So I guess after my drift boat purchase I was motivated to visit a purchase I made in 2003. During a tumultuous year back then I made a quick emotional purchase. I bought a 20 foot 1986 Marathon cuddy cabin. I used it for a season docking it in the Tradewinds Marina on the Shrewsbury River in Sea Bright. We did some fishing, cruised the rivers, and always hated coming in and trying to get it in the slip. The wind blows one way, the current the other, it was always hard. So the boat has sat in the elements for since 2004, and it wasn't pretty. The wood had rotted, there was standing water, and the tires were flat. So today my first mate, Erin, and I took the tires off, cleaned them up, and put them back on. We emptied the tons of pine needles, dead mice, and acorns that filled the interior. Lastly, we pulled her up and gave her a much needed bath. Surprisingly she cleaned up nice. My father has a mechanic that works at the shop where the boat is sitting and he has experience with marine motors. He helped me today and pulled the battery and placed it on a slow charge. Hopefully a new battery won't be the first buttload of money I'll have to spend to get her sea worthy. Even though I am a diehard trout fisherman, it seems silly not to expand a little and start to learn fly fishing in the bays and ocean. So it's been a week of boats, and tires- with the van known as Bertha gettting new rims and tires all the way around. I found a guy looking to unload the rims and tires- all four 100 bucks. I switched them out and then the old pitted rims and balding tires to a local recycler, he gave me 32 dollars. So Bertha got new kicks for a whopping $ 68.00. We'll see if the boat tires hold air when I go back tomorrow!
Dispatches from fly fishing for striped bass and more along the Jersey Shore and the Delaware River theaverageangler.com 732.261.7291 colin@theaverageangler.com
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
06.10.09 My inner boat captain comes out
So I guess after my drift boat purchase I was motivated to visit a purchase I made in 2003. During a tumultuous year back then I made a quick emotional purchase. I bought a 20 foot 1986 Marathon cuddy cabin. I used it for a season docking it in the Tradewinds Marina on the Shrewsbury River in Sea Bright. We did some fishing, cruised the rivers, and always hated coming in and trying to get it in the slip. The wind blows one way, the current the other, it was always hard. So the boat has sat in the elements for since 2004, and it wasn't pretty. The wood had rotted, there was standing water, and the tires were flat. So today my first mate, Erin, and I took the tires off, cleaned them up, and put them back on. We emptied the tons of pine needles, dead mice, and acorns that filled the interior. Lastly, we pulled her up and gave her a much needed bath. Surprisingly she cleaned up nice. My father has a mechanic that works at the shop where the boat is sitting and he has experience with marine motors. He helped me today and pulled the battery and placed it on a slow charge. Hopefully a new battery won't be the first buttload of money I'll have to spend to get her sea worthy. Even though I am a diehard trout fisherman, it seems silly not to expand a little and start to learn fly fishing in the bays and ocean. So it's been a week of boats, and tires- with the van known as Bertha gettting new rims and tires all the way around. I found a guy looking to unload the rims and tires- all four 100 bucks. I switched them out and then the old pitted rims and balding tires to a local recycler, he gave me 32 dollars. So Bertha got new kicks for a whopping $ 68.00. We'll see if the boat tires hold air when I go back tomorrow!