New to the forum and boating

salcolkat

Hi Everyone 
I am 52 years old never owned a boat before and purchased a 2019 EX 290 today.  I am picking it up next Saturday.  I will be keeping it in a marina on the long island sound.  Since i know very little about boats any helpful info would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

rasbury

Welcome to the best forum...I started here 4 years ago with little experience...nothing with the likes of a 270...you will find so much help here...good luck!

trip_n

omg man ... are you nuts 
welcome aboard 
go slow = learn your area and your boat = which is very nice
if theres any boating course/classes .. i would go sit in
i would have someone/maybe salesman dock master etc ...spend time with me / teaching me how to operate ... might have to pay .. bribe with beers or food
lots of things to remember 
be cautious and a little scared = it will come to you
rush..hurry..panic = damage
hava great rest of summer and enjot that fine boat
o wait long island = dont you guys have captains 

GMSLITHO

Congratulations on the purchase take a coast guard boating course 

Ian

Well congrats @salcolkat . I trust the dealer is going to give you instruction but that is the start. Look for a boater safety course held near you. Second, I suggest looking at your marina for the owner of another vessel of similar size. Rinker or not, 2019 or not, the basics around handling a big boat with twins is generally the same and you’d do well getting some pointers from an experienced boater with that size. Maybe even the resident mechanic may be an option and worth the cost of a few hours of time. Your 2019 I assume will have the smarts too and while these are great for docking and maneuvering - and the “hold me here” button as the admiral calls it - learn to do without using these as much as you can. Failure, weather and currents may force you to use the dumb methods sometime and you’ll appreciate what it takes to move that beast around.

And here you’ll get the best advice from experienced owner that have gone through what you are about to and will pass on the lessons learnt.

raybo3

Welcome to the RBOC. first boat and its brand new. Congratulations. You should take a boating safety course for sure. It might be a good idea to hire a captain for a few hours and take him out in your boat and have him teach you "some things". Again welcome and good luck.

Stodge

Congrats and welcome aboard.  

In addition to taking a boater safety class consider having a Vessel Safety Check done.  Being a new boat it should pass easily, but it will give you an idea of the safety features on your boat, where they are, how to check them yourself between inspections.  The folks doing the inspections are usually with the Coast Guard Auxiliary and can be a good source of information as far as federal requirements for safety equipment.

Welcome aboard and good luck with your boat.

PickleRick

Safety equipment on board is very important. Even better when its never needed.

My dad bought his first ever new boat when i was in my 20s, we always had older boats.

The dealership delivered the boat in "ready to go" condition from the showroom to the lake.  

We went to Portman marina for dinner and fuel later that evening after a day on the water and were stopped by the dnr(our water police)

The boat had zero safety equipment asside from the life jackets we brought on board.  My dads response to the dnr officer when asked what were we going to do without fire extinguishers if there was a fire "let the lake do its thing" didn't get a smile.  

He let us off with a warning as the paper work dropped off with the boat that morning was dated properly and safety equipment box checked off.    Needless to say the dealership got a call Monday morning. It was 90 plus degrees that day, the ramps busy and delivery guy was in rush so we never thought to look for fire extinguishers, whistle, air horn or paddle.  Not sure a 19ft 4.3 inboard open bow crusier would paddle well but they wanted to see the paddle. Was my dads first new boat and usually we check for this stuff before launch but when a new boat is supposed to come with standard safety stuff you dont think to look for expired/discharged fire extinguishers or or or a lack of a horn.  

rkinross

Welcome to the Rinker forum.  That is a great looking boat and should be lots of fun once you get the hang of boating.  I think is is good advice to hire a skipper to teach you on your first few outings.  It is not like driving a car.  Good luck with your new boat. 

randy56

Welcome to the forum, all great advice from all the Rinker Brothers, nothing to add.  

LaRea

Welcome -- great first boat for a youngster!  I'll add one piece of general advice: boats, like humans, work best when they get regular exercise.  In particular, if you have a generator, run it every time you go out.  

Also, start collecting electronic copies of the manuals for all your boat's systems.  Water heater, stereo, generator ... they are all independent systems not built by Rinker.  Store the manuals where you can reach them when needed.  

trip_n

@shawnmjr =  Don’t go faster than your willing to hit something

i like that = everyone should remember

rasbury

That's the best advise out there

Michael T

Yes, along with don't approach a dock faster than you want to hit it. :-)

Dream_Inn

Welcome to the forum!  You've got a great boat!  Ask any questions at all on here, it's the only way to learn and no questions are dumb.

Autodog61

Welcome to the world of boating.  Lots of good advice here on the forum.  Regarding the safety courses mentioned, speak with your insurance agent and find out if they offer a discount for taking the Coast Guard Auxiliary Safety course.  You get a discount AND learn the rules of the road and a bunch of great tips for safe boating. 

Go through the manuals,  Learn basic things - the whats/whys -like winterization, oil changes, tune up procedures, maintenance frequencies etc.  You don't have to do them you can have others do these things but knowing what it all entails will ensure you are knowledgeable and can spot a shady mechanic down the line or trouble shoot if things go hinkey on the water.  

Practice anchoring.  If you have a windlass, pull it all the way out on the dock and know how much chain and line you have so your not ever guessing.

Try not to use ethanol fuels.  Find fuel docks that have ethanol free fuel.  Or, if you must use ethanol fuels, add stabilizer religiously.  I test drove a 32 Mariah that a dentist owned before I switched to the Rinker 342 I own now.  On the test drive of the 32 the engines would sputter and die and had issue staying on plane.  We called the dentist while on the test drive and asked when the last time he got fuel and he "said 3 years, why?"  Ethanol does a number on all sorts of mechanical systems particularly fuel injectors.  A year later is boat was advertised again this time "with new engines".

Stock the boat with adequate lines and fenders for different tie off situations.  I have two 50 foot lines and multiple 25 foot lines (several with factory eyes at one end).  Spend the money and get good stuff don't cheap out.  Upsize the fenders-suggest on yours, a minimum of 8 x 20. 

If you keep on the water year round or even if you don't, get a good coat of wax on the boat and redo at least once a year.  Will help keep it looking good for decades if you stay up on it.  I use Collinite.  Its expensive but stays on for almost a year. 

You'll get a lot of advice from other boaters as the seasons go by.  Listen and filter out the bad and keep the good. 

Enjoy the new boat!

   

Glassguy54

Michael T on this forum has lots of sage advice regarding proper break in procedures.
Seek them out in previous posts here and follow religiously.

reneechris14

All these guys give great advise but always remember the more you push the throttles the faster you go.

reneechris14

I think his boat sank he has not been on the forum after this post 

salcolkat

Thanks for all the advice.  I will be asking a lot of questions in the weeks to come.