What to Expect in Your First Year of Owning a Boat
Are you curious about boat ownership and wondering what to anticipate? Are you wondering what to expect in your first year of owning a boat? Because these are questions we hear hundreds of times a year at L&M Marine and Day Break Marina, we wanted to share what we’ve observed from so many customers over the years so you can be prepared for everything to come during your first year of boat ownership.
What Maintenance You Can Expect in the First Year of Owning a Boat
When it comes to buying a boat, everyone envisions what they could do with it or the memories they could make whether they like to fish or hang out at Fort McRae, and that’s exactly what you can expect to experience during the first year you own a boat. A major part of owning a boat is maintenance and there are certain maintenance tasks that you should be doing routinely.
Some people are more meticulous than others as far as maintenance when they get back to the ramp or get home. The better upkeep, the more maintenance you perform (such as rinsing, flushing, and cleaning) when you take your boat out of the water is extremely important and reduces the risk of running into more problems in the future.
Here’s some of the maintenance you can expect to do in your first year of owning a boat:
You could potentially have to replace pumps, switches, and fuses during the first year of ownership.
Sometimes it may be as simple as a wire pops off the back of a switch in a heavy swell, and all that’s needed to fix it is to pop the wire back on or change the connection.
You may have to replace your pumps as it doesn’t take a lot to clog and lock a pump up from things like trash or sand, ultimately it all depends on how much you use the boat.
You’ll need to do an oil change and service - including checking connections and pumps
You may have to replace portions of your Sea Deck, which depends on several factors such as the brand, age, and condition the boat is maintained.
We’re happy to do this for you, it’s tedious to do yourself since getting the old glue off is critical.
People often have a misunderstanding about boats and may say “my boat was only in 3-4 foot seas and now it’s having issues and I don’t understand why.” It’s the equivalent of driving over 12 railroad tracks back to back, you’re probably going to knock something loose or encounter an issue after doing so.
You only get out what you put into and the more you maintain, the longer your boat will last. We recommend keeping all boat records on hand as this will help you resell it, plus it’s easier to keep track of the work you’ve done to your boat and what needs to be done.
How the Hours Logged on Your Engine Affect Maintenance
How hard are you using your boat and how many hours you log on your engine affects how often you’ll perform maintenance. Most people average 50 hours logged on the engine per year, anything above or close to 100 hours logged in a year means the owner is clearly an avid boat user.
Typical Maintenance Schedule:
When you buy a new engine, you’ll have your initial 20-hour break in service, beyond that this is a recommended maintenance schedule
If you log under 50 hours, replacing fluids (such as your oil) is recommended
If you log above or close to 100 hours, (which is considered a major service) replacing things like your spark plugs and water pump is recommended
Whether you log 50 hours in the first year or not, a standard service (much like the initial break in service) is always recommended.
Don’t Freak Out - But Something Will Probably Break
Something is likely to break in your first year of owning a boat - and that’s normal, so don’t freak out. Just keep in mind for the most part, the manufacturer's warranty will cover any issues you encounter with your boat for the first year or longer depending on the manufacturer.
Sometimes the issue is easier to take care of yourself, depending on what it is, for example: if your breaker won’t reset or you need to replace a battery terminal. This is more than likely covered under your manufacturer warranty but you could do it yourself in just a matter of seconds. It just depends on your skill level and your willingness to service your own boat.
You can expect to encounter some sort of failure during your first year of owning a boat. Whether it’s a blown fuse or a bad bilge pump, scratching the boat pulling up to the sandbar, denting the boat while docking it - these are just inevitable.
Your First Year of Boat Ownership Will Involve Lots of Trial and Error
The first year of boat ownership is made up of you learning the capabilities of your boat including:
How shallow you can take it
What not to do and what to do
We recommend not taking your boat into unfit seas that you’ve never been in - just because you have a 22’ boat doesn’t mean it’s meant for all weather. Sometimes people take boats to their absolute limit without knowing what their boat is capable of - every boat has a limit, if you get white knuckles while riding, the conditions aren’t right.
We recommend the first time you take your boat out, don’t take it out 85 miles offshore. Run it in Pensacola Bay versus offshore, go for the short distance, versus a long distance.
Optimal cruising speed
You’ll find out your optimal cruising speed during your first year of boat ownership, which can be different on any boat.
This is the speed where your engine gets the most fuel efficiency. And your boat is the most efficient.
Whether you have twins or a single engine, every boat has an optimal speed where you reach optimal range and performance. (You can go slower or faster, t but the faster you go, the steeper the fuel bill.)
Fuel Range
Depending on how you drive your boat, will determine the fuel range. In the first year of ownership, you should get a better feel for this.
We recommend planning your outings by saving one-third of your fuel for the trip there, one-third for the way back, and a third for reserve
The boat’s size
Everyone has a problem parking a new car and it’s the same way with a new boat. It just takes time to get an overall feel for exactly how big your boat is.
How it rides
You’ll get a good feel for optimal conditions for your boat and what your boat can comfortably handle as well as what conditions you prefer to ride in versus what you don’t.
How it handles
You can expect to get a feel for how your boat handles in the current,, how it performs, how using the trim tabs and jack plate affects your ride.,
How it runs when you’re on the way to go fishing and you’ve got a lighter load, but then you come back with snapper and blackfin tuna, this could potentially make your boat 600-700 pounds heavier.
In your first year of ownership, you can expect to learn the limits of your boat, which is something that comes with time.
Fishability + more
The more you fish in your boat, the more you’ll understand what works for you and what doesn’t, you’ll learn things like how the boat drifts and what it takes to get in the spot you’d like.
How to launch your boat
You’ll learn how to launch your boat, Including how much water it takes to launch and how much it takes to recover your boat
Summary
The first year of boat ownership is spent getting to know your boat, and if you do encounter a problem (which you likely will), we’ll gladly service your boat for you. Although you don’t have to know how to do the repairs yourself, we do recommend having a basic understanding of your boat.
Feel free to call us with any questions you have about your boat, (L&M Marine: (251) 937-1380 + Day Break Marina: (850) 434-9022) set a service appointment, and take a look at our inventory in person and online here.
We’ve got your back as your local dealership - we pride ourselves on our great relationship with manufacturers and although things may not be covered under warranty, we’re happy to reach out to manufacturers to see everything we can get covered.