My new boat is here :) now with picture

[Jim B]

I got the call today that my new Z7 has arrived. Im looking forward to getting my hands on it and seeing what it can do. All we need now is some soft water



Here is a photo i took this morning when i went down to drop off my batteries. Its not rigged yet but they said will be working on it this week. Ill post some more picts when i pick it up. So far is looks great and i reall like the green in person even more then i liked it in the book.

 

[Ed Slowinski]

I have no doubt you will

like it.We all need some

good weather.Congrats.

 

[Larry Harp]

Heeeeeey!! Congratulations, Jim. I'll bet you can't wait to hit the water. Get us some pictures ASAP!!!!

 

[Greg Duggan]

Congrats Jim!!

the water will be open before we both know it... that rain last week really nocked down the snow cover here in NH. the lakes will get some good sunshine this week. i am predicting the 3rd week of April for ice out...

good luck with the new rig and post some pics when you go and check it out

GreD

 

[Lonnie Conner]

Congrats Jim, Nice ride and I'm sure that its just stressing you waiting for good weather but all good things are worth waiting for.

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

I'm drooling right now so if that was mine and I couldn't get it in the water, I'd be drooling and going insane.

Great looking boat Jim and I sure am jealous! I like that green too but now are you going to have to paint your tow vehicle green, silver and white?



Uncle Billy

 

[Dan J.]

Nice!!!! I had a couple 896's in that color scheme. Beautiful in tow or on the water and not too hard to keep pretty. Enjoy!

 

[Bob G.]

Very nice Jim!



Colors look like mine. Trailer looks identical.



Bob G.

 

[Aroldo Hernandez]

Congtrat's just get you some rod straps for the front.

 

[TRCM]

rod straps come with the boat, just not mounted....you mount them



nice boat.....

 

[TRCM]

Make sure you put the trolling motor down and check it out completely....mine won't lock down, and is nowhere close to vertical (off by more than 15 deg)



Also check the center seat bottom...on mine, any weight on it and it pops the fastehers loose



if you want a more detailed list of the issues I've had with mine, let me know...some are little, some are not so little

 

[Jim B]

TRCM,

I did look at that stuff already. The dealer let me go thru it completly while i was there yasterday and everything looks good. I got a minnkota tm on mine and the mount looks like its overhanging the proper amount. I will be sure to check it out when i pick the boat up.



The center seat on mine looks ok and felt firmly attached but i dont at all like the way its attached. It just looks like a problem waiting to happen. The z7 they have on the floor at at my local BPS(not where i got my boat from) was broken, i dont doubt its from a million kids jumping on it all day. I plan to take a look at the mounting and modify it so its on there better.



If you want to post the rest of the stuff please do. It may give me some things i may need to watch out for.

 

[Jody Woodruff]

Congrats! I like the color scheme.

 

[TRCM]

Here's the list so far.....most are small and cosmetic, but still...for the money, they shouldn't be an issue



I'm honestly not trying to badmouth anyone, but to warn others of things to look for



1) spare tire mount does not space tire far enough away from boat to even mount the tire on the carrier



2) master power switch loose in dash



3) depthfinder mounted crooked in dash



4) center seat bottom fasteners pulled out of bulkhead and left no way to safely attach seat



5) center seat back is mounted crooked (one side higher than the other)



6) all compartment handles leak water into the compartments



7) trolling motor will not lock in the down position



8) trolling motor shaft is about 15 deg off from vertical front - back, and 5 deg off side to side



9) windshield has scratches on it



10) cap to hull bumper is mounted crooked at drivers side rear of boat



11) rigging tube is too long (tripping hazard on rear deck)



12) wrong oil for the engine was put in reservoir (optimax oil in an efi engine)



13) emergency braking cable hangs up in the latch mechanism for the trailer



14) gearshift mechanism loose



15) trash/spare parts/broken drill bits found in battery well area



16) passengers rod strap mounted crooked







I also don't like the way the drivers/passengers seats are hinged...that could also become a safety issue if you lean against the seat and it flips up at a bad time.

 

[Jim B]

Good info, thanks



I took a good look at mine yesterday and from what i can see none of those issues exist with it. All the cosmetic stuff looks great and the boat looks well put together.



I still dont like how the center seat is mounted like i said but i will make it better.



I agree with you that you spend some good $$ on a boat and the stuff your seeing shouldnt be a problem but i think its on the dealer to make the boat 100% right before you take delivery. #11,12 and 15 i think fall squarely on the dealer. #2,3,4,5,7,8,9,14,16 should have been caught and corrected while they were rigging the boat in my opinion.

 

[Rich Stern]

Nice boat!

 

[TRCM]

another issue I was warned about on the Z-7's (from another owner I met at the ramp) is his bilge pump did nto work. When I got home, I put the plug in my boat and started filling it with the garden hose.



Well, after 5 min of filling, the auto bilge pump still hadn't come on, so I started the manual one, and it worked. turned it off and kept filling...after probably 12 minutes, the auto pump kicked on, but, even 10 minutes after it stopped pumping water, it was still running. I had to disconnect it from the battery to turn it off



words of warning.....they are gonna fix mine, but you may want to check yours





BTW, it performed quite well on the water, and the speedo showed 62 mph @ 5100 rpm...and the engine is goof to 5600 rpm. Have to see what it will do now that the break in period os over and I can keep it at wot for more than 10 seconds.

 

[Jim B]

Thanks for the heads up. I wenttoday to do the final paperwork and i checked mine out in the shop. The motor is mounted and they are almost done rigging the rest of the stuff i wanted. I pick it up on wed and i will go over it with a fine tooth comb even tho nothing stood out to me when i looked the other day.

 

[TRCM]

If you have an auto bilge pump, check it. Mine had the float mounted 6" below the pump, so the float would turn it on, but there was no water at the pump to pump.