The Shakedown Cruise

Posted on September 10, 2018 by Dan

The thing with old boats, as with women, is you just don’t know much about them until you take them out.

The day after my previous post, I took the boat to a lake about 45 minutes from home. I’ve been meaning to fish this lake for a while, and it was one of the reasons I wanted to get a boat in the first place. The lake is known for a good largemouth bass population, as well as several species of catfish, and a recently introduced fish called a saugeye. That’s a cross between a sauger and a walleye, and supposedly fun to fish and tasty as well. There is also the usual bluegill and sunfish.

Anyway, I pulled up to the marina and paid my launch fee and got some bait for bluegill fishing, just in case I wasn’t doing well with the bass. I took the cover off and moved my fishing poles and other stuff into the boat. I always try to bring boat snacks and plenty of water to drink. I’m not much into alcohol and boating, especially if I’m the captain. A DUI on the water counts as a DUI on land.

Continue reading →

Posted in Boats | Comments Off on The Shakedown Cruise

Boat Upgrades

Posted on September 4, 2018 by Dan

As I’ve mentioned, I recently purchased a decent used boat. What’s the first thing you want to do when you buy something like this? Upgrades!

First up was safety issue number one. This trailer needed tires and it needed them bad. The guy I got it from said he experienced a flat while it was in the driveway and that he had replaced the tire. I assumed new tire and it kind of looked like it was. I guess I should have looked closer. That tire was a radial from 2012 and it had some interesting wear on it. The other tire was a bias from 2007 and it looked it. It was cracked all over.

The spare? Let me tell you about the spare. Well, it was round and it fit on the 14 inch rim. That’s about all that was correct with it. It was a Goodyear car tire and had a smaller outer diameter than the others, it was also much wider. So wide that I’m not sure it wouldn’t have rubbed the trailer. And, oh joy, it was flat and wouldn’t hold air. That’s not a surprise.

Continue reading →

Posted in Boats | Comments Off on Boat Upgrades

Dan 2.0

Posted on August 22, 2018 by Dan

I’ve been a heavy guy for decades. I was most fit when I was a senior in high school and had spent the previous summer working at a garden center loading and unloading trucks and shifting stock around. My AFJROTC uniform hung off me like a curtain when we returned to class that fall. I won’t say I was ripped, but I wasn’t flabby either.

I gained a little weight through community college, but not awful. I was working at a greenhouse part time, so still had some physical activity. When college ended, I ran a greenhouse for a landscape company. This job evolved into working on the landscape crew. My primary job was to dig holes and move materials with a wheel barrow. Fun, right? I kept my weight at a reasonable level. The Mexican guys still called me Gordo (fat), but still respected my willingness to work hard.

Eventually, I got a job doing turf grass maintenance. This mainly involved pushing a lawn spreader to fertilize the grass, then walking the lawn to spot spray for weeds. I lost some weight with all the walking and lifting 50 pound bags of fertilizer. However, this job led me to my new career. The owner and I were talking about my side job of making and fixing computers and he asked if I wanted to make that a full time job. I leaped at the chance and opened a computer store with him.

Continue reading →

Posted in Butter Burning | 1 Comment