wow thank you every one for the sage advice. it takes a longe time to gain this much knowledge on ones own with much treasure with lots of blood sweat and tears.my dad liked to use what he called his top ten list- pre trip checks 1-10 . pre launch- launch 1-10 recovery - loading-1-10- put away 1-10/ sadly i don't have a copy of his list but with your help and what i remember i will get started on my own.

wow, lots of good pointers here even for experienced boaters.

If you were born after a certain date, a boater certification course and test are required. I think you can take the course and test free, but it cost to get the certification. The course and test probably is not a bad idea even if you don't need the certification.

When charging you batteries, always unplug your trolling motor or shut off your breaker. By doing so you wont burn up your trolling motor!

Check this thread out, some good info here.

http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbt...pr#Post11562596

Better yet find a gas station in your area or where you fish that has pure gas http://www.pure-gas.org/ and fill your boat up there.

It will save you a lot of headaches in the future.

Check the trailer tires including the spare for age. No matter the tread trailer tires will dry rot. Check and repack your wheel bearings. Make sure you have a tool that will work on your wheel nuts and a jack that will work on the trailer. Secure your spare. Pick a full treatment that has ethanol treatment in it.

Practice loading and unloading by yourself on a weekday when it's slow, it will make you more confident when it's crazy busy, and it helps others when it doesn't take you 30 minutes to load/unload a boat