new owner of a 2013 G23

[Scooter G]

Truly amazing, thanks for sharing. Would love to see a side by side picture comparison, the still of March, and a Saturday afternoon in July...

[DMS2610]

I'm very pleased to report that I have been lucky to get a place at Chasewater Wakeboard Club and for my boat to be stored at the lake. I went to the AGM last week and it was great to meet some of the members, introduce myself and let them know I'm hoping for pointers lol. On the 23rd of this month my son and I are taking our SBDA and ICC with the club as this is sensibly mandatory to drive a boat here.

Finally, I took a few pictures of the lake so you guys can see where my G23 will finally get some action

[DMS2610]

Thanks Nick, my first boat, I am a proper greenhorn so mopping up help here and as excited as a kid at xmas lol

[nickleej80]

Congrats on the new boat! love the transformation photos. Hope you have lots of fun with the family!

[DMS2610]

Great advice buddy thank you

[charlesml3]

OK, I have lots and lots of hours driving the 2013 G23 and there is one thing you need to know. This was the first year of the G23 and the throttle/shifter... isn't the best. There's nothing that can't be overcome, but it does have a quirk you're going to need to know about:

In short, it can sometimes be hard to tell if the shifter is locked into the neutral position or just barely in forward or reverse. There isn't much feedback from the shifter when you come back to neutral. To handle this, I started doing what I called "The Wiggle." Any time I was driving this boat and I pulled off to neutral, I'd wiggle the shifter a little front/back to make SURE it was in neutral. After a while, this just became second-nature. I sometimes still do it even on later model boats that have a different shifter mechanism.

-Charles

[DMS2610]

Great advice Scooter, water time will be everything, Experian e will be vital

[Scooter G]

I think you will be glad you have little time to get familiar with everything, there is a little learning curve. Practice with the toggle and pad on the arm rest, before long you will be able to negotiate all that without glancing down. Run your ballasts at different fill levels, and wake/wave settings to get a feel for wave shape and dynamics (that looks good, or doesn't), dependent on weight and passenger load. Starts, stops & turns, coming back to pick up the man down. I had all the kids practice nosing into a buoy, and just barely touching it with the bow. Total train wreck at 1st, but they eventually got good at it, which helped them immensely with their trailering skills. If you can get a day with a little wind, that practice drill will help you negotiate slipping in for wind correction.
Keep plenty of ice in the freezer for the soar jaw the next day from smiling!

[DMS2610]

Nah…I'm a wuss lol

[Rednucleus]

DMS2610 if it's not frozen, get a dry suit and go ski! If you do it regularly you will get used to/tolerate the cold!

[DMS2610]

Well I'm beginning to get exctied…..our lake opens for membership this coming month and I have a place secured, also a place for storing my boat at the lake which is amazing. I have booked the drivers course for me and my son and the people at the club all seem to be very welcoming. It's going to be too cold to go in the water for a couple of months but I at least get the chance to launch the boat, get to grips with it and some driving practice in

[MN Ryan]

Yeah, I agree that a boating course should be required. There are a lot of morons out there. In MN, we have the following regulations. Once you're 18, it's a free-for-all. Our son turned 12 this year--I should have him take a course. I'm not ready for him to tow me, yet, but it won't be long!

Less than 12 years old:
• 25 hp or less — no restrictions.
• More than 25 through 75 hp — must have someone at least 21 years old on board within immediate reach of the controls.
• More than 75 hp — not allowed to operate even with an adult on board.

12-17 years old:
• 25 hp or less — no restrictions.
• More than 25 hp, must either have:
– a watercraft operator’s permit, or
– someone at least 21 years old on board and within immediate reach of the controls.

[Scooter G]

Man I wish we had a required Boaters class here, teaching mostly etiquette, common sense, and hey what do those little red & green lights mean on the front of a boat.
There is no age limit on how young you can drive a boat here, all my kids learned to pull at 12, dang good boat drivers they are. Then there was the time my daughter hooked a super tight turn with me at the end of the rope, I made the mistake of going to the outside, I discovered that it is possible to do 75 mph on a wakeboard, lol.

Searching for the "big yellow ball"

[DMS2610]

So, our lake opens at the beginning of March, but the water will be so cold. As I am a new boater, my son (16 yesterday) and myself will be taking the BWDW Ski Boat Drivers award, it's mandatory at the lakes available to me and a good idea anyway. This will of course tease me getting a chance to drive my boat then having to store it again until the big yellow ball appears (it's a mythical thing that appears rarely here in the UK )….the wait is killing me!!!

[DMS2610]

I’m with you Scooter, counting the days until our season starts. It’s short here, 5-6 months max so we have to make the best of it