owned a boat in my life , so alittle nervous about my first launch and load. Been doing a lot of reading and search of info. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks in advance
 
Well...first...huge congrats and WELCOME!

Is your dealer going to show you how to launch and recover the boat? Please say yes. 

If yes - then no worries...you have someone to show you how to do it. If you are not buying from a dealer...then probably not.

If no - then...do you know anyone who knows how? Launching is remarkably simple if you know how to back the trailer. Recovering is a learned thing. It's not hard, but it is learned. And watching people who know how to load doesn't really show you how to do it. You can learn a lot from watching what I call "launch ramp follies". That's where you go to the ramp and watch the people who haven't learned how to recover their boat for entertainment. It's rude and obnoxious, I know. And I apologize that I enjoy doing that. 

I have helped a lot of people learn how to recover their boats. Just about any boater with skills will most likely be more than happy to go with you and show you how to do it.

If you have to recover the boat without ever being shown, and are not confident that you might be able to line up and get your approach speed right, then go with fool proof way. It involves getting wet, but is very unlikely to damage anything. Just put the trailer in to a point where you can float the boat all the way to the bow-stop. Then attach the winch strap. Lift the motor with the trim switch all the way up. Get in the water. Manually hold the boat over the bunks while standing in the water and have someone very slowly pull the truck forward until the boat starts to settle on the bunks. Then you get out. Then the truck pulls the boat the rest of the way out.
 
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Hi CC! Welcome and congrats! It's a fun world!

I was a "newbie" a year ago and you've come to the right place. I can vouch for the forum, it's been a huuuge help to me. And, don't hesitate to ask any sort of question you may have cuz we've all been newbies at some point or another. Lots of good hearted people here who've been there & done that to help, and usually very quickly. 
 
Congrats!!

My biggest piece of advice to new owners, go online and take a safe boating course.

Ok, now that you've done that, my second is LEARN THECONTROLS. You shouldn't have to look at the throttle to tell what's forward and reverse. Don't worry though, with practice it will become natural. Third is, ENJOY THE BOAT!!

Get ready for "Miles Of Smiles" !!!!!
 
Welcome aboard.

andy
 
Thanks for all the replies, look forward to talking to everyone and getting some good advice, We are from South Carolina and have some really nice lakes around here, so plan on being out as much as I can. Going to columbia today to pick up boat , it is docked at Lake Murray, so will get my first practice of loading
 
I was in the exact same spot as you 5 years ago with my first boat! It can be stressful,  but the best advice is to JUST RELAX! Know that you are going to make a mistake, and know that every single person has been there! I personally never power load my boat. I find that unless you really know your boat well, it can have more negatives than positives. 

Are you decent at backing up a trailer? Trailer setup is a large part in the equation of how well the load will go. But first the launch, it's pretty easy,

Number 1 thing is do your prep in the staging area, or just off to the side BEFORE you actually get to the launch area! Everyone will appreciate. I tow about 45min to an hour to my lake every time, when I get there I pull alongside the road, roll down my windows and leave my vehicle running. Keep in mind your vehicle just just worked hard towing, so I let it run while I ready the boat. Get out and do a walk around removing tie downs. I first unhook the front winch strap, wander around back and undue the rear tie downs. Meanwhile the wife is throwing all the days gear from out of the truck into the boat. I climb up and move the gear out of the way of the gates, put the key in the ignition and attach the safety tether, and make sure the controls are in neutral!! Been a couple times where it had just moved out and into reverse and I got worried when it wouldn't start! Flip on your master power switch and see if battery levels look good. I then attach my ropes to the cleats and lay them over the seat. I have I think a 10-15 ft for the front and a 25-30ft attached to the rear. I run the rear one on the outside of the bimini frame and drape it over by the side gate. Make sure they are either snugged a little so they don't fall over the rail while backing up. Now that everything is ready, I proceed to the launch. Oh and depending on your launch and trailer you may have to trim up your motor. I don't it stays all the way down. Get the co captain to stand on the dock and be ready to grab the rope lines as the boat enters the water. My wife knows not to grab the line until the trailer is straight along the dock so she knows I won't be pulling forward again. She grabs the lines, I start backing and when it seems deep enough, just touch the brakes and it should float off. No one can tell you exactly how far in you have to go because every dock is different. The angle of the ramp plays a huge role. My rear tires never really touch the water. BUT I have a tritoon, and I know my two toon I had to be a little deeper since it has less buoyancy. 

Loading

Keep in mind, this is my way, I'm not saying it right, but it works for us. Many people on her put more hours on in a year than I have on my past 3 boats, but that means I'm basically STILL a newbie! It really is a good idea to go out super early one day, or whenever the dock is not busy and practice coming in to the dock. So ill assume you can get the boat to the dock. Once again, have dock lines ready in the same manner as launching, my wife has her shoes on and is standing on the front of the boat. She can help by telling me if I need to go closer or farther from the dock as we approach. I get her up to the dock and she jumps off, withe the front line in her hand, once she is on the dock, I slap it into reverse and pull the ass end in towards the dock, she grabs the rear line that is draped by the side gate and I cut the engine. She holds the boat while I run for the truck. Don't waste time at this point. Get the truck and get back to the dock, especially if it's busy. She will keep the boat back at the far end of the dock to give me room to back the trailer in and get it straight. If you have carpeted bunks,back the trailer in a ways to try to get the bunks all wet, it helps slide it on. I always make sure the trailer is straight and probably about 1-1.5 ft away from the dock and parallel.  I usually leave about 1/3-3/8 of the bunks out of the water, once again, this will depend on your ramp. Once I am setup, I hope out, grab the front rope and pull the boat onto the trailer. You want to get a little momentum going so you don't have to winch it all the way! It usually stops about 1-1.5ft from the stops so I climb on and winch it the rest of the way. Then I hope in the truck and start slowly pulling out while the wife stands at the rear looking to make sure the pontoon is centered in the bunks, if not I back it back into the water a bit and she will push it over a little and I will pull up again. When good I pull up and out of the way an put all the tie downs on and get ready to tow again.

Hope this helps a little!  Sorry it's so long! Haha
 
Take the Coast Guard safety course please! As a former Coast Guardsman I have seen what can happen to inexperienced boaters that don't know what to do when something goes wrong. Take the safety seriously. Educate anyone on board of the location of all your safety gear. We have a lot of fun on our Benny and even get a little wild and crazy sometimes but you can do safely.... Most important though is have fun and enjoy!
 
Welcome aboard. We have all been there. Relax. Take your time. Ignore the bystanders. Practice. Enjoy.

Brian
 
Just got back from getting boat, had no problem with backing down into landing. Loading boat from water onto trailer a different story. Had alittle trouble lining up , finally got it. Going out early tomorrow for a day on the lake, hopefully will get alittle more comfortable, I know it's going to take a few times, but hope to get it soon
 
If you have a front gate...I have a trick to share. If you do...put a piece of masking tape on the front edge of the boat over the rub rail and a couple of inches onto the deck. Put it at the exact center of the boat. It becomes a sight line. Then...when lining up on approach...open the front gate and stand in the center of the boat steering with your right hand. Don't sit in the seat. Line up your tape-marked-centerline with the center post of the trailer. You'll hit the bunks first try every time. Unless you miss. And then you won't. Ok...you will hit the bunks about 1/2 the time...but with practice...you'll hit them every time. Until you have a cross wind. But with practice...you'll get that down too. Until you have a sandstorm. Well...you get the idea. Nicely done!!! Good for you.
 
How do you do control throttle standing in center of boat and steering with right hand?  

My dealer gave me a good tip --- when you're in the captains chair you're sitting/standing right on top of the right toon... just line yourself up (right toon) with the right bunk and the others will follow.  

JeffS said:
If you have a front gate...I have a trick to share. If you do...put a piece of masking tape on the front edge of the boat over the rub rail and a couple of inches onto the deck. Put it at the exact center of the boat. It becomes a sight line. Then...when lining up on approach...open the front gate and stand in the center of the boat steering with your right hand. Don't sit in the seat. Line up your tape-marked-centerline with the center post of the trailer. You'll hit the bunks first try every time. Unless you miss. And then you won't. Ok...you will hit the bunks about 1/2 the time...but with practice...you'll hit them every time. Until you have a cross wind. But with practice...you'll get that down too. Until you have a sandstorm. Well...you get the idea. Nicely done!!! Good for you.
Click to expand...
 
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That is what I do. Your outside toon is 25" in diameter, thus the keel is about a foot in from the side. I just look straight ahead and invision the center of the right toon. Haven't missed yet. And remember not to back the trailer toon far in. As long as you're close the toons will center in the bunk and work up out of the water.
 
royal4 said:
How do you do control throttle standing in center of boat and steering with right hand?  

My dealer gave me a good tip --- when you're in the captains chair you're sitting/standing right on top of the right toon... just line yourself up (right toon) with the right bunk and the others will follow.  
Click to expand...
Come in at your slowest idle speed.

I miss when I try to envision anything. As long as I've been doing this little task...I have the absolute best luck standing in the middle of the boat. Anything other than a pontoon, its way easier to line up. Lots more room for error. On a pontoon though, I stand in the center.
 
royal4 said:
How do you do control throttle standing in center of boat and steering with right hand?  

My dealer gave me a good tip --- when you're in the captains chair you're sitting/standing right on top of the right toon... just line yourself up (right toon) with the right bunk and the others will follow.  
Click to expand...
I didn't do the tape but I started opening the door and lining it up since Jeff told me about this method over the winter. I no longer need anyone to guide me in and I put it on the first time every time. It's so easy. I usually just kind of put a knee on the captains chair and lean back and forth between the throttle and toward the center line of the boat. It really makes loading a breeze. I tried envisioning the right toon and I always ended up off the mark. Go for center. 
 
I'm a newbie but I've lined up the right toon 2 or 3 times so far.... gonna stick with it because it works for me.  Like I say in disc golf.....whatever works......
 
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