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New boat checklist

G

Great Dane

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Ok, so I'm picking up the toon on Monday the 20th. I'm attempting to make a list of all the things I should have before I go pick it up and get it on the water for the first time. So far this is the stuff I think I need to have:

Life jackets for everyone plus one throwable flotation device

Anchor and line

Boat bumpers (fenders?)

Wheel chocks for the trailer (When its parked in the driveway)

5 to 7 adapter for the trailer to truck connection

High quality 2" ball hitch

Maybe some ratchet straps to tie it down to the trailer?

I think that's it...Any glaring omissions that you see??
 
It will already have the straps for the trailer, don't forget dock lines for loading unloading and tying to a dock.
 
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Make sure the dealer is not including some of that stuff before you go out and purchase things   Ours came with life jackets, throwable flotation device, and docking lines.  Of course I already had some life jackets and dock lines from our jet ski'ing days.  Your lists sounds about right for getting your boat home and in the water initially.  Definitely make sure you have ratchet straps to tie it down to trailer.  Other than that I would not buy too much in advance as you'll figure your needs as you use the boat. 

I would add...

   -flotation devices for your keys.

   -spare tire for trailer (if it doesn't come with one)
 
Cleaning supplies!  I use Fantastic for tough stains and just water for normal clean up plus some good marine vinyl protectant (303 gets good reviews.

Jack
 
My dealer did not include straps for the trailer. He tried to tell me they aren't really important. Haha! I tried some cheap ones last year that I forgot to take off when I launched. They did not survive. I replaced them with some Boat Buckles which seem pretty nice. The 2' size was just big enough for my boat and trailer. 

I'd add a good first aid kit to your list. We got this one.
 
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You have a little over a week left,,,, Hmm our best thing when the new boat arrived 1.5 years ago. Without the wife knowing I made a Rockin Rolling CD of our Favorite tunes, (Yee Oww that Wet Sounds got put to the test!!) then a mellow cruising CD. I dug and burned through a lot of music to get the right mix.

Our friends enjoyed the music too.

Of course it is all Pandora now on "shuffle"

Congrats on the new Rig!!

JR
 
I think Kaydano had put together and posted a very inclusive list on this - can you find it again Dan?
 
I did not see beer on anyone's list.

Boating sober would be like fishing...........................................sober.
 
Ha ha.  Beer.  Love it!  The beer, I mean.

You have to have an emergency signalling device.  Horn, whistle, orange flag with black square, flares, flashlight, etc.

Make sure your registration is in a ziplock bag and tied up under the helm somewhere.

Fire extinguisher should be part of the boat, but just make sure you have it.

You will get pulled over eventually, and you want to be legal.  I mean, safe.
 
I made a list for inspecting a new boat.  And I think I posted my personal lists for trailering, docking, undocking, etc.  I look at that each season before going out just as a quick refresher.  Memory not as good as it used to be!

I don't think I ever made a list of "stuff to buy" but I'm with Link, pretty sure someone did it and it's buried in here somewhere. 

I hate the search tool.  Never seems to work for me.  The "4 letter minimum" rule is a ridiculous too.  At today's CPU speeds, all the searches done here for an entire year probably amount to just a few seconds of CPU time.  I wouldn't' be surprised if it was under a second.  Can't search for 115 or 150 or 300, etc.  Sorry, off topic.
 
I like to use google to search the site. Just use site-specific search syntax: "site:club.benningtonmarine.com" followed by the keywords. Then your query can be as short as you want. And it's a thousand times better than the built-in search engine. Although then you do have to deal with the malware on this site occasionally forwarding you to URL4SHORT spam page or 'Adult Friend Finder'. Ugh... 

https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aclub.benningtonmarine.com+150&oq=site%3Aclub.benningtonmarine.com+150&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i58.1926j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=119&ie=UTF-8
 
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Great advice bcpnick, from now on that's the way to go
 
That is a big help. Thanks!
 
Tomspo04 said:
Don't forget a pair of Depends. I was so excited on the drive home that...well, never mind.
Click to expand...
We so did this in high sch...I mean college. Go to the beach with a cooler, pair of depends, and an empty cup to put ice in. Let ice melt use it to cool yourself off.
 
My dealer didn't include anything.  He tried to put the hard sell on me at delivery for RingFree Plus, ropes, tie downs and life preservers.  I was ahead of him--bringing my own.

But what really made me mad was their putting a cheap no name trolling motor battery in the boat--and only 5 gallons of gasoliine.  Any boat dealer should include a full tank of gas--like new car dealers do.
 
I'm getting billed for the tank of gas, it was on the sales contract.
 
bcpnick said:
My dealer did not include straps for the trailer. He tried to tell me they aren't really important. Haha! I tried some cheap ones last year that I forgot to take off when I launched. They did not survive. I replaced them with some Boat Buckles which seem pretty nice. The 2' size was just big enough for my boat and trailer. 

I'd add a good first aid kit to your list. We got this one.
Click to expand...
The "Boat Buckles" are what the dealer included with the trailer.  GreatDane I believe you used miller, so you should get the same. 

Nick, there were a couple complaints on the first aide case.  Really cheap case and expired product.  I assume that is not your experience?  Seems like a great kit.
 
I haven't noticed anything expired, but I haven't looked very hard. The case is fine. It's just plastic but it seems plenty sturdy to me.
 
Mine was topped off with 32 gallons of 89 octane. No "extra" charge.
 
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