New Boater!

[gohuskies90]

HI, New to boating and we just purchased a 2004 24V Limited. 6.0L with 180 hrs. Sharing with good friends, 4 kids total under 10, so ready to get them all out on the lake.

Question, am I good to go for beginning wake boarders (including myself, 6-1, 210lbs) just using the Taps plate without fat sacs?

Any other tips suggestions greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Heli-Doc]

Welcome to the forum! I have a 2005 24V, 6.0. I can tell you that you will be just fine without using ballast for beginning wake boarders by just using taps. I usually have mine around 4-5, depending on what the rider is looking for. Again, Welcome!

[waltersloudcrowd6]

in all honesty, we towed wakeboarders (one was 250) behind a pontoon last year -- there were no tricks to be done, but it was a good way to learn!

[gohuskies90]

Thanks for the info. We had her in the water yesterday for the first time, great day just getting used to the boat.

One issue we discovered is the when docking - the reverse seems to have a mind of its own. No matter what way I turned the rudder the stern was always pushing to starboard. Made maneuvering a bit dicey. Any thought on this issue, or is this just V-drive handling?

Also, we were cruising in moderate chop and handling really well at close to 40 mph. All of a sudden heard a beeping, at about 1 sec. interval coming from the dash. All gauges were in normal range. We backed off on speed just a little and it went away. Does anyone know what this is? Our boat did not come with an owners manual so not sure where to look this up.

Thanks!

[tigeidaho]

Congrats on the new boat and welcome to the site. Backing up to the right is the blessing and curse of a v drive. It's a curse till you figure out how to use it to your advantage. There are a lot of videos on youtube showing how to drive a v drive. I made my wife watch a bunch. She learns better from others, not me. We found an empty dock that we could let her practice on. As to the beeping, I would guess it's your v drive oil warning? Just a guess. You may want to check your oil level.

[Billua]

Welcome! You picked a great machine.

As far as docking, the torque that the prop causes a yaw on the rear of the boat and and in reverse, you have unlocked the secret that will lead to smooth docking!

Here is how. Approach the dock at a shallow angle, say 30 degrees with the dock to starboard. As the nose is about to touch the dock, shift into reverse and give it a little gas. This will move the aft over right next to the dock for a perfect docking!

And, this is easier than it sounds!

Have fun.

[gohuskies90]

Thanks Billua, will be practicing!

Any thoughts on the beeping sound?

[Stingreye]

I have only taken mine out a few times since owning my first inboard. WOW. Its much more difficult than I anticipated. I previously owned a i/o and then before that a jet boat. I haven't felt this "lost" in years docking and loading on a trailer. Had to deal with gusting winds, not fun. I took off the bimini to load back on the trailer and without bimini on in winds seemed a little better.

Below is a great video from Tige on docking using method above.

[waltersloudcrowd6]

Anyone have suggestions for parking in and reversing from a slip? We are STRUGGLING with the v-drive's inability to back up and turn LEFT (which is the way we need to go). CLOSE calls yesterday trying to pull in and out of the slip (enough to make us think that we should give up our slip and trailer it every time). Would so appreciate the thoughts! (Our pontoon was the same size as this, so the size of our RZ4 isn't the issue here, and we've only had it out 4 times since we picked it up on Monday, but it's so stressful to pull in and out of that darn slip!) Any tips?

[gohuskies90]

Was thinking could it be depth warning since I was catching some air off the rollers?

[chpthril]

Anyone have suggestions for parking in and reversing from a slip? We are STRUGGLING with the v-drive's inability to back up and turn LEFT (which is the way we need to go). CLOSE calls yesterday trying to pull in and out of the slip (enough to make us think that we should give up our slip and trailer it every time). Would so appreciate the thoughts! (Our pontoon was the same size as this, so the size of our RZ4 isn't the issue here, and we've only had it out 4 times since we picked it up on Monday, but it's so stressful to pull in and out of that darn slip!) Any tips?

Its going to take the better part of a season to get the hang of it. I actually prefer to swing the stern around and back into a slip, as opposed to pulling straight in. But, this will also depend on the slip arrangement and at what direction you can approach.

[chpthril]

Was thinking could it be depth warning since I was catching some air off the rollers?

Did you happen to notice the depth gauge? Air or air bubbles will cause false depth readings.

[gohuskies90]

No but today the transmission oil light came on, but only when in neutral??

[chpthril]

Thats normal.

[Ruger761]

Congrats on the boat and welcome to the site. Lots of good info and guys on here.

Inboard takes a little getting use to but you will get the hang of it pretty quickly.