EricG
06-26-2006, 12:34 PM
I don't know what is conspiring against me this year, but I just can't seem to use my boat. I installed my tabs in preparation for the season, and then the weather was crappy for about 6 weeks. 2 Weeks ago we had a beautiful day, but when I tried to fire the boat in the driveway - the battery was dead. So I left it on the charger and went Jet Skiing....
Saturday actually put the boat in a small local lake to at least try out the tabs. The battery was dead again (Hmmm...it's never not held a charge before :confused: ), but I used the portable jump starter and got her running. We cruised around the lake looking at houses and just enjoying a nice evening on the water - until the only other performance boat we saw all night went by, right when my boat DIED. It's never done that before...hmmm - battery again perhaps. So, I jumped it again, started right up, and as long as I ran it up to get the alternator charging, it ran fine, but as soon as I idled it down it would die after about 30 seconds...so the battery is shot. We did manage a few speed runs to try to figure out if the tabs have cost me any speed....the jury is still out. I ran 2 MPH less than my top, but I also had a full tank of fuel and 200lbs of Dad with me....so I'm not sure if I've lost much off my top speed alone with light fuel.
Sunday, head to Costco for a new bat - they are out of them. Head a little further to Sears...get the battery in, boat starts right up. Head for the lake. Based on the fact that it's 90 degrees here (which happens about 5 days a year), I knew Lake Washington would be a madhouse...probably 2 hour wait to launch. So we decided to head to Dad's lake house and play from there for the day. Get to the Launch - Sheriff: "Sorry, Lake's Full - no more Launches until after 6 PM", Me: "We have a house on the lake, I just want to put the boat on the lift.", Sheriff: "Nope....lakes full". So, we head to the house, park the boat, and ride the Jet Skiis again....:mad: :mad: :mad: The real irony is, we have a launch, but the neighbors were using it when nobody was home and damaged the yard - so we put a storage shed in front of it and only use it for the aforementioned jet skis....pretty sad when you can't use your own stuff because inconsiderate people have ruined it for you.
Anyway, just had to vent. My season so far:
Boat - 60 Minutes
Jet Ski - 10 hours
Then again, I still have 3/4 of a tank of $2.15 gas :yes:
EG
Saturday actually put the boat in a small local lake to at least try out the tabs. The battery was dead again (Hmmm...it's never not held a charge before :confused: ), but I used the portable jump starter and got her running. We cruised around the lake looking at houses and just enjoying a nice evening on the water - until the only other performance boat we saw all night went by, right when my boat DIED. It's never done that before...hmmm - battery again perhaps. So, I jumped it again, started right up, and as long as I ran it up to get the alternator charging, it ran fine, but as soon as I idled it down it would die after about 30 seconds...so the battery is shot. We did manage a few speed runs to try to figure out if the tabs have cost me any speed....the jury is still out. I ran 2 MPH less than my top, but I also had a full tank of fuel and 200lbs of Dad with me....so I'm not sure if I've lost much off my top speed alone with light fuel.
Sunday, head to Costco for a new bat - they are out of them. Head a little further to Sears...get the battery in, boat starts right up. Head for the lake. Based on the fact that it's 90 degrees here (which happens about 5 days a year), I knew Lake Washington would be a madhouse...probably 2 hour wait to launch. So we decided to head to Dad's lake house and play from there for the day. Get to the Launch - Sheriff: "Sorry, Lake's Full - no more Launches until after 6 PM", Me: "We have a house on the lake, I just want to put the boat on the lift.", Sheriff: "Nope....lakes full". So, we head to the house, park the boat, and ride the Jet Skiis again....:mad: :mad: :mad: The real irony is, we have a launch, but the neighbors were using it when nobody was home and damaged the yard - so we put a storage shed in front of it and only use it for the aforementioned jet skis....pretty sad when you can't use your own stuff because inconsiderate people have ruined it for you.
Anyway, just had to vent. My season so far:
Boat - 60 Minutes
Jet Ski - 10 hours
Then again, I still have 3/4 of a tank of $2.15 gas :yes:
EG