The Boat Fanatic Thread

[wd40 1,976]

been probably 10 years, but I finally got to take my Force 5 out, yesterday.  Buchanan.  nice sandy beach at the back of a cove to rig up and launch from, but tight, with the wind blowing straight off the shore.  nice shakedown, and the hull was bone dry when I got it back up on the trailer, which was nice (fixed a leak during the hiatus).

anyone know of any ramps/parks on LT that have similar terrain?  Windy Point is closed, last I checked, and I assume most of the other county parks are, as well.  there's a public ramp further up LB, but it's on a small, rocky cove, iirc.  geared more toward motorboats.

[Pescado_Rojo 19,426]

On 7/9/2020 at 8:10 AM, wd40 said:

been probably 10 years, but I finally got to take my Force 5 out, yesterday.  Buchanan.  nice sandy beach at the back of a cove to rig up and launch from, but tight, with the wind blowing straight off the shore.  nice shakedown, and the hull was bone dry when I got it back up on the trailer, which was nice (fixed a leak during the hiatus).

anyone know of any ramps/parks on LT that have similar terrain?  Windy Point is closed, last I checked, and I assume most of the other county parks are, as well.  there's a public ramp further up LB, but it's on a small, rocky cove, iirc.  geared more toward motorboats.

You're probably thinking of the launch at Black Rock Park, I'm guessing. There's an unofficial launching spot off the side of the road on the road to Shaw Island. Kind of a natural drop off that's not too steep. I launch my skiff there any time I go out on Buchanan. If you're headed to Shaw Island, it's on the left and you'll probably see some trailers parked either on the sandy flat, or along the road. Also, the Edgewater RV park has a couple ramps that are usually pretty quiet. 

[wd40 1,976]

interesting.  those spots are totally on the other side of the lake from where I was.  the ramp I'm talking about is on 2341, well upriver from Spider Mountain.  lake's relatively narrow up there with a lot of submerged brush and whatnot, although looking at it again, the little cove it's on, facing SW, would put me in the main lake much quicker.  

I'll have to take a look at those spots you mentioned.  Thanks.

[HOOKEM4 5,039]

On 7/9/2020 at 8:10 AM, wd40 said:

been probably 10 years, but I finally got to take my Force 5 out, yesterday.  Buchanan.  nice sandy beach at the back of a cove to rig up and launch from, but tight, with the wind blowing straight off the shore.  nice shakedown, and the hull was bone dry when I got it back up on the trailer, which was nice (fixed a leak during the hiatus).

anyone know of any ramps/parks on LT that have similar terrain?  Windy Point is closed, last I checked, and I assume most of the other county parks are, as well.  there's a public ramp further up LB, but it's on a small, rocky cove, iirc.  geared more toward motorboats.

PM me if you ever want to go out on Travis. I have access to two private ramps and some beach areas you can launch from. I would help a fellow sailor out. No stinkpots though.

[CycleTex87 2,977]

I got a little windsurfing done this week. Bird Island Basin in the Padre Island National Seashore Park. Great wind, been 6-8 years since I went out.

[wd40 1,976]

no stinkpots at all.

I learned most of what I know about sailing, windsurfing at Bird Island.  the rest I learned hanging out in the trapeze of an old Hobiecat 16 on LT, a buddy bought for $500.  but all that goes waaay back.  pre-oughts.  

speed on the water like that is addictive.

[CycleTex87 2,977]

Yep - I started windsurfing on Lake Travis at Windy Point in the mid ‘80’s.  

[Landomatic 3,813]

Learn me on a slip with or without a lift.  Is the lift really necessary?  Lift costs about $350 extra per month.  Paint the bottom work just as good?  Which is easier to fuck with?  Never had a slip before and I’m torn which way to go on it.  Boat is a Regal 28’ express cruiser - dry weight about 7,600.  TIA...

[Brew 3,049]

Salt or fresh? If fresh, what lake? How often do you think you will take it out?

[HOOKEM4 5,039]

1 hour ago, Landomatic said:

Learn me on a slip with or without a lift.  Is the lift really necessary?  Lift costs about $350 extra per month.  Paint the bottom work just as good?  Which is easier to fuck with?  Never had a slip before and I’m torn which way to go on it.  Boat is a Regal 28’ express cruiser - dry weight about 7,600.  TIA...

Zebra mussels or nah? 

[Landomatic 3,813]

1 hour ago, Brew said:

Salt or fresh? If fresh, what lake? How often do you think you will take it out?

Fresh...lake Lewisville in Dallas.  Probably once a week or so.  Might even go stay on it for a couple days at a time a few times a month.

[crash_davis 23,114]

2 hours ago, Landomatic said:

Learn me on a slip with or without a lift.  Is the lift really necessary?  Lift costs about $350 extra per month.  Paint the bottom work just as good?  Which is easier to fuck with?  Never had a slip before and I’m torn which way to go on it.  Boat is a Regal 28’ express cruiser - dry weight about 7,600.  TIA...

 

54 minutes ago, HOOKEM4 said:

Zebra mussels or nah? 

This. Where is your boat? I would not want my boat sitting for long periods of time in zebra mussel water.

Used lifts get sold very quickly. If you can find one used, it'll prob be $5-9K depending on condition plus another $1k for someone to move and hook it up to your slip. New ones will prob run 10-12k? Do the math on how long you'll have the boat/slip.

I have a lift. I fucking love my lift. Fuck sitting my boat in the water. Fuck trailering the boat.

[HOOKEM4 5,039]

27 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

 

This. Where is your boat? I would not want my boat sitting for long periods of time in zebra mussel water.

Used lifts get sold very quickly. If you can find one used, it'll prob be $5-9K depending on condition plus another $1k for someone to move and hook it up to your slip. New ones will prob run 10-12k? Do the math on how long you'll have the boat/slip.

I have a lift. I fucking love my lift. Fuck sitting my boat in the water. Fuck trailering the boat.

I keep our 30' sailboat on a lift and would never keep anything in the water. The cost alone for a bottom job just ain't worth not keeping her out of the water. I have to paint the tip of the keel every few years. Just the tip...

Edited July 12, 2020 by HOOKEM4

[HOOKEM4 5,039]

For reference, 4 years ago I payed 6500 for a used hoist. It is rated to some absurd weight but the boat weight is around 6k lbs or so. I did install it myself with the help of our dock guy who is a close friend. So maybe 8k you can get one done today I would bet.

Edited July 12, 2020 by HOOKEM4

[troph 24,879]

New hoist for us was $11k installed, this summer. There were no used available when we looked. No way I’d keep a boat in the water, no way. Zebra mussels and routine damage from sitting in the water isn’t worth it.

[justhookit 4,191]

Im lost here. Bottom job/paint works out to roughly 50 dollars a foot. Every 2 years. Heck he could do it every 6 months  and still be ahead. The lift seems to be at a marina where he would be renting a slip.

edit - and yeah I have no idea about the zebra mussels and how that would enter the equation. Haven’t been around a freshwater boat in almost 30 years.

Edited July 12, 2020 by justhookit

[Landomatic 3,813]

4 hours ago, justhookit said:

Im lost here. Bottom job/paint works out to roughly 50 dollars a foot. Every 2 years. Heck he could do it every 6 months  and still be ahead. The lift seems to be at a marina where he would be renting a slip.

edit - and yeah I have no idea about the zebra mussels and how that would enter the equation. Haven’t been around a freshwater boat in almost 30 years.

Yeah, this is where I'm at.  The slip rental is about $500/month without a lift.  The slip rental with the lift is about $850/month.  So, figure that lift is costing me about $4,200 a year.  Bottom paint quote was ballparked around $2,000 to $2,500.

The other thing I failed to mention is that the demand right now is way up (due to the covid) so they have a few slips available, but nothing with a lift.  They'll install a lift for me, but it will be at least 4-6 weeks until they can get it in because everything is so backed up.  I'm not waiting that long to put my boat in the water.

I've trailered before and I'm not doing that again, so I'm definitely getting a slip and this marina is the only place I'll consider getting one.

So, my quandary is kind of two-fold...

1. Is the lift really that necessary?  Seems it would be a hell of a lot cheaper to just get it painted.  And walking around the marina, I sure see a hell of a lot nicer boats than mine with no lift.  If they don't need them, why do I?  Aside from protecting the boat a little better, what are the other real benefits, if any?  I know it's obviously somewhat more desirable to have one, but is it sooooo much better that it's worth almost twice as much money?
2. If I do decide I have to have one, what the hell do I do for that 4-6 weeks (which could end up longer the way everything is going) when I'm waiting on the lift to get installed?  I'm not painting it and getting a lift.  Will it be okay for that amount of time to sit in the water with no paint?

Just checked and the lake does have zebra mussels.  Thanks for helping out a slip newb...

 

[HOOKEM4 5,039]

4 hours ago, justhookit said:

Im lost here. Bottom job/paint works out to roughly 50 dollars a foot. Every 2 years. Heck he could do it every 6 months  and still be ahead. The lift seems to be at a marina where he would be renting a slip.

edit - and yeah I have no idea about the zebra mussels and how that would enter the equation. Haven’t been around a freshwater boat in almost 30 years.

If you can find someone around Austin to do it for $50/ft please post their info. 

[HOOKEM4 5,039]

4 minutes ago, Landomatic said:

Yeah, this is where I'm at.  The slip rental is about $500/month without a lift.  The slip rental with the lift is about $850/month.  So, figure that lift is costing me about $4,200 a year.  Bottom paint quote was ballparked around $2,000 to $2,500.

The other thing I failed to mention is that the demand right now is way up (due to the covid) so they have a few slips available, but nothing with a lift.  They'll install a lift for me, but it will be at least 4-6 weeks until they can get it in because everything is so backed up.  I'm not waiting that long to put my boat in the water.

I've trailered before and I'm not doing that again, so I'm definitely getting a slip and this marina is the only place I'll consider getting one.

So, my quandary is kind of two-fold...

1. Is the lift really that necessary?  Seems it would be a hell of a lot cheaper to just get it painted.  And walking around the marina, I sure see a hell of a lot nicer boats than mine with no lift.  If they don't need them, why do I?  Aside from protecting the boat a little better, what are the other real benefits, if any?  I know it's obviously somewhat more desirable to have one, but is it sooooo much better that it's worth almost twice as much money?
2. If I do decide I have to have one, what the hell do I do for that 4-6 weeks (which could end up longer the way everything is going) when I'm waiting on the lift to get installed?  I'm not painting it and getting a lift.  Will it be okay for that amount of time to sit in the water with no paint?

Just checked and the lake does have zebra mussels.  Thanks for helping out a slip newb...

 

The zebra mussels will still attach to the bottom paint in places and will just fall off at speed or can be easily brushed off. It is the motor/outdrive and any intakes that become the real pita. Just accept you are going to pay for it one way or another. Best option for you sounds like trailer for 6 more weeks, then throw it on a hoist. 

Those zebra mussels are some nasty bastards.

[Landomatic 3,813]

1 minute ago, HOOKEM4 said:

The zebra mussels will still attach to the bottom paint in places and will just fall off at speed or can be easily brushed off. It is the motor/outdrive and any intakes that become the real pita. Just accept you are going to pay for it one way or another. Best option for you sounds like trailer for 6 more weeks, then throw it on a hoist. 

Those zebra mussels are some nasty bastards.

I'm not set up to trailer for 6 weeks.

[troph 24,879]

Your analysis should stop at zebra mussels. You need the lift. If you use the boat a lot while it’s in the water for a month you might be ok but you’ll need to watch it closely. Get the lift installed and be done with it. Drying out the boat every time is the way to go to protect it with little effort. This screen shot is from the PDF on how to protect your boat from Texas Parks and Wildlife, link below.

 

 

https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/water/aquatic-invasives/marina-owners-resources.phtml?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=newsfeed-static&utm_campaign=eng-zebra-wet-slip-19

[Landomatic 3,813]

Sounds like I need the lift.  Now I just need to figure out what to do with it while that's being installed.

[justhookit 4,191]

3 hours ago, HOOKEM4 said:

If you can find someone around Austin to do it for $50/ft please post their info. 

That sucks. Y’all are getting ripped off.

[Anastasis 23,479]

f zebra mussels. 

[troph 24,879]

5 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

f zebra mussels. 

mfing this.  so pissed we have them.

[Handcruser 2,805]

Buy an airdock.


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[HOOKEM4 5,039]

3 hours ago, justhookit said:

That sucks. Y’all are getting ripped off.

Supply/demand yo. I cant believe the lack of good boatyard guys. All the marinas mark the shit up or are just shit at what they do. I know it costs close to $100 a foot for a sailboat bottom job and it will not be faired in the least bit. Just a rough cruiser job. I assume that is what you would pay for a motorboat, maybe $80 if you dont care. Either way it is moot. At this point the only option is to get the hull out of the water or you are asking for trouble.

[troph 24,879]

Water on lake Travis was glass tonight (not 8am glass but it was close). Air temp was great once the sun was going down. Just an amazing night to be out after about 8pm.

Surfed in circles from point venture to lago vista around Thurman Bend twice before my back thigh turned to rubber and had to bail. Easily 25 min run I think? So good. So effing good.

[Sbbruin 21,864]

I guess this was a few years ago, but is it wrong that I'm disappointed the jet skier didn't get ground up into hamburger?

 

[Viking 301]

No, not wrong at all. Fuck that guy.

[Sbbruin 21,864]

On 7/10/2020 at 5:26 PM, CycleTex87 said:

I got a little windsurfing done this week. Bird Island Basin in the Padre Island National Seashore Park. Great wind, been 6-8 years since I went out.

I used to windsurf ALL the time when I was younger.  Been at least 10 years for me.

[troph 24,879]

He’s getting there !!

[Texaus 377]

Nice looking wave there

[Sbbruin 21,864]

He’s getting there !!

Do you have water ballast tanks or whatever they those tanks to create bigger wakes? Nice little wave there.

[Sbbruin 21,864]

So came down last night with the plan to help my buddy sail his just acquired Catalina 30 down to here in San Pedro. He picks me up this am and we drive to the boat. Ready to roll and the engine won't start. Starter isn't even engaging. Tap on it and still nothing. Arc it with a wrench so it's getting power. Seems starter is shot. He gets his first lesson in boat ownership- the boat decides when you go. So mechanic headed there tomorrow to replace it. We'll try again next weekend. But as long as I'm here, might as well stay here.

[troph 24,879]

Do you have water ballast tanks or whatever they those tanks to create bigger wakes? Nice little wave there.

We can hold 3750 lbs of water in two hard tanks up front and two soft bags in the back along side the engine (built in and automatic), and it has the power wedge and surf gate too. Power wedge is a metal wedge that descends under the boat to kick out the water behind and pushes up the unrecognizable mass of water needed to create a wave. Power wedge set at 3 out of 6 to get a sizable wave with enough length to be able to move around and recover if you call too far back. At 5 it’s an insane wave but really short. 6 is impossible. The surf gate is on the outside edge of the boat opposite side of the surfer and it extends out and forces water away from the boat so that when the boat passes a vacuum of sorts is created that then sucks the water back toward the wake and it pushes the mass of water into a wave. It’s a pretty damn slick system. We had three boys and myself so no people to help more but the ballasts were full. The surf gate puts it over the top. Arguably the Malibu/Axis wave is the best out there. When the water is glassy you can surf for hours.  

The gate for a goofy rider is there on the left look like a paddle, it’s tucked in there and not deployed. It extends straight back even with the side of the boat. The wedge is the flat metal just under the swim platform, that’s in position 0 essentially stored away, it comes all the way down to create enormous drag.

 

We love it, it’s a great way to waste a hot Covid day.

[Sbbruin 21,864]

That’s a nice boat.

[troph 24,879]

That’s a nice boat.

Here’s the actual boat ... don’t remember if I posted it...I’m sure I did.  

 

If any one is in the market for a fundamentally solid surf boat I would strongly recommend looking at the used axis market over the name brands. The only complaint I have is I would like more adjustment capability on the drive seat. Even the soft top is not a big deal. The seat is honestly my only complaint.

[Texaus 377]

I think I’ve posted pic of mine before too.

Here’s the regular side wave.

[troph 24,879]

I love the Centurion wave. That’s the boat I would want if I had an extra fifty to hundo.

[Texaus 377]

Thanks! I get compliments on the boat every time I have it out. She’s sexy

[troph 24,879]

we learned on a centurion in whitefish, MT... the instructors said if you can't afford a centurion get a malibu or super air natique g23 or g25 and we looked at them all and chose the malibu off brand because we the poors when it comes to surfers.  lol.  the boat next to us at our neighborhood dock/marina is a centurion.  thankfully it's yellow and that's not our fav color so no jealously there.

[Handcruser 2,805]

the instructors said if you can't afford a centurion get a malibu or super air natique g23 or g25

Wait what?


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[troph 24,879]

Wait what?


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I misspoke they didn’t talk about afford (we did) they just said those three brands. We couldn’t afford any of them and so if you can’t afford a Malibu, super air natique or centurion then from what we could find go with the axis which is in the same class for the quality of the wave.

Sorry.

[Texaus 377]

Yea, haven’t priced them in awhile, but Malibu, centurion, mastercraft, nautique, tige all about same ballpark(expensive as fuck) from what I remember.

Give me the centurion or tige though. I like how those boats do it with hull shape, ballast, and trim tabs. No need for wedges and surf gates that just present massive drag and poor fuel economy.
http://

[troph 24,879]

Ours is fully loaded with custom colors too and was 90k ish brand new. I’m not in the market for a centurion price point yet ($150k ish in 2018?) so it’s not really an option.

 

Now they are pushing $200k MSRP and the paragon is MSRP over $300k I just saw. Good god.

 

And I was fully satisfied when a professional surfer road ours on a long board and when done said it was a really impressive set up.

 

But you won’t get an argument from me about how bad ass the centurions are, that’s the boat I would get if price wasn’t an issue.

[troph 24,879]

I watched that video and it doesn’t take us 10 min to fill and no way we only have 2 hours of gas. We surf all the time and gas up twice a month. And our wave is fully adjustable tall and short length wise and short and long length wise. Still think the centurion is a sick boat but either Malibu improved greatly from 2017-18 or they are selling the heck out of that centurion.

[Handcruser 2,805]

I misspoke they didn’t talk about afford (we did) they just said those three brands. We couldn’t afford any of them and so if you can’t afford a Malibu, super air natique or centurion then from what we could find go with the axis which is in the same class for the quality of the wave.

Sorry.

Yeah that puzzled me because centurion is owned by correct craft and I thought no way they’d put centurion at a higher price point.

I like centurion too. Especially the originals. But I’m a sucker for a straight up no frills inboard.


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[Texaus 377]

Mine’s a 2014 Enzo, before they were bought. It was about what you paid, new in 2014. Boats were also cheaper back then and 90 was more than most other brands. The prices right now are crazy. I think the boats are still made In CA and keep a lot of the stuff that made them awesome. I’d be out there right now if it wasn’t the weekend.

[troph 24,879]

Mine’s a 2014 Enzo, before they were bought. It was about what you paid, new in 2014. Boats were also cheaper back then and 90 was more than most other brands. The prices right now are crazy. I think the boats are still made In CA and keep a lot of the stuff that made them awesome. I’d be out there right now if it wasn’t the weekend.

We are going out tonight. Tired now but easy to rally for the waves.