First Time Boat Owner Needs/Wants

Good Morning all,

I wake up this morning with a big smile on my face because i purchased my first boat last night (95 Lund PRO-V). With this new addition to the garage i have to add all sorts of odds and ends to the boat. It came with two graphs and a bow and stern trolling motors so i am covered there, 3 new batteries, lights, fire extinguisher and seats.

Now i need to fill the boat with necessities and all the other odds and ends. Its harder than i thought to remember/think of what i need to get my boat on the water and feel comfortable so i am looking for advice.

My list so far: Lifejackets, Throwable, Horn, Paddle, Extra Drain Plug, Tending Rope, Anchor and Rope, Fishing Net, Ruler/measuring board, first aid kit, multitool, TP.

Im sure there is a previous thread of this somewhere but i was unable to locate it.

Congrats on the rig!!

Your list is must have stuff. Take the boat out a few times before buying the ” want ” stuff. Be careful not to over clutter the floor as to make moving around and netting fish difficult.

Sunscreen

Urinal or bucket

Walleye Hungry wrote:

fire extinguisher

Check to see if it’s a Kiddie, they had a recall on a ship load of extinguishers.

I’m not going to touch on fishing gear as that could fill a website depending on what species you’re fishing for. River or lake mostly? If lake, large or small?

Onboard Battery charger?
Rod holders
Auto Kill switch unless you always use your tether.
If river fishing I wouldn’t be without a marine radio.
Drift sock (depending)
Thermocell and refills if fishing early mornings or late evenings.
Second anchor for the back of your boat?
Registration current? Trailer?
Extra brake/turn signal light

Best I have right now.

Congrats!! Nice Boat!

Thanks for the replies guys. i do have an onboard charger, autokill and current reg/lifetime trailer. Thermocell and Sunscreen would have slipped my mind, two big musts for me.

Mostly fishing bigger lakes but maybe the river a couple times as well.

Spare for trailer
Extra fuses

Congrats, a 95 Pro V was my first boat too! Be careful if you are single, they are a chick magnet, I wound up married with a kid very soon after!

A couple of additions I’d recommend.

Buy one of those pre-fab tool sets at Harbor Freight or Menards. The one with sockets, wrenches, etc all in a nice box. You can NEVER have too many tools, I can’t count the number of times my little tool kits have saved my day or somebody else’s day.

Make sure you have a lug wrench fits the trailer’s lug nuts. There is a 94% chance they are a different size from your vehicle’s lugs. Also check to see if your vehicle’s jack will work for the trailer. Some will, some won’t.

If your spare tire has a lock on it, make sure you have the key and that the lock isn’t rusted.

Buy a handheld, rechargeable LED spotlight. If you are on the water at night, nothing beats a strong spotlight for keeping you safe.

If your motor has a fuel filter, be sure to have a spare or at least change the filter yearly.

Grouse

I also think you should always carry a source of fire, lighter or waterproof matched.
One time fishing a small cranberry reservoir in my 1460 flat bottom, a storm blew in and turned the water into 3′ whitecaps. We got soaked trying to get to shore a ways from the landing (couldn’t make headway with a 9.9. With the rain and splash over we got soaked in about 45 degree weather (spring crappie fishing). If it hadn’t been for the lighter and some aerosol reel lubricant to start a fire, we probably would have had to call for help with our hypothermic state. Never did we think we’d get stranded but being prepared saved us.

Lifetime license? I wonder how close that comes in under 3,000 pounds.

Estimating here.
1,100 – 1,250 lbs dry weight for the boat, depending on model of Pro-V
500 lbs for the motor, give or take
400-500 lbs for the trailer.
120 lbs for fuel (20 gallons * 6 lbs)
150 lbs of batteries (50 lbs * 3)
40 lbs of trolling motors?

That’s already 2,310 – 2,560. That leaves room for about 500 lbs for other stuff, coolers, anchor, tackle, rods, whatever. Might come in under the wire, or it might be worth having it weighed just in case.

fire extinguisher

Electrical tape, zipties, screwdrivers, sidecutter pliers, couple needlenose pliers, jumper cables in case the starting battery dies or need to jump someone else’s battery.

Kyhl wrote:

Lifetime license? I wonder how close that comes in under 3,000 pounds.

Shhhhh LOL

BigWerm wrote:

Congrats, a 95 Pro V was my first boat too! Be careful if you are single, they are a chick magnet, I wound up married with a kid very soon after!

HAHAHAHA i just had a newborn in March and a wife of 4 years…good to know that it has the pulling power to trade up in the future. Joking of course

TOILET PAPER!
rain gear
i always have an umbrella in the boat for those super sunny days.
Extra Rope
whistle

Buy a complete replacement spare hub – hub, seal, bearings, races, grease, washer, castle nut, cotter key, dust cap – and learn how to change everything out. In the event of blowing a bearing, you won’t be stranded on the side of the road like a helpless newbie. You will be able to fix it and get back on your way. Depending upon location, this could save you anywhere from hours to days and a lot of frustration.

Spare sunglasses and TP.

Congrats! As they say, the best two days in a boat owners life. The day they buy the boat and then the day they sell it!

-J.

Jon Jordan wrote:

As they say, the best two days in a boat owners life. The day they buy the boat and then the day they sell it!

LOL aint that the truth

Boat – a hole in the water you throw money at

B O A T

Break
Out
Another
Thousand

-J.

From the sound of it, what you really need is a bigger boat!

Congrats! It’s pretty exciting!

Sheer pins
Quality rope.
Couple quarts of oil.
A large stick to beat off all the hot chicks.

Congrats! Awesome boat.

Not sure if mentioned but don’t forget a rope for launching and loading boat.

Jon Jordan wrote:

B O A T

Break
Out
Another
Thousand

-J.

A boat is cheap compared to having kids. Get rid of your kids and the money flows like water.

Can koozies.

Adequate drink holders.

Back up margarita salt.

Those lil umbrella things for the cocktails, chicks dig em.

Stereo, portable, built in, whatever, jams will be needed.

My fishing boat is recreational majority of time. Didn’t think it would end up that way but it did.

Party on Garth.

belletaine wrote:

From the sound of it, what you really need is a bigger boat!

Don’t we all?

Grouse

Electrical tape. Works great as a waterproof band-aid too

One thing I didn’t see mentioned is a wire stripper, crimper and an assortment of butt splices, terminal connectors for several different sizes. This has saved me a couple of times when things quit working. Also i have a couple of those cheap rain ponchos just in case you get caught out in a rain storm.

Congrats!

Did anyone say anything about extra set of the correct size spark plugs? Came in handy for me!

Thanks for all the info boys. Time to swipe the card