My first boat - goals!-gctid813014

[JPsBay]

Afternoon everyone. Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati Area member here. Beautiful day to take my boat out but have to wait until mid week to complete tags on the boat, so figured I would share my first boat. I was able to get this 03' 175 br for 3K in "good" condition. Issues with the boat were mainly a poor cover on the boat causing for some moldy seats. Few hundred dollars in and some elbow grease, I am overall happy with the deal I got.

What I have done with the boat in prep of taking her out next weekend:

Seats redone Ô£ö

Wax job Ô£ö

minor Interior upgrades Ô£ö

Tint Ô£ö

Trailer bearings greased Ô£ö

New volt and fuel gauges Ô£ö

New battery Ô£ö

Oil change Ô£ö

New Solas Amita 4 prop, hub kit, offset trim tab anode, & greasing of shaft Ô£ö

Engine test and flushed from winterized Ô£ö Running like a dream and performed on par with compression test.

Trailer Spare Tire and Mount X

Install Trim Tabs 40lbs

Looking forward to my first launch and retrieve (14' jeep Cherokee v6 with stage 3 tow kit @ #4500 capacity, new yoko tires, front and rear slotted rotors installed). Curious of how well the Jeep performs on FWD with low grade concreate ramp (waterway with little/no current). It's father's day so should be smooth sailing, right?


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[Nickdixon]

Nice! Looks like you got a good deal. Your Jeep will be fine on the ramp. Ohio River?

[JPsBay]

Thanks Nickdixon! Yea, first run will be on the ohio, but will be putting it in at one of the marinas that's not directly on the ohio, but connecting creek/river so I don't have the stronger current.

Will be mostly used on some of the local lakes around here (Brookeville, willamstown, etc...) that are all within 2 hours of towing.

Cant lie that I am nervous of spinning out during retrieval time and being that "guy" on the ramp.

[Nickdixon]

You have 4 wheel drive and tread on the tires? Should not be a problem. But I get the anxiety! Just keep a drive wheel or two out of the slime. And be careful wading in it. It's slick as owl s***.

I've done a few ramps that are directly on the Ohio. The problem with the current is getting the boat lined up with the trailer when onloading. My biggest dings have come from those attempts. But, yes, I prefer a smaller river ramp.

Keep us posted.

[Daz303]

Can I ask what you used on the seats.

[alanmoor]

Sounds like you are familiar enough the local boating to know this, but I'll put in my two cents worth - if I were in your area I'd be going to Cumberland Lake all the time - it's probably a little over a 2 hour drive for you. Conley Bottom has a great ramp. It's really wide, not very steep, and there is adequate parking (even during Memorial/Labor day) on the ramp. I'd stay away from Burnside even though it's closer. The Burnside staff is great, but the ramp is crowded, narrow, and steep (I think it is free though). When we were there a few weeks ago Burnside's marina was filled with floatsam and that whole end of the river was a mess. Conley was better but it got much better as you headed further down river.

You are probably also familiar with Madison - it's a bit of a cruise (80+ miles from Cinci) but you could put in a lot closer. The ramp there is great too. It's a neat touristy town and there's a decent cafe right on the water with (limited) dock space.

[JPsBay]

"Daz303" post=813190 wrote:
Can I ask what you used on the seats.

I did not remove and redo the Vinyl with overall cost of this boat. I didn't want to spend 1-2K on a redoing them all from scratch, so used an Vinyl/Fabric Spray that you can get at most Auto Stores, Wal-Mart, etc...I personally went with the Rustoleum Vinyl Spray. Took about 3 coats to cover. All seats in boat I would say took 6 (all seats didn't look as bad as below, but did them to match). Reviews from boaters using this stuff tend to get a few solid years out of the product before it fades, not bad for $40 job & some time. The material honestly acts like new Vinyl from a flexibility standpoint, look, etc... I'll update a post after the boating season on review of how it holds up fully.


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[JPsBay]

"alanmoor" post=813200 wrote:
Sounds like you are familiar enough the local boating to know this, but I'll put in my two cents worth - if I were in your area I'd be going to Cumberland Lake all the time - it's probably a little over a 2 hour drive for you. Conley Bottom has a great ramp. It's really wide, not very steep, and there is adequate parking (even during Memorial/Labor day) on the ramp. I'd stay away from Burnside even though it's closer. The Burnside staff is great, but the ramp is crowded, narrow, and steep (I think it is free though). When we were there a few weeks ago Burnside's marina was filled with floatsam and that whole end of the river was a mess. Conley was better but it got much better as you headed further down river.

You are probably also familiar with Madison - it's a bit of a cruise (80+ miles from Cinci) but you could put in a lot closer. The ramp there is great too. It's a neat touristy town and there's a decent cafe right on the water with (limited) dock space.

Thanks alanmoor! Cumberland is 3 hours from my house and will definitely be making the trip down for a longer weekend. This boat is definitely going to be better for a lake, rather than the Ohio River. River being only 15 minutes from the house makes for an easy day trip. Haven't heard of Madison, I'll be checking that out now.