On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 02:17:17 GMT, "Jesse Dinkin"
wrote:
My wife and I bought a boat this season and having never owned or driven a
boat before, I've been learning to drive it. But in the meantime, I've done
my level best to "destroy" it by running into docks trying to park it etc.
We keep it on a manmade lake that the state regulates the depth of......so
there are parts that are very shallow and they get even shallower as the
season goes on......tonight we went out for a ride and I ran over either
some rocks or a log or something.....I don't know how much damage I
did......what is the worst case.....that could be.....could I have damaged
the fiberglass???? if so can it be repaired........last weekend I tried to
back the boat up to a small sandy island because that's what everyone else
does......and I ended up with the propeller stuck in the sand.....could that
have damaged the propeller or the mechanism......As you can see I know
nothing about boats or anything mechanical........I'm not sure that the trim
is going all the way up......If anyone can shed some light on this, I would
be very appreciative.......
by the way the boat is an I/O 18 ft SeaRay......
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You are making a good case for getting an older boat for your first
learning experiences. Most of us have done all that and more at one
time or another, but a really ambitious beginner can cram it all into
just a few weekends.

Better yet, why not take some safe boating courses and try to find
some knowledgable folks who can go out with you a few times and show
you the ropes. You've been lucky so far that all injuries have been
to the boat.