There are so many choices in Florida. That time of year (which can swing from highs in the 80s to highs in the 40s, but, you will mostly find highs in the 70s. I would suggest Tampa, St. Pete, Clearwater area. With that much time you could drop in at Seminole Boat Ramp (I used the facility, very nic...

Congrats! I love mine, wish I could find more time to go out on it. Enjoy!

Albion, My boat came with a rigid clear plastic tube, which I presume was for checking ballast. I've never used it, and don't see why you'd need to. When my tank is full, there is water in the dam under the vee berth. I just don't put the plug in until I see water there... I use the plastic tube to...

That's what makes a Genny great with a roller furler, you can have a large sail area for light winds (which is very frequent in Florida in the summer) but can easily decrease the sail area when the winds pick up.

Experiment more and you'll get the hang of it.

I wasn't going to get into this BUT, The intracoastal waterway from Norfolk to Key West is measured in statute miles, 5 mile increments, official charts. Well, this got me looking at my charts, it appears that inland/mixed including the ICW and Rivers (St. Johns) are in both Nautical and Statue, bu...

I use SM when on lakes. Knots are a must when on coastal waters, navigable rivers and the Great Lakes. That is the rule I use.

I liked the elevator one, where you one end of the line and then use the winch to crank them up while they have their foot in the loop of the line. Quick and easy.

The ladder is much easer

Thanks, this has been helpful. I was getting ready to post the same thing. This weekend I launched, I get the boat in the water, motor fully down, start it, let it warm up as we disconnect it from the trailer and move it off. Well, the lake was really low this time, and really sandy and milky lookin...

Well, that is all good news. I was really worried. I plan on several week long sojourns. I guess I should rinse the trailer after each launching and recovering, eh? Do most ramps in Florida have fresh water available for this purpose? I know the marinas at MacDill and Sigsbee do. Where and what typ...

Yes, empty or full, clearly stated in the manual.

The problem with a partialy full ballast is the water will swish around, causing a lot of unstability, way worse than having no ballast at all.

I have been towing my :macm: with a 2005 Kia Sedona for 5 months now. No problems. The key I have noticed is balance of the weight and the proper heighth of the hitch and weight on the hitch. I do have the factory tow package (up to 3500) and I haven't gone on a cross country trip. I have no issues ...

I don't have the same set up, I have a 2005 M with a Suzuki 50HP 4 stroke EFI.

My speed varies with load, but my WOT is always 6400 RPMs. I thought the WOT RPM was due to the prop pitch and size. And that you want to be in the WOT range of RPMs recommended by the motor manufaturer?

Were you able to do it without rudders?

Went out Labor Day. We went out on Lake Dora which is where Mount Dora Florida is (Just North of Orlando Florida and apart of the Harris Chain of Lakes). We launched from Trimble Park which is just South of Mt. Dora. Great facility, no charge, has two ramps plus loading/unloading docks. A place for ...

Well, I bought mine from New Haven, Otho. Otho is a great guy, no doubt about that. I do have to agree with some of the posts, I didn’t get everything ready and completed and had to follow up on several items. But I have to say, after reading many of these stories I got a lot more than most. He rigg...