I'm getting my first boat (little 14ft'er) and I'm wondering what books I should read up on, I'll be in saltwater for the most part mainly fishing and exploring islands I'd also like to read up on fishing on a boat if there is any recommendations

Just got a boat with an old 97 Suzuki DT85 oil injection.

The motor runs pretty well, and the oil injection definitely works, but should i disconnect it and just run with premix?

I’ve never had a 2 stroke and this one’s fairly unknown to me.

Oil injection failure seems like a very simple thing that would brick this thing. I just don’t know if i trust it.

Lots of doodads and details left to wrap up. Interior guy is still working on the seats, seadek is in transit.

Motor has power to turn left and right, but when I hit spin, I just hear a click in the housing.

So bought my first boat last week, the boat has a cranking battery and a deep cycle battery. It says to start the battery with the cranking battery, but use the house battery to power everything. My question is when should u go from one to the other. Tell me if i’m correct, this is my understanding from reading a bunch of forms. Do i start the motor with the cranking battery (1), use all my lights, radar and stuff on position 1. Let it charge (battery 1) while i’m riding to the spot. Then once stopped (engine off) switch to position 2 (deep cycle)? or should i crank the boat in position 1, before leaving the dock, go from 1, to both, then to 2 which would be my house battery ? Lastly, if i’ve been parked for awhile, running lights and stereo and things off battery 2 (house battery) wouldn’t i want to have the alternator charging battery 2 on the ride back ? Could i just start the boat with #2 battery and jus ride back and let it charge ?

I just bought a little 8 foot plastic pelican boat to take more friends along with me as my 12 foot jon boat does not hold more than 2 people with gear. I bought it from facebook marketplace for 150 bucks, which is a steal. However, guy I bought it from does not have a title, registration, MOS, or anything, and he ghosted me before I could get him to make out a bill of sale. Am I SOL in terms of registering this boat in Louisiana so I can legally operate it with a motor?

There seems to be a loophole in the regs though. It says on the LDWF website that you can use your application for a registration in lieu of a registration to operate legally on Louisiana waters. This reg does not specify that the application be valid or likely to be accepted, simply that you have it and you have applied for a registration and are waiting for it to be processed. I may just use this to apply for a registration every time I take the damn thing out in case I get stopped by a game warden.

Alternatively, I was thinking about registering it in another state and transferring that registration to my own state, however I have NO documents on the boat AT ALL. Is there any state where this would be possible?

Also, I've read somewhere about someone in a similar situation, where the person ended up registering it as a homebuilt and starting a new paper trail, however from the forms it makes it seem like you need receipts for the materials you used to verify that you paid taxes on it. Could I potentially buy potentially buy a roll of tape or something, stick some to the boat, and provide that receipt as a component and say everything else used to make the boat was provided by me?

I really want to make this thing work as a fleet-mate to my other boat so I can have more than one buddy fish with me but from what I've seen it seems like I'm SOL. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm currently looking for a fishing boat that can do smaller inland lakes comfortably, but also Lake Michigan on good days. I'm considering this DynaTrak 196 SS for $3500. The only thing I'm worried about is the lower freeboard compared to a deep V, however it does look to be higher than other fish and skis I've seen. I've read a forum post saying that it handles fine in 2' and under chop. Any thoughts?

I got a mercury 40hp 1999 2 stroke and was wondering if it is possible to get an offshore exhaust system. If it is, how do I do it and what are the pros and cons?

I have tried calling the insurance company, which i use progressive, and they dont want to tell me an answer unless i file a claim. My boat upholstery is torn up from being exposed to the sun without the cover as the cover blew off the back half. Would insurance cover this? I have tried to find my coverage documents but cannot locate them on the website.

Sorry if it's a noob question. I got into waterfowl hunting this year and plan to buy a duck boat next year, most likely in the 14 to 18 ft range. I'm also planning to buy my own vehicle within the next year too.

Other than a pickup truck, what kind of vehicle is capable of towing a boat and trailer of that size? I'm still 50/50 on getting a pickup or another kind of car, so I'm just wondering what kind of other options are available.

I'm a Mercury guy, never even touched an Evinrude before. Most of the stuff I work on uses diesel engines too.

Just saw this boat in the Florida panhandle. Not a great photo, but it’s a beautiful craft with a really cool pearlescent paint color.

I am a student in year 11 and I am doing my DT project about a safety product for boating so if you would please fill out this form https://forms.gle/bFbVWJXdv1eKm6cZ6

For our high school Capstone Project, we are required to engineer a device that could help solve an issue that many people encounter (Me and my Team are in a STEM Academy, hence the Capstone Project needing to be related to engineering). Our team have decided to make a device that could help to more efficiently and cost effective solution to clean rope as research has shown that dirty rope can be weakened by up to 30%, we would really appreciate it if people could fill our form as we need survey response to get an idea about how impactful our product could potentially be that would be greatly appreciated.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdd1sGDmNUuz4WSae17u4uFL6ShPLzMv8A1jv92B95qJeRCgQ/viewform?usp=sharing