Maiden voyage of the new boat - Circus

Since I'm heading to FLA Saturday, I reluctantly drove my new boat (2005 Lund U170 with a 115 Optimax) up to Fergus to store it at my campground. Although I am dying to get her on the water, I'm pretty busy and I didn't see any other option. As I was towing it up, I passed the Belwood Lake Conservation area and made a snap decision. I pulled over, did a U-turn and decided to take her for a little spin. I wanted to have someone with me to help me get it into the water and maybe give me some bass boat pointers, the temptation to get it on the water was just too much. I pulled into the conservation area, prepped the boat for launch, and had the boat tied up at the docks in about 10 minutes. I parked my trailer, jumped out of the truck and hopped in my new baby. I sat down at the console and quickly realized I forgot the keys in the truck. I ran back to the truck, grabbed the keys and I was in business and out of breath. I turned the key, heard the starter, but the motor wouldn't start. I panicked but kept trying for about 5 minutes. Nothing. I started sweating and thought about calling the place I bought it from to see if they could help me out. I looked down and noticed the kill switch was turned off. I flipped it on, turned the key and she started up immediately. The relief I felt was slightly more than my embarrassment. After letting it idle for 5 excruciating minutes, I put her in gear and headed out to the middle of the lake slowly. Since I've read 100 articles on bass boat best practices, I knew to throttle down hard and get it on plane. When I gave her full throttle, the boat pitched hard to the right and I came awfully close to falling out. I throttled back, took a breath and tried again. I was ready this time and quickly got it on plane and I was cruising. I drove all over the lake and it handled awesome. I stopped the motor a few times to throw some casts and it fired back up again every time without a problem. It really was incredible. I checked the electronics, filled the live wells and did a few other "checks" and everything worked great. I think I picked the windiest, choppiest day possible on Belwood Lake so getting it back on the trailer by myself was an adventure, but I can honestly say this was an incredible experience. Ken