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How did the test ride go?
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Shoot, sorry, completely forgot to post back!
It went really well and we had a blast! Actually, it did get off to a slow start... So the guy took it out on Friday to make sure everything was in working order in prep for the test (first time it was on water, may have mentioned that). Well, we loaded up in the boat on Monday and another employee backed us and the trailer down into the water. He fired up the engine, but......no trim! The trim was completely dead in both directions. He had a Mech come over to check it out and, after 10 mins or so, he discovered a loose ground. Fixed it up and off we went.
The boat was a pleasure to drive. The steering felt a little loose, but I don't have anything to compare it to. It did handle well and had a really nice, smooth ride up on plane. Since it's a brand new engine, we didn't run it hard. We opened it up very, very briefly and it was running in the mid 40mph range. That was with me (185), my wife and sales guy (probably 130 and 150), our two kids (~50 ea) and 1/2 tank of gas. Most of the time we just cruised around at 3000rpm and made some turns to get a feel for it.
I was trying to remember what you guys had said to me about the props, but I couldn't recall anything in the moment as I was grinning too big.
I did check to see that I could lean over into the water to wash my hands, grab a marker buoy, etc. as I was concerned the boat would sit too high in the water for those fishing-related things. No problems there. I'm still at a crossroads as far as electronics. Not a lot of room on the dash. I'd love to get a Humminbird Helix 9 or Lowrace HDS 9 (RAM mount, most likely) up there, but I need to get out with a tape measure beforehand...might need to go down to a 7".
Also, the trolling motor. It has a basic Motorguide on it right now. It's only a 12V, 55# motor. I'm going to want to up that to an iPilot or GPS unit depending on which fish finder brand I go with, and I'll want to up it to a 24V system and at least 80# motor. However, I'm really not a pro with those things so I'm going to have to talk to their rigger pretty seriously before signing on that boat.
Anyway, the family and I loved it. He also took us by "our" slip, or the one that opened up that we're #1 on the list for. A perfect end spot, which will be a lot easier on me for docking while learning the ins and outs of boating.
Next step is just waiting for the dealer manager to get back from his vacation, and then we'll talk numbers. Barring something unforeseen, I think we'll end up buying it.