Launch

I finally launched my boat this morning. It was calling for rain later on and I took the opportunity to get the boat in the water. I just couldn't stand another weekend with the boat sitting idle in my driveway.
I'll tell ya, I was a bunch of nerves. With all that's happened to me in the past, with the trailer flying off the hitch, and almost being run over by my own boat in my own driveway; I was thinking "what's next?!?!?"
I ended up launching at Flying Pt since all the parking spaces were full at Otter Pt. I launched the boat with some minor hiccups. After I got the boat in the water the motor wouldn't start right away. I guess not running it a few weeks made it harder to crank. I pulled the cord without much luck, then I turned the key and started right up. Whew! I found out later that the motor will not go in reverse. It probably would've came in handy loading the boat back on the trailer. The other thing I found that didn't work is the livewells. The well on the starboard side fills up but the other one doesn't. In addition, I found that the wells don't automatically fill. The only way to get water in them is to use the aerator pump. If the pump stops, the well drains. I guess I would have to plug up the drain, but then if I keep the aerator going it is going to overflow. Hmmmm.... I'm probably going to have to redesign this. As it is, the livewells are too small for largemouth anyway. So I had been thinking of getting another livewell from Fishmate Pro. This is probably the way to go.
Anyway, I rode around the Bush for about an hour and got to a blistering 25 mph at wide open throttle. The motor was pulsing like there wasn't enough fuel getting to it, but it seemed to get less and less as the motor was running. But it was a blast riding on the water!
I've got to figure out how to load the boat better. I missed the rollers on the trailer. Because I couldn't back up I couldn't have another go at it. Thankfully, the boaters behind me helped out. I'm going to try to get the reverse fixed on the motor. I know it worked before when I first tested the motor, so I hope it isn't something too complicated to fix. Sorry, no pics. As I said, I was too nervous.