Shift Problem

Well I spoke with my marina and a different Volvo dealer. They will be hauling the boat next Wednesday and working on it then, hopefully it will be a one day repair. But the point of the matter is I have had the outdrive service three times, once by one dealer and twice by another. Both times the second dealer did the winter service, storage and re-installation of the drive I have had to come out of the water the week after going in because of some kind of drive or transom shield problem. Now this could possibly be coincidence but I have also heard from many other sources that there have been a lot of complaints lately about this particular Volvo dealer. Between past experiences and what I am hearing I have decided to make the switch....what is the worst that could happen, I still get bad service? Hopefully my issue will be resolved quickly and all future service will not cause other issues...only time will tell.

This weekend we will be fishing aboard one of the local charters or party boats, not sure on all the details yet but I do know it will not be on my boat. Which pretty much sucks in itself. Oh well, I would rather break down in the bay close to home now then 15 miles offshore later in the year. So it is good to get the wrinkles out early and hopefully the switching Volvo dealers will eliminate future wrinkles.

First Trip of '07

Well we did not make it out for winter flounder opening day but we did make it out for day two. This will be the first time in many years that I have not gone out on opening day. I did not hear any great reports from yesterday and figured I would start out in the bay. We tried all our usual spots and could not put a bite together. After talking to a buddy on the radio we decided to head for the river. We setup in the river and had the same results...no bite. After that we decided to make a bold move and try the inlet figuring that if the fish are there and we are not in the right spot maybe they are on their way out and closer to the inlet. Not even a nibble in the inlet, plus the wind was against the tide making anchoring a chore. We then decided to head back up river and give that one more shot but when setting up on anchor lost forward gear. After several minutes of trying to get back into forward I was getting ready to call Sea\\Tow but just as I was about to hail them got the boat into gear and decided to head back to the barn. That ended up being a good call because after getting back to the slip I was not able to get back into forward after backing in, actually had to stop the reverse motion manually because I had no forward to pop into to slow the boat. Shortly after cleaning up it started to rain anyway so heading in was probably the right thing to do anyway. Hopefully the Volvo dealer was right when they said it is not a big job to fix and with some luck they will be able to work on it this week and have me ready for next weekend.

Launch Delayed

Well unfortunately I am not going in the water tomorrow. A friend's charter boat was delayed in getting ready and the marina is scrambling to get them in the water. They should be good to go tomorrow so then it is on to me. A couple of problems have come up, one that needs to be handled before getting wet. The through hull fitting for the plug has a screw missing or the head has snapped off. So we have to address that since an issue with a 1 inch sized hole in the bottom of the boat is pretty important. Once that is taken care of we will be in the water. This should be by Thursday, Friday the latest. Just in time for winter flounder.

Snow & Ice...I Thought it was Spring!

What a mistake it was taking the cover off the boat last week. 2-3 inches of ice and melted and re-frozen snow covering the cockpit, swim platform, gunwales and forward deck. What a pain the but to break it up and get it off the boat. when it partially melts and re-freezes it sure grabs onto the non-skid deck and does not like to let go. Hopefully the thin coating of snow and ice that I did not remove in the nooks of the non-skid will melt by Tuesday, launch day!

Is Spring Coming or Not!

It is funny how if I wash my truck it will rain in the summer or snow in the winter. Well this is the second year in a row that I have removed the cover on the boat and we are hit with a somewhat major snow storm. At least I did not go in the water yet, otherwise I would have had to stay near the boat to keep shoveling it out to prevent it from sinking. I know during some of the past few snow/ice storms this year the Sea\\Tow guys have been very busy. Hopefully the weather will calm down after tomorrow and we can get the '07 fishing season underway. Only 6 days till winter flounder!

Splash Day!

Well if all goes well we will be splashing the boat Tuesday the 20th!

Oh Happy Day!

Yes it is! The cover came off today and final preparation is just about done for launch day. I fished the wiring overhaul project as well as the finishing touches on new wiring for new devices and toys. Loaded on most of the gear and safety equipment. Removed the rosin paper that I had taped down in the cockpit to keep it clean over the winter while working on the boat. Boy did that work well. The cockpit sole is just as clean as the day it was washed and polished. I was hesitant that the rosin paper might bleed since it was red but there was only two stains about the size of dimes that were only a very faint pink color. Most likely they will fade in a week or so of sunlight.

I also finally finished moving my second sonar unit to the cockpit. It will be so nice to not have to squint and duck to look into the pilothouse and read the one at the helm. It will also just be cool to watch your hooked fish come up on the screen next to you! I also finished installing the new radio. I have never used a Uniden VHF but have had several of their other products with no complaints.

I also went with a wireless second station mic so I can roam anywhere on the boat and hear what is going on and keep in contact with fellow fisherman.

Another good use of the wireless mic is when someone goes up on the bow to work the anchor. They can take the mic with them and I won't have to shout through the windows for them to hear, it doubles as an intercom system. It will also serve me well while back at the dock hanging out in the picnic area waiting for the larger boats returning from offshore. Instead of having to run out to the boat to hail them on the radio we will be able to do it from the comfort of a lounge chair.

I would have liked to get the new cockpit lighting, CO2 detector, new power points and freshwater shower installed before going back in the water. Because most likely once in the water projects get put on the back burner unless absolutely needed...fishing becomes the number one priority once we get wet!

2007 Sinker Party

Well we had a smaller turnout and only molded between five and six hundred pounds of lead. Last year we molded about nine hundred pounds. I guess most fished less last season and did not need to replenish their inventory. I recently purchased snag molds and they worked out great. It seemed to be more popular than we thought and we ran out of hooks fast. The smaller spire point molds that I got did not work well. It seemed that the holes to pour the lead into were way too small. I have already milled them out a little and hopefully this will fix the incomplete pouring issues. It definitely was not a cold mold issue but more of a flow issue so that should be all fixed. We did get a handful of the smaller 1 ounce ones made and they look like they will be great for river and bay fishing or pitching to surface busting fish. Now it is on to painting, curing and tying all of them. That should keep me busy till fluke season starts this year even though it is much later.