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Yarbr

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Cajun

Cajun 11776

Posted
Posted (edited)

Beautiful Nautique.

Lake Austin -  I've put in at Walsh Landing (ramps down near Hula Hut in Tarrytown), the bridge, and Mary Quinlan up near Steiner Ranch.  Of the three, I like MQ the best b/c it is small, not well known, and not the goat rodeo of amateurs like at the first two I mentioned.  Downside is that it's small.  There's not a lot of parking, so I would always go early, like 10am or even before that.  It's calm, and there's a little dock to tie up to if you need that.  Just remember this, that place is only a couple of miles from Mansfield Dam so if you get the inclination to jump in, prepare for your balls to end up in your diaphram for awhile until you thaw out.  

I always considered it cheap Cryo Therapy.

From there it's a nice little 12 minute or so ride down to Commons Ford park, which is where shit like this happens...

 

Edited by Cajun
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justhookit
justhookit

Offer accepted yesterday, surveys scheduled over the next few weeks. If all checks out this is the new PortAfino in about a month.

Sbbruin
Sbbruin

First time laying my eyes on her since October 29th. Glad she's still floating

justhookit
justhookit

Just got back from a short trip to Costa Rica to check out the boat and do a sea trial. 32 knot cruise and top end at 41. Surveys are complete and it passed with flying colors. Discovered a hidden bar

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utee94

utee94 16081

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^^^^^^^

 

Other benefit to Quinlan is that no matter the time of day, that's the smoothest water, because it's the furthest from 360 and Walsh Landing.

If you're going to be on the water on a weekend day, the earlier the better, no matter which lake.

If you can go out on a weekday, this late in the season, you're going to have a lot of room to yourself.

 

 

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troph

troph 25223

Posted
Posted (edited)

That’s a really good point about that part of LA.

but I’d say sun down is the magical hour on lake Travis and ranks it up there with just about anywhere imo (but I’m super biased about LT) in any event consider later may better.

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Cajun

Cajun 11776

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Yep, early or late are the best times.  Said before and I'll say it again - it blows me away how many people arrive too late and leave too early to really squeeze out the sweetest nectar of lake/boat life.

I used to take my gf out w/all her Circle C mom Lifetime exercise of the month partners and she'd always wanna be off by 5 or 6pm.  I would stay and she thought I was weird spending all that time alone out on the boat.  I'd drag in at 10pm or after sometimes and she'd give the the, "Well, did you have a good time all by yourself out there again?"

Then one time, after she had a few more glasses of wine than normal she decided to stay out after I dropped all her pals off at the bridge.  The wind died, the water calmed, and the sunset was absolutely stunning.  I tied up at Commons Ford and we watched the fireflies do their thing while listening to Yacht Rock and eating a brisket I had smoked a day before.  

She said, simply, "Ok, I get it".  The "it" being my staying out there late all the time.

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Cajun

Cajun 11776

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Posted (edited)

And a big YES to Mary Quinlan being nice and calm, especially early in the morning.  There's just so much less boat traffic up there.  Launching and pulling off the water at MQ dials down the Stress'O'Meter by about 70% over Walsh or the bridge, and that's being conservative.

The other thing I like about MQ is that if it is crazy crowded (it happens) and LA just looks a bit too much like a washing machine, I can turn her right around and be on Lake Travis in 15 minutes.

Choices.

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blacklab

blacklab 12064

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Posted

My hood has it's own ramp so I can't answer the question about where to put in. Weekday mornings should be fine at any of them.

I'm biased but based on my time on Travis and Austin Austin is the better lake for boarding/surfing. The best two things about Austin are you can go the same direction for miles and if the wind isn't blowing too much it turns to glass. As long as you stay around Common Ford and points west you shouldn't run into many other boats. From common ford to the bridge is hit or miss, you can have some spots to yourself but it does get crowded around Long Park. From the bridge to Hula Hut is a big mess with lots of boats and choppy water due to nothing to break the wind and a lot of concrete on both sides of the lake.

We typically swim at bull creek or at a rope swing across from the Steiner ranch boat ramp.

 

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troph

troph 25223

Posted
Posted (edited)
40 minutes ago, Cajun said:

LA is definitely the better wake surfing lake vs Travis, ceteris paribus.

All true it’s a narrow run for miles. But get out west of lago vista and you have the same. 
 

LT over all though, wider spaces, and better sunsets are all Travis.  The guy is coming from round rock so in town isn’t as convenient as 620. As a canyon lake after dark guy you gotta know that’s lake Travis too.  And if you want narrower and less boats just get west of Briarcliff and it’s there.  Early mornings and evening (7pm or later) can be glass anywhere west of rough hollow. 
 

and I’ll stack this up against most every lake in Texas including lake Austin and probs win (canyon is pretty special too). LT is that good when you boat it the way it was intended. 
 

 

0C246305-4B69-4359-A41C-0581DF6F3105.jpeg

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Cajun

Cajun 11776

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Posted

Oh, I wasn't trying to bag on Travis.  For sunsets, sunrises, beauty in the distance, all that it's gonna be Travis hands down.  And eventhough I know Travis fairly well, I do not know all the sweet spots for surfing - the little nooks and crannies.  I've found spots at Canyon where even when most of the lake is stirred up, I can find surfable water.

And if I could only get my surfing peeps to get there before 10am on weekends I could put 'em on this every time...

Image_2-22-21_at_7.58_PM.jpg

 

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troph

troph 25223

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, Cajun said:

Oh, I wasn't trying to bag on Travis.  For sunsets, sunrises, beauty in the distance, all that it's gonna be Travis hands down.  And eventhough I know Travis fairly well, I do not know all the sweet spots for surfing - the little nooks and crannies.  I've found spots at Canyon where even when most of the lake is stirred up, I can find surfable water.

And if I could only get my surfing peeps to get there before 10am on weekends I could put 'em on this every time...

Image_2-22-21_at_7.58_PM.jpg

 

Travis has that too, most early mornings. 8-10am is just glass. I don’t need glass so 7pm-9pm works for me.  And the best surf spots are west I believe so it’s not workable for central Austin boaters. 

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utee94

utee94 16081

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Posted
16 hours ago, troph said:

That’s a really good point about that part of LA.

but I’d say sun down is the magical hour on lake Travis and ranks it up there with just about anywhere imo (but I’m super biased about LT) in any event consider later may better.

Sun down is great but as I recall you keep your boat on the water-- it's a different story if you're trailering.  You're a lot more likely to run into long lines to put in, if you're doing it from mid-morning on.  Those lines don't exist early.  Typically we just stay out from 8 AM to 10 PM and avoid all lines, regardless.

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blacklab

blacklab 12064

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Yeah, my problem is it's a pretty big pain in the ass to get the boat in the trailer and park the trailer at the house in the dark. 

Not usually a line at the park but last week a dude backed his trailer in, then got on his boat, and spent the next 10 minutes cleaning it up, lowering the canopy and doing other shit. Two of us were waiting to get our boats out and were just looking at each other going "WTF is he doing". When he finally got his boat going to get on the trailer he kept aborting and circling around if there was more than a one foot wave. It was over 20 minutes from the time I parked my boat till I got my trailer in the water.

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utee94

utee94 16081

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Posted
42 minutes ago, blacklab said:

Yeah, my problem is it's a pretty big pain in the ass to get the boat in the trailer and park the trailer at the house in the dark. 

Not usually a line at the park but last week a dude backed his trailer in, then got on his boat, and spent the next 10 minutes cleaning it up, lowering the canopy and doing other shit. Two of us were waiting to get our boats out and were just looking at each other going "WTF is he doing". When he finally got his boat going to get on the trailer he kept aborting and circling around if there was more than a one foot wave. It was over 20 minutes from the time I parked my boat till I got my trailer in the water.

i can't stand when people do their rigging or de-rigging in the slip.  That's a buncha  bulljive.

 

 

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Cajun

Cajun 11776

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Posted
2 hours ago, utee94 said:

Sun down is great but as I recall you keep your boat on the water-- it's a different story if you're trailering.  You're a lot more likely to run into long lines to put in, if you're doing it from mid-morning on.  Those lines don't exist early.  Typically we just stay out from 8 AM to 10 PM and avoid all lines, regardless.

Yes!!!  This guy gets it.

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Cajun

Cajun 11776

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Posted
1 hour ago, blacklab said:

Yeah, my problem is it's a pretty big pain in the ass to get the boat in the trailer and park the trailer at the house in the dark. 

Not usually a line at the park but last week a dude backed his trailer in, then got on his boat, and spent the next 10 minutes cleaning it up, lowering the canopy and doing other shit. Two of us were waiting to get our boats out and were just looking at each other going "WTF is he doing". When he finally got his boat going to get on the trailer he kept aborting and circling around if there was more than a one foot wave. It was over 20 minutes from the time I parked my boat till I got my trailer in the water.

Welcome to Lake Austin, home of the ATX “It’s all about me!” aquatic douchbag.

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Brew

Brew 3049

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Not too much, change the oil annually, winterize if needed, change the impeller every other year, plugs and trans fluid every couple of years, etc. $500-$1000 annually at most for routine type maintenance. Anything from that year range is pretty easy to work on with pretty basic systems.

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CHIEF

CHIEF 5225

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, blacklab said:

About how much should I expect an annual maintenance on a 2007 malibu be? $25k? $10k, $1k, $500?
I'm assuming the impeller replacement and oil change is the main part of it, what else do they typically do?

At that age, you will want to have your V-drive looked at every 300 hours or so. Best design built (Walther), but they occasionally go out. CHIEF Jr. is typically $800 on the water, serviced in your slip. Should be cheaper if it's on a trailer.

CHIEF

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Incredulity

Incredulity 11876

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I have been doing mine for the last 10 years or so.

When I had the dealer do it annual was about $300.  That was oil, filter, gas filter, tranny fluid, vdrive fluid.  They didn't pull impeller.

 

I got sick of hauling it down there and back so I just started doing myself.  

Worst thing doing yourself is impeller on a v-drive.  Spray that fucker with a 50/50 mix of Dawn and Water, bump starter and it will pull right out with visegrips.  I made the mistake of pulling it out without lubing one year and that was a bitch.

 

 

 

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BillyGoatHill

BillyGoatHill 4420

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 7/31/2021 at 12:12 PM, blacklab said:

Couple weeks ago we were out and 12yo son asks if we can pick up some friends.  I say sure and he directs me to a 7000 sq foot house on lake austin where we pick up 2 14yo girls from the doc. A few minutes later he asks if we can go to the park and pick up 3 others. I say sure and we head to the park to pick up 3 more 14/15yo girls. 
The little fucker has a whole harem of 14/15 year old girls he hangs out with. 

Soooooo, gonna be some interesting times ahead huh? Say, about 5 or 6 years from now when he is late in high school/early college? Unless of course you just let him borrow the boat without you. 

We had a place in Seguin on the Guadalupe (last small lake before Gonzalez) when my daughter was at TxSt.

"Hey Dad, OK if some of my roommates/girlfriends come hang out at the lake this weekend?"  ....."Oh, I guess so honey."

James Garner Movie GIF

Edited by BillyGoatHill
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Sbbruin

Sbbruin 22142

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Never posted from our trip to Cat 2 weeks ago. Mostly because a) the spot we were at had zero cell signal, and b) we were hammered much of the time. Came down today for the first time since. Normally I am pretty anal about cleaning thoroughly when returning, but after 3 nights of partying and a late arrival back to the dock, it was pretty half assed. Spent much of today paying the price and cleaning stem to stern. Great trip tho.
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e74ec7e9007e30b759736c87b7f20e88.jpg

But now relaxing. Have some Japanese curry I'm gonna make tonight.
23c1d56784992b09a8fc241006d113cf.jpg

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fattyflattie

fattyflattie 4640

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Posted
44 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

Oh and I ordered a new PFD from Defender as the one I have is about 17 years old. I wear it religiously when sailing solo.  Open it up and didn’t realize I ordered a hot pink one.  FML.

To be honest, that might be better. Navy blue not your friend if your the one being searched for.  All aux fuel tanks etc I buy are white, white coolers, etc.  You never know. 

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blacklab

blacklab 12064

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Posted

A big fuck you to Austin boats and motors.

Dropped of the boat last Tuesday, they said it should be a day or two. Call me thursday to say it should be ready Monday. Call today and they tell me someone had covid in the shop so they didn't get to work on it and will start on it tomorrow. Ask him wouldn't it have made sense to let me know so I could have picked up the boat and used it over the weekend and yesterday and today? Dipshit says yeah I guess we should have.

Tomorrow is the first day of school so I was hoping to get out yesterday and today. Never going back there.

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bigshark88

bigshark88 388

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I've been punched in the dick so many times this year by both my boats/trailers/trolling motors.  Had a "come to Jesus" moment last Saturday AM at the ramp when the steering knuckle broke on my 250 Yamaha SHO.  Spent all this week seriously contemplating making some major divestment.  

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troph

troph 25223

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Posted (edited)

No where near the best sunset but one of my fav spots on LT near the mature Italian cypresses in briar cliff, not sure owns the ranch on the hilltop but it’s one of my fav spots to cruise by during the day.  Out here there’s almost no one, it’s lovely.

 

 

24E106BD-E69B-46E5-8172-B1DDFEC16890.jpeg

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fattyflattie

fattyflattie 4640

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4 hours ago, bigshark88 said:

I've been punched in the dick so many times this year by both my boats/trailers/trolling motors.  Had a "come to Jesus" moment last Saturday AM at the ramp when the steering knuckle broke on my 250 Yamaha SHO.  Spent all this week seriously contemplating making some major divestment.  

I got you fam. 

https://www.mercuryracing.com/engines/r-series/450r.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwpf2IBhDkARIsAGVo0D3_1h3rFsFYlavX0Ttr0bt_ZGMOBjMhgEFpoUhiYoxp2c4QaW4ydGUaAhpNEALw_wcB

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blacklab

blacklab 12064

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Had my first near collisions today.

We were leaving Hula Hut going 3mph when kid asked if the bumper was still on the driver side. We were headed to the middle of the lake with no boats between us and the end of the no wake zone so I stood up and took it off. Look up and we were heading strait for the big ass paddle boat. Throw it in reverse as quick as I can and boat stops and starts backing up about 1 inch before we were going to hit. I guess I nudged the steering wheel when I stood up or leaned over. Two 12 year old idiots in the front of the boat were too busy with their phones to notice we were going to hit anything.

Second one happened while pulling my kid wakeboarding. Boat coming from the opposite direction pulling a tube decided to do a donut and pulled right in front of us. If I don't stop I would have gone over their rope and/or hit the tube. He goes ahead and does two full donuts and heads off. Nice situation awareness dumbass. I don't do donuts with a tube unless I got around a half mile in each direction. This idiot did this with at least 6 boats within a couple of hundred yards. Built up some big ass waves too. Fucker.

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