First time boat owner

[HoLeChit]

So I’ve been selling some guns and stuff, was gonna build a fancy custom switch barrel rifle. Decided a boat and a cheap rifle would be a lot more fun for now. So I found a pretty sweet deal on one, should be picking it up tomorrow.

I’ve never owned a boat, and have actually only fished out of a boat a dozen times. A proper fishing boat twice. So pretty clueless. I understand the ideas of launching, getting the boat up on plane, don’t run over stumps or rocks, and getting the boat back on the trailer, but otherwise, I’m a little clueless. Any advice/pointers? Drive the boat around til I find somewhere worth fishing/see something on the fish finder and get after it? Anything I should want to consider buying for the boat? Items that have made life easy? Lessons I could learn from other’s experiences before I screw up myself?

I’m really excited about this. Have dreamed of having a fishing boat for as long as I can remember. I live 4 miles from Arcadia, figure that would be my first stop. Probably try to hit metro area lakes first to get my feet wet.

 

[makeithappen]

Congrats! Where to start... make sure you have life jackets, a whistle, functional navigation lights, a fire extinguisher and a whistle. Verify you have a bilge pump that works (auto float to turn on is a nice piece of mind). City lakes require annual permits for the boat, like a fishing license. An oar is a handy add on. A noco genius onboard battery charger is really handy. Always keep an extra plug and insert it from the outside, removing after being in the water. Take it slow and easy. Get comfortable and don't go full speed into areas you aren't familiar with.

 

[FrankNmac]

So I’ve been selling some guns and stuff, was gonna build a fancy custom switch barrel rifle. Decided a boat and a cheap rifle would be a lot more fun for now. So I found a pretty sweet deal on one, should be picking it up tomorrow.

I’ve never owned a boat, and have actually only fished out of a boat a dozen times. A proper fishing boat twice. So pretty clueless. I understand the ideas of launching, getting the boat up on plane, don’t run over stumps or rocks, and getting the boat back on the trailer, but otherwise, I’m a little clueless. Any advice/pointers? Drive the boat around til I find somewhere worth fishing/see something on the fish finder and get after it? Anything I should want to consider buying for the boat? Items that have made life easy? Lessons I could learn from other’s experiences before I screw up myself?

I’m really excited about this. Have dreamed of having a fishing boat for as long as I can remember. I live 4 miles from Arcadia, figure that would be my first stop. Probably try to hit metro area lakes first to get my feet wet.

I am not sure buying this boat was a good decision! I have seen so many OSA members posting about losing all of their guns in a boating incident that I would be concerned about that happening with this boat.

 

[turkeyrun]

Break
Out
Another
Thousand$$$$


Fishing from a boat is not different than fishing from bank. No the water, structure, points, humps, creeks. A boat gives you more access and mobility to reach areas.

 

[HoLeChit]

Congrats! Where to start... make sure you have life jackets, a whistle, functional navigation lights, a fire extinguisher and a whistle. Verify you have a bilge pump that works (auto float to turn on is a nice piece of mind). City lakes require annual permits for the boat, like a fishing license. An oar is a handy add on. A noco genius onboard battery charger is really handy. Always keep an extra plug and insert it from the outside, removing after being in the water. Take it slow and easy. Get comfortable and don't go full speed into areas you aren't familiar with.

I have all the basics, picked them up when I bought my canoe. With it being a 15’ Jon boat I don’t know that a bilge pump is necessary?

I def need to renew my city fishing permits, forgot about those.

 

[makeithappen]

I have all the basics, picked them up when I bought my canoe. With it being a 15’ Jon boat I don’t know that a bilge pump is necessary?

I def need to renew my city fishing permits, forgot about those.

I would highly recommend one as almost a required piece of safety equipment. You'd be surprised how much water can enter a jon boat just when fishing, under power or simply due to wind.

 

[dennishoddy]

I have all the basics, picked them up when I bought my canoe. With it being a 15’ Jon boat I don’t know that a bilge pump is necessary?

I def need to renew my city fishing permits, forgot about those.

I had three friends die by drowning/hypothermia while duck hunting on Kaw Lake using a Jon boat when high winds hit and flooded their boat.
Participated in the recovery effort for country singer Craig Strickland when he died on Kaw lake while duck hunting in a Jon boat.
Participated in the shore search via our ATV club when two dentists from Tulsa died on Kaw Lake while duck hunting in a Jon boat.
The final analysis is that duck hunting is deadly, or Jon boats are extremely dangerous because they are designed for creeks and rivers, not open water.
Be cautious. In cold water, you have about 30 seconds before losing the ability to pull yourself out of the water. If you do pull yourself out, hypothermia will likely kill you if you don't have dry clothes to change into.
Boating kills thousands of people a year, be aware of the limitations of your personal watercraft.
If you do go out in cold weather and high winds, be sure to wear one of the self inflation life jackets so the rescue people can find you before the turtles get their fill.
If not, it will be a month or two before the water warms enough to generate internal gasses that will make a carcass rise to the surface.
You might be able to see that I'm not a fan of Jon boats on Arcadia or any open water.

 

[TinkerTanker]

I'm with Dennis on this one. Jon boats are dangerous. Make sure to watch weather reports, look out for big water (waves), jet fleas (idiots), and party boats (also idiots). They'll all try to kill you if they get the chance. I've had one drunk bastard drive on the wrong side and drive our 20' boat up by the bank one time, then because they were cruising fast by the bank the waves almost swamped us. This was in a fiberglass skeeter, with their most stable hull design ever built. If we were in anything else I'm sure we would have got a mouth full of water.

Those big party boats can swamp you if they're 200 feet away. It takes a while for the wave to get to you so don't just look at them go by and think you're in the clear.

They can be enjoyable, but be ultra aware of everything going on around you, and the boat's limitations.

Oh, and snakes. they'll flat crawl up in the boat with you. Stay strapped or get clapped!

 

[Oklahomabassin]

The boat ramp or the area directly in front of the boat ramp is not the area to prep boat/fishing equipment or make sandwiches. Park out of the way to do this. If on a multiple lane ramp during low light or dark, it is polite to turn off head lights and use the park lights so it doesn't blind someone trying to back down the ramp in a lane next to you.

As far as plug, I am the exact opposite. I park the boat inside, so I am don't have to worry about the boat filling up with rain. The plug stays in unless I am washing the boat. I have an auto bilge pump as well as a back up. No worries about a lost plug or not putting the plug in.

You will find several ignorant suns of b's that stop on the ramp to prep boat and for people to get in and other bullchit. Don't be that guy.

 

[Snattlerake]

All I have heard about boats are the two best days of boat ownership
The day you buy it.
The day you sell it.

I'm a landlubber.