New Epic Owner

[plus]

Hi All,

I'm a new  Epic 22 owner.  My nephew bought the boat in april 2001 and used it only 60 hours, before moving to Canada.  Needless to say, I got a wonderful buy as he wanted to keep the boat in the family.

I've owned many boats in the past, but this is my first ski boat.  I have a couple questions of course - one is how the heck do you steer them when you're backing around the dock?  It doesn't seem to steer to the rudder at all.  My second question is - why do I have to run the bilge a few minutes every hour... my assumption is the packing seeps or something.

I hate to start off with questions like that - the boat is so wonderful.  It cranks easily, loads easily,  and seems capable of hitting 50mph in like 11 seconds (our informal test on the lake).

Anyway, thanks to those that created the forum... and I'm real excited about my new boat.

Plus

[epic_toy]

Congrats on the new purchase!

For steering backward, it's usually best to not.  But, I've found that if I need to turn in a tight spot I always try to back to the right (ski boats are notorious for being difficult to steer at slow speeds due to the small rudder. the rotation of the prop allows you to steer better backwards to starboard (right)).

For leaks, check where the shaft enters the boat. You can reduce the drips by removing the pin and tigtening. I believe it should still leak a couple drops a minute for cooling / lubrication. Mine does...

Definitely check the whole cooling line with the engine running, exhaust manifold drains, and block drains.

One other tricky one that happened to me when I first got my boat. If you have a shower and leave the valves open the pressure in the sytem from the engine running can cause the shower to dribble out- even without the pump on. Check the temp of the water in the bilge as this can give you an idea where it might be coming from.

Good luck!

[cyclone]

Also, check the brass tubes in the trunk that are little air cylinders for the speedos. They are mounted on each side of the hull, behind the carpeted panels. If it was not winterized properly, those tubes will rupture when water freezes in them, causing a leak. I should put that in the winterizing procedure! It is not mentioned in the factory manual.

[cyclone]

Oh yeah, welcome to the site and congrats on your purchase. You got a better deal than you realize, these are very nice boats.Inboards are tricky at first but before long you will be able to maneuver it slowly and turn on a dime. They are WAY cooler than any IO, and Epics are so unique and striking that you will soon hear the statement.....

Toyota?!? I didn't know Toyota made boats........ Where can I get one?

[toyotafreak]

Welcome to both of our newbies!!!! I spent this weekend doing a pretty deep detail (you'll find I'm somewhat AR ;-) and after washing EVERYTHING, scrubbing carpet and upholstery, vinyl clean and treat, boat cover scub, new tarps (silver this time YES!), I can tell you that I just love my Epic. Mine's not special, besides being the second-best color scheme, right Cal, Les? Compared to the other boats out there today, the Epic lines are just so clean everywhere. Clearly, the vanilla look doesn't appeal to the boat-buying public right now/anymore, but as for my personal taste, these boats are just striking. It's like TOYOTA's Kidman versus MC's Lara Croft.


On a serious note, you'll want to keep the bilge pump on during the entire time the boat's floating. It's automatic, and will only run when a couple inches accumulate. Cheap insurance, and I've been thinking of swapping my Rule 500 for an 1100 or adding a second 500 for redundancy - don't need this upgrade, but it seems like a worthwhile upgrade nevertheless. Most important thing is to remember to turn on the bilge switch as soon as you launch and don't secure it until you're pulling her out.

In the Epic How-to page, you'll find a link to propshaft packing. One thing I'd draw a little more attention to is that when the propshaft isn't turning,the packing shouldn't even drip once per hour. Think about it - leave your babe moored overnight and find water up to the CD changer - no good. Not super critical - I haven't checked my drip rate while underway in over a year.

[Rambling Wreck]

Welcome, Plus. I am also a new Epic owner. I was nervous at first (perhaps still a little) but this site will go a long way toward reinforcing your decision to buy the Epic.

Absolutely check the driveshaft packing adjustment. I was pumpinig a gallon an hour. The owner's manual indicated that the wadding shouldn't be leaking any water at all without the shaft turning, which mine was. Of course I was reading this at midnight at my house 100 miles away from the lake where my boat was moored in the water until I could modify my lift to accomodate it. I got so paranoid that I drove back up the first thing the next morning. I would adjust a little, drive a little, adjust a little drive a little and I finally got it dripping just like the book recommends (one drop every 6 seconds). The bilge pump hasn't pumped but once in 20 hours use.

I have not driven a towboat other than my E21 but it is like heaven. I feel so "out in front" on this boat. perhaps it is the snub nose of the closed bow but I just love it. I am anxious to see some of the other Epics this weekend at the First Annual East Coast Epic Roundup. I want to see other configurations but toyotafreak is absolutely correct that the lines of these boats are beautiful. I had a Harley a while back that was just stunning. It wasn't from anything that I did. I was going through the catalog trying to pick out a bunch of chrome when a deal fell through on a bike that a old line dealer had showcased. He taught me that you never want any one item to stand out. You want people to marvel at the looks of the bike without knowing why they think it is so striking. He was so right - every piece of chrome I would have picked would have been competing with every other piece whereas the chrome he picked complemented the bike in an understated way. I feel the same with these boats - they just catch your eye with a clean look.

[Bitzco]

Kidman vs. Croft, huh. I guess it makes sense. While Pam Anderson as a boat would add ballast and turn some heads, she wouldn't be very aerodynamic (hydrodynamic?) or practical. That would be one high maintenance boat.