Taking her out for the first time. Tips and suggestions welcome!

[whitlock87]

X2 on this and the video is a must see
David

[Joeprunc]

I have been shocked how smooth the transmission in on my V-drive. No I/O clunk! I would be curious to know if the you need to pause at all before shifting from fwd to reverse too.

Always good to let engine RPMs drop to an idle and wait a split second in neutral. Easier on the tranny.

[mls6722]

Cloud, Kenmore has no dock. You probably don't want to have to beach the boat. I was probably on Lake Washington twice last year. Almost always on Sammamish.
You probably draft about 2 feet, but your prop costs a boatload more than the I/O.
Good luck with the test run. Don't forget the plug!

[Cloud]

You sure about that? I read in the news they just installed a brand new one in March of this year.

[Cloud]

Had a great time today!

Had a problem controlling her in the beginning but launched and retrieved without damaging anything. lol.

I had a couple questions. The steering wheel seemed very stiff sometimes while turning at low speeds. Sort of felt like a car without power steering. I'm assuming it's normal due to having a rudder?

Also what TAPS setting are most of you guys running when just cruising?

[Ewok]

I don't know about the steering but it shouldn't be too hard. I can turn my wheel with one finger after putting in a new cable.

The TAPS has the same affect on the boat as trim does on an I/O. Taps up and it makes the bow come up, down and the bow comes down. To get on plane you should have the taps set to 0-1. After you get to cruising speed slowly raise the bow in very small increments until it starts to porpoise, then lower the bow just enough to dampen and get rid of the porpoise.

When towing a rider, if your weight condition allows, you can leave the taps at the riders preferred setting if you can get on plane. If not, lower taps to zero and get on plane, then set the riders preferred taps setting.

[whitlock87]

Glad you had no issues on your first trip. Based on you comment "Sort of felt like a car without power steering" I would say your steering cable is getting ready to go. (Freeze up) Most of the people on this site just replace the cable when it gets hard to steer the boat. I drilled a small hole in cable about 3 inches down from the steering wheel. I turn my wheel all the way to the right and insert around 4 oz of WD40 into the hole. I then work the steering wheel all the way to the left and all the way back to the right. I do this about ten times then I add about 2 more Oz of WD40. I have been doing this every other year since I replaced my first cable in 2005 and I am still on my second cable. 

[Ewok]

There also might be a friction knob on the bottom of the steering wheel column, feel around there to see if there is a knob, it might even be under the dash. The steering cable should not be locking up on a new boat.

[Cloud]

I meant the feedback felt like a car without power steering as in sometimes I have to use more force then other times. In all conditions I can turn the wheel with one hand just fine, just that the feedback was variable.

[Ewok]

Then that's a normal feeling. The rudder is moved by the steering wheel moving a rack which pushes/pulls on a cable which is connected to an arm attatched to the rudder directly. It's going to feel different than an I/O because the rudder is hanging there by itself and it's affected by how the boat is weighted, the speed the boat is traveling, wind, currents, and how much thrust is being pushed past the rudder.

[Cloud]

Appreciate it! That what I figured.

[mls6722]

I am jealous. This was a great day. If kenmore has a dock, maybe I'll launch there. It is fairly close to me. There were plenty of boats on the lake.

[Duncan]

2) Be cautious of the board racks around docks. Our dock birth is 10' wide but with the board racks out, it is an accident waiting to happen. Our rule is board racks in before approaching the dock.

First time we evert took out our 09 RZ2, I forgot this. Destroyed a wakeboard and hobbled one board rack, which required a helicoil to fix.

This video show the basic mechanics of docking the boat, for a while you should only pull up to a dock on the drivers side.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wr-5BtWIcMw

That video is awesome--I wish I saw that years ago before I learned this the hard way I think he is going to fast in the vid btw, especially for someone just learning (SLOW SLOW SLOW). Pay attention to the different amounts of starboard transom walk as a function of steering wheel position. Backing off the trailer--crank wheel to port to lessen walk (it still does though). Pulling to dock at 45' angle, crank wheel starboard when going into reverse to maximize walk. The video show a little forward bump to finish off--ignore that step for awhile because you will be REALLY close to the dock and an accidental surge will not help.

When you are around ramps and docks, you will almost never leave the boat in gear. Rather, bump in and out of gear to maintain slower speed.

I have been shocked how smooth the transmission in on my V-drive. No I/O clunk! I would be curious to know if the you need to pause at all before shifting from fwd to reverse too.

The smooth tranny was actually a learning curve for me. You should get the feel for it though. One trick is to not use the release ring when going to neutral so you can feel the click. And always pause briefly in neutral between F&R.

Good luck!!