Years of knowledge

Seeing as I just bought my first boat I thought I would see what everyone has come up with over the years as MUST HAVES in your boat . Im sure there will be some good ones on here.

An intelligent opperator is a #1 MUST HAVE

All saftey equipment beyond minimal standards

Extra PFD
Extra drain plug
Stow-away tool set
flare gun

Aside from all the legally required stuff, fishing gear, etc…

First aid kit (very important…I use mine several times a year)
Toilet paper in a ziplock
Spare fuses for electrical system (check which kind your boat uses)
Basic tools….pliers, wire stripper, screwdrivers of different flavors
Big flashlight and headlamp(s)
Towels for wiping up fish blood/slime, coffee spills, etc.
Don’t forget a lug wrench that will fit the trailer tires…I usually keep that in my truck rather than the boat.

In addition to the other good suggestions… Rope. Dock bumpers. Sun screen. Bug spray.

Check to make sure your vehicle jack will fit under the trailer when / if the tire goes flat. A lot of the vehicle jacks are too tall to fit the jack under the trailer frame and there you sit.

Basic electrical kit: electric tape, butt connectors, loop connectors and male / female spade connectors. Boat wiring is a frequent problem area on boats as they age.

Replacement bilge pump cartridge. You might never need one but when you do you’ll be awful darn glad you carry a spare.

Spare bulbs for nav/anchor lights

Keys. Spare Keys. Why in the world did I show up at a launch without the keys to my boat last year.. Who does that ?!??!

Then, At Dusk.. I called my wife to ask if my light bar was in the corner of the garage, next to the toolbox. “Yes, Why?” was her response. FAIL.

to add to other’s suggestions:

Handheld marine band radio
can coozies…
spotlight
rain gear

Bonecarl’s going to need a bigger boat to carry all this stuff.

LOL Your telling me. You should see the size of this list.

I carry an extra prop along with all the above mentioned.

oh, the obvious…a cooler of “beverages”…

Back up battery powered running lights, a whistle, wet wipes for the dipbait……just to add a few more

Jumper cables. They can save your day ( or someone elses ).
A dead crank battery on the water is not good. I also have an anchor rope long enough to serve as a tow rope.
WKW

I forgot to add the “kitchen sink”.
WKW

Along the lines of spare fuses. Get a good feel of which fuse is in which spot on the panel. After blowing a bildge fuse on my current boat and fumbling in 3 footers trying to figure out the blown fuse, had to bail out and head to shore cutting an outing short. (Remember that one Mike W?)

I now have that fuse and a couple other important fuses marked so they can be switched out in a hurry.

Congrats on the new boat.

-J.

A nice comfortable 5-6 gallon bucket.

I always carry a “fake” shami to whip my boat down after trailered. Keeps it looking “nicey”….

I buy the cheap ones and throw them away every year. They get to smelling after a years use.

100mph tape and 550 cord!

James,
Here is a little trick I learned in the military to solve the jack not fitting under the trailer problem. Find a rock,log or I’m betting the spare tire would do. Wedge it in front of the flat trailer tire and pull the rig forward slowly. When the tire goes up on the object, set the brake and the jack should fit under. You have to use a little common sense but if you are careful it works just fine.
The only thing I carry that hasn’t been mentioned is extra impellers for my livewell pump. I tend to sheer them of if anything get in there and replacing the impeller is a 30 second job if someone else runs the boat at speed

along with boat keys don’t forget to have the key’s for what ever vehicle you use to tow your rig with,it’ll be real handy when your keys get locked in the car or they happen to fall in the lake,I didn’t do it but know 1 that did.
Stan

I am going fishing all this time without these items. MG what was I thinking.

To piggyback on James and Rednecks post…I did a “dry run” tire change on my trailer a couple years ago. I found out that my lug wrench from my truck wouldn’t fit the trailers lug nuts. I had everything to do the job, but couldn’t get the tire off!

Since I fish mostly in the dark (pardon the pun) my favorite quote from a lost Ido member is “redundancy is a good thing”.

Spotlights
Extra spark plugs
>>>Duct Tape<<<
Vise Grips

those are really really good suggestions.. the extra boat key and an EXTRA KILL SWITCH KEY as well.. and trust me the first thing a guy forgets is the boat key, the drain plug and that the kill switch needs to be connected the first time out in spring. I keep my extra keys in the rod locker. and a boat plug in the well by the motor.

Forgot…I carry an extra quart of oil for the days I’m out fishing by myself and figured I had enough. The beeping is really annoying!

Quote:

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Replacement bilge pump cartridge. You might never need one but when you do you’ll be awful darn glad you carry a spare.

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Hmmmm….Hmmmmm, Mr. Ritter???

(Or at least make sure you have your bilge pump in place whether it works or not!)

what’s the purpose of carrying an extra prop with out a prop wrench? I also carry a lube gun to give the jerks a couple pumps before departing on a long trip. Extra rain gear for the dummy who always “forgets” Rechargable spotlight for retying you line.

Now you know why boat owners are broke.

Now that you have all these very good suggestions, you’re already saying to yourself……I need a bigger boat!

Seriously though, these are all good suggestions, but you need to sort through and decide what really fits your needs. As for jumper cables, very good idea that most people don’t think of, the thing is to get the extra long ones if you are going to keep them in your boat. Jumping batteries between 2 boats takes some space, especially if the water is rough. Fuses, you don’t need many, but make sure they are the right ones. Usually if you need one, with todays boat designs, its the main fuse to the power block, or an in line fuse for one of your electronics. A couple drain plugs are good to have. Your boat drain and livewell drain are probably different sizes, so look at them. Some people carry extra anchors, I don’t really see the need unless you are going to be on large bodies of water. Yes, carry at least one, but an extra one is really needed. Do however have a good rope for it. Not some thin little rope that easily tangles up, and don’t have less than 50′, preferably 100′ in case you might need to tow another boat to shore sometime. Flares are a good idea, again if you are large bodies of water. If you do not carry flares, diffenitly carry a strong flashlight, and I suggest a plug in style floodlight.(of course, if your boat does not have a 12v plug in, forget the flood). An extra prop is always a good thing to have if you fish in a lot of shallow water or in rivers that may have obstructions you may not see under the surface. A plastic prop wrench will be needed of course to change the prop. Other saftey equipment as required, as well as “creature comfort” things like sunblock, insect spray, ect…. As for the bucket idea, yeah you’ll need one if you have a woman fishing with you, and bring the t.p. too. In my boat, since I guide and don’t want to take the chance some man might lean too far over when he’s taking a leak, I went out and got a kids plastic wiffle bat and cut the ends off. Makes a nice long skinny funnel for guys to use without having to lean over the side.

Lastly, something I don’t recall seeing mentioned, a decent livewell net for getting fish out of the well. Last thing you want after a great day of fishing is a gill plate slicing the side of your thumb.

I gotta say, my boat is seeming pretty small right now. I knew I would get a *$#tload of ideas from you guys. If I buy everything on this list im thinking I should just get a big neon sign, attach it to my boat and cruise around selling goods to all the people in need on the river. On second thought, im a big guy and with the added weight of the neon sign on board i might be over the weight limit. Maybe i should get a inflatable raft too.

Maybe i should get a inflatable raft too.

Not a raft, I do see a few barges along the bank of the river you might want to tote behind you

Seriously though, you will find what items you will have in the boat and what you will keep in the truck or car. Everyone’s style is a little different, but is nice to be prepared for the unexpected. I’m always amazed at how many non-boaters I have had that was shocked to find dry tiolet paper in a doubled up zip lock bag. You would think they looked relieved