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Have you recently purchased a boat from your local boat dealer? Congratulations! This is an incredibly exciting moment in your life and taking your own boat out on the water is a great feeling that never gets old. It is an exciting time, but owning a boat is also a large responsibility and there are a number of challenges that you will now face. With this in mind, this post will offer a few tips for new boat owners that will help you to protect your boat, get the most out of the experience and become a confident boat owner. Keep reading to find out more.
Practice Driving & Launching
One of the biggest challenges for a new boat owner is getting used to driving with a boat attached to your vehicle, as well as launching your boat. There are plenty of good tips for both of these, but you cannot beat practice. You will find it helpful to practice driving with your boat attached even if you are not heading out to the water and you can even practice reversing your car with the boat attached in empty parking lots. When it comes to actually launching your boat, you might want to try and visit during quieter periods when you will not feel as pressured.
Arrange Insurance
A boat is a large investment, and it is vital that you have financial protection in place in the form of insurance. You will want to have insurance so that you are covered against damage, theft and fire and this can provide reassurance and confidence in knowing that your investment is protected. It is a good idea to shop around, compare policies and always read the small print.
Know How To Maintain Your Boat
Owning a boat can be a lot of hard work as there is a lot of maintenance and upkeep. If you own a boat, you need to know how to perform a range of maintenance tasks and basic repairs and have a toolkit complete with Marine Grade Fasteners in Stainless, Bronze Screws, Lag Bolts, Hex Bolts, and more that will allow you to take on this work.
You will also want to spend some time researching boat mechanics near you so that you have somewhere to go for servicing and repairs. To start we recommend to check out this core cell foam boat building guide.
Compare Boat Transport Quotes
There are also likely to be times when you need to have your boat moved from A to B. This could be when you buy the boat, if you are going on holiday, moving home or selling the boat. In these situations, you want to compare boat transport quotes from specialist companies at places like Shiply.
Be Prepared
You also need to be prepared for different situations each time that you hit the water – the sea can be unpredictable! You need to know what to do in an emergency as well as have a kit onboard that should include a first-aid kit, floatation devices, an emergency whistle/flare gun, a fire extinguisher and an emergency stash in a waterproof bag.
These tips should come in handy for a new boat owner and hopefully help you to get the most out of your investment and be prepared for some of the challenges that you may face.
