youngdawg
New Member
Hello all, and thanks in advance for your help.
First time boater, went to local SR dealer several months ago looking for a 20ft-ish boat to enjoy local lakes and pull the kids on tubes and boards. Terrific service from the local dealer, settled on the 205 sport, got delivery 1 month ago and currently trying to learn the ropes.
Before purchase, I explained that I am VERY new to boating, never trailered, driven, or docked a boat. I was assured that part of the orientation would be 1/2 day where they would go through all this stuff with me, so don't sweat it.
1 week before day of "delivery" which was supposed to happen at my local lake, I am told to meet at the dealership and they will do mechanical walk-through, then follow me to the lake for the "on water" stuff. Long story short, the dealership spent lots of time showing me the in-n-outs of the boat on the dealership floor, but then sent me off on my own with the boat on a trailer. No "on water" help of any kind. I managed to launch the boat by myself, with only 1 call to the dealership to bail me out of a panic situation. Now I'm trying to learn everything regarding moorage (how to properly secure to dock), trailering on and off (haven't tried that yet, but not looking forward to it).
Sorry this is so long, but I'm now considering hiring someone to teach me the basic skills, but I feel like the dealership should do what they said they would. I don't want to burn a bridge with them since I love the boat and plan to be a SR owner for decades to come, but I'm unsure how best to learn the basics.
Any suggestions? Does the dealership typically help out with this type of stuff, or am I expecting too much? Do others just learn through trial and error, or are there other resources beyond the basic safety courses?
Thanks!
Dale
First time boater, went to local SR dealer several months ago looking for a 20ft-ish boat to enjoy local lakes and pull the kids on tubes and boards. Terrific service from the local dealer, settled on the 205 sport, got delivery 1 month ago and currently trying to learn the ropes.
Before purchase, I explained that I am VERY new to boating, never trailered, driven, or docked a boat. I was assured that part of the orientation would be 1/2 day where they would go through all this stuff with me, so don't sweat it.
1 week before day of "delivery" which was supposed to happen at my local lake, I am told to meet at the dealership and they will do mechanical walk-through, then follow me to the lake for the "on water" stuff. Long story short, the dealership spent lots of time showing me the in-n-outs of the boat on the dealership floor, but then sent me off on my own with the boat on a trailer. No "on water" help of any kind. I managed to launch the boat by myself, with only 1 call to the dealership to bail me out of a panic situation. Now I'm trying to learn everything regarding moorage (how to properly secure to dock), trailering on and off (haven't tried that yet, but not looking forward to it).
Sorry this is so long, but I'm now considering hiring someone to teach me the basic skills, but I feel like the dealership should do what they said they would. I don't want to burn a bridge with them since I love the boat and plan to be a SR owner for decades to come, but I'm unsure how best to learn the basics.
Any suggestions? Does the dealership typically help out with this type of stuff, or am I expecting too much? Do others just learn through trial and error, or are there other resources beyond the basic safety courses?
Thanks!
Dale