Sometimes things just make sense. And then when we do them something clicks in our head making us think we made a mistake. This couldn't have been more true when I listed the motor on me and Jim's boat for sale. Jim purchased his boat back in 1996. Surprisingly to me his original boat came with a Yamaha 130 hp two-stroke engine on it.
I thought that all of the Jones Brothers 19'10" Cape Fisherman came with a 150 hp motor on it. Some six years later Jim re-powered with a 175 Yamaha HPDI. A motor that was different than others at the time, and supposedly better on gas mileage and power, I think.
Now 1996 is a long ways back. It was the year Ryan was born, and as of last month he would have been 28 years old. That 175 would be 22 years old this year, not a spring chicken by any means. But it was well cared for and not used all that much as Jim kept that boat out in Pottstown and used it in the salt water. And since he passed in 2018 and during my tenure with it it hasn't seen but a few days out on the water. But that said, when I did want to service it before getting it wet, it was hard to find someone willing to open her up, "It's a death by 1,000 cuts", they told me over at Gateway Marine. So I bought it over to Mercer Marine.
So as we have started our two-three year New Jersey exit plan hopefully heading to Hilton Head the question became, "What do I do with the boat?". I love this boat, loved mine, until I sold it, and now love Jim's. And I love that I was able to continue Jim's "Brine Fly" journey, even if that's just making the move from Pottstown to Titusville, and sitting in our driveways.
The few times I did have the boat out it I was always nervous if not trying to figure out what was wrong with it. when Leif and I would give it a go we'd start backing the boat in the water and then
pulling it back out when it didn't start. That happened more than once. That all led me to not have much confidence in it and always left me nervous, "Should we try and shut it down while we fish?" was a common question. But after we got underway we had some really good days out on her. And then there was that one cold December morning in 2020. That was just a flukey thing. And yes I had the wheels on the truck chocked.
Last week I talked with Paul Eidman who has done the old-Jones Brothers 19'10" makeover in the past. New poly tank replacing a metal one, redoing the supports and the deck, and re-powering it. At some point I would have had to do the same to my original Jones. That's just the way it is.
So I came up with a realistic plan. The boat really needs a make-over, like a good one. Not a patch job here and there but a stripped-down naked kind of makeover. Why have a 22-year old motor, and a finicky one at that, that isn't easy to get parts for or someone to work on it, sitting in my driveway for another cold winter? Let me take the plunge and sell the motor and go forward.
