Freshwater boating?

[Hookmanski]

Haven't been able to get out a lot lately unfortunately, but have been preparing for my next addition, a Sea Nymph 14R a friend is giving me! He had gotten it for free from his old neighbor who moved down to FL and was upgrading, and it's been sitting in his garage since. I believe it has either an 8hp or 9.9hp Honda as well. I haven't even seen the thing yet, but I'm totally excited at the prospect of being able to get out on some of the bigger lakes in the state.

That said, I've really only gone out on freshwater boats a few times. Once with NJSquatch at the infamous 2019 Meet n Greet, once on SRR with a rented pontoon and a few times as a kid. Kayaking was always the thing we did on the water. I've already taken the 9 hour boaters safety course, but wanted to hear from some people with real experiences. What are the must have things on board outside of the obvious? Also, since I'll have a vessel under 16ft, i should be able to operate it with just a boaters safety certificate and not a full boating license right? I'm going to have to go to the DMV when it's time to register but im not looking forward to that as I've heard it can be a nightmare. Any tips would be appreciated! tight lines, hope everyone is healthy and doing well!