New boat problems

My worst fear has happened, I never wanted to get into boating because all the stories you hear about boat problems, the kids talked me into it and I picked up my first boat. Brand new '05 Sea Ray 185 Sport with wake tower and all, real nice, the first time they took me out for quick course it started backfiring, he (captain Don) immediatly takes it back and they call me half a hour later to tell me a fuel line was kinked. No problem we take it out and runs awsome, I bring it home and take the family out, great time, take them out again on saturday had a great time as well, today, Sunday I hear it start backfiring a little then It turns off, turn it back on and runs a little then turns off, well I could never get it started again, had to get towed and took it right back to the dealer they will look at it tomorrow. Ive only had it 6 days.

BTW it has a 4.3l Mercruiser Fuel injected engine.

Sorry to hear about your bad 1st experience but stay positive! Its a new boat so its on the dealer. They say, A boat owners greatest day is the day they purchase the new boat, the second is the day they sell it. Im not sure that is entirely true.... You and your family will have GREAT times aboard your new vessel. This time spent together on the water will be remembered for years to come. Perception is reality. A bad day on the water is better than a good day at work. Work out the kinks, and enjoy. I think the kids are on to something!!!
CDM

My first boat did that. A micro switch had stuck. When shifting it retards the timing momentarily to reduce engine RPM. I wiggled it by hand and it ran fine. I put some WD40 on when I got home and it never happened again.

Like cdm said, its on the dealer, its new. Sea Ray has always had a pretty good reputation for a reason. I am on my fourth boat having owned nothing newer than a 78. I have been towed in countless times and done my fair share of towing as well. Be safe(water, food, extiguishers,of course jackets, and signaling devices) and you will be alright. There is always someone willing to help and you will be the same. Dont forget the towrope and tools either. Ive changed a flywheel, 3 starters, 3 alternaters, 2 distributers, rebuilt a jet, made 2 homemade towers, replaced a "marine engine" with a checker longblock (which is going on season 4 now), shredded a rope in the impeller, and being a boat owner will help with your mechanic skills, trust me. After all that my boys 4 and 2 years old ask to go to the lake every day. They want to see daddy do flips and mommy fall (not sure why), they want to go to the beach and throw rocks, they search for other kids, and we search for other families. I wonder how to get to the lake every day. Its a lot better than tv and video games, even floating in the middle of the lake broken down.

Make sure everything is documented no matter what! I am sure they will get it fixed no problem though. Dealerships do not like to put warranty repair work in writing, but you need to keep the records just in case, especially for cars and trucks.

The kids are right, a boat will bring your family closer together. Enjoy all the good times to come

We got our first boat last year. It was a new tige, & there where a few things that needs to be fixed.
This year the boats is running fine.
I have learned a lot from both the web and other boaters out there.
The first thing I have learned, is if you have a question ask it. Most people are more then willing to help out.

After the bugs are out, you will have many hours of fun. Make sure to stay up on maintenance. (This will drastically help to keep any problems down)

Enjoy
David

Coming from experience. Buy a small oar or two, jumper cables and maybe a portable battery backup and store it in your boat.

One day we were anchored in a cove and ran the battery down due to it being old and not keeping a good charge. We sat in the cove for almost an hour with nobody coming in or out even though it is right next to a campground.

We finally wound up using our wakeboards to paddle out to the main body of the lake and flagged someone down that gave us a jump. I luckily had the cables with me. Believe me, wakeboards are not very efficient oars.

I carry a portable battery, an oar and cables now in my boat.

Thats a good Idea. Hey thanks for all the support, I have to admit saturday was a day out with the family that I will remember forever, it was great, I'm not going to give up.

Hang in there... all new boats have a break-in period to get everything sorted out. Once you get past that, it's all good...