New ride!

    Well, Bear Island is upon us once again.  I had thought we would have to pass again this year from the previous storm damage but they opened the island in time!

This year I am going to try a boat instead of my kayak.

    I picked up a 1970 Boston Whaler that is just perfect for this trip. Thanks, Jim! I have had it a few days and I have managed to do a few things preparing for the trip in a couple weeks. Mainly the trailer.

    I added stern straps to hold down the rear and replaced the winch on the front as the old ones' spring lock was weak.

I need to add a roller to the back brace. I had one here at the house but I can not find it anywhere! 

    I also added braced to the bow rest so it would not move while winching the boat onto the trailer.

   The coupler needed another bolt and the chains were getting old so I replaced those as well.

    I also removed all of the old lights to replace everything with LED lighting. I am also doing a couple marker lights on the side. I held off on installing them in case I can make time to paint the trailer before I head out for my trip. If not I will add them and paint it after the trip.

   I gave my dad a gas tank years ago that he never needed so I got it back sometime this year. It still looks new and should be great for this boat.

   Between me and my buddy Steve looking for motors, we found one up in Virginia at a dealership with only an hour on it. Tons of thanks to Steve for driving up to get it and dealing with the butt head dealership! Its a Yamaha 15 HP 4 stroke. It will not be a speed demon but it should get us from point A to point B just fine. Hey. it may even get us up on plane once we unload our gear unto the island! I just need to remember, if I push right I am going left! LOL, Maybe I will have Steve drive.

    I also found this "cap" in my junk box that will cap off the bow light bracket until I can figure out running lights for this boat. For now, I will probably just go with battery-operated, temporary lights, to get by with.

  The old girl has lots of cosmetic issues and needs some sort of more permanent seating but will be perfect for Bear Island trips. My OCD is clashing with my buddies "it's just a fishing boat" but I think it will balance out in the end. Stay tuned for more!