Playin Hooky

I was able to slip away from work and work on the boat in hopes of launching later in the week. Unfortunately some things took longer than planned and the guys in the marina won't be in on Friday which would be the only other day this week I could get back down.

Anyway we got the through hulls in today. That was the big hurdle, now that those are in it is all down sea from here.

I had planned on polishing the hull sides today but the water stains were so bad on the hull I had to compound the boat first, so now I need another half a day to do the polishing. On the plus side it does look really good now. At first I figured it would be good to compound it and make it look like it was just trailered out of the showroom...until I realized I did not put the last crate of tools in the truck. The one that had the extension cords and the polisher in it. I ended up compounding from the gunwales down all by hand...not fun.

I do have to say though that so far I am very pleased with a new line of cleaning products I am trying for the first time. I recently started to use the Yacht Brite products after seeing them in action on TV. I used the cleaner in the pilothouse for spring cleanup and it came out really nice. The compound worked very well, even when compounding it by hand. I have yet to use the polish, as long as it is not raining I will be polishing this weekend.

More Spring M and PM

It has been a busy weekend (both Saturday and Sunday) getting the boat ready for launch next week. Filled with good news and bad. I don't need a new water pump but I do have to track down a broken vane from the impeller...hopefully it is in the bottom of the heat exchanger. The zincs were in good shape but for forty bucks why chance corrosion of much more expensive parts right? But before I was able to get any work done I had to shovel two to three inches of slush out of the cockpit, off the roof, etc.

Today I installed the new battery switches and charge relay and rewired some accessories. What a job to do the switches. The old switch, fuse, bus bars and breakers were through bolted onto a stainless plate. I removed the bolts and tapped the holes in the plate instead of through bolting. Why would you want to disconnect every wire and have to remove the panel to change a switch or add a breaker...that is just crazy.

I also put the start battery shelf back in and installed the battery box for the start battery. I have to get another house battery box to replace the one I just received, it was for up to group 31 and is way too big for the space. Hopefully I can get the group 29 battery into a group 27 box. If all the dimensions on the manufacturer's web sites are true it should fit.

I tried to polish the hull sides as well today but didn't realize how bad the water stains from the well water were. Interlux's heavy duty stain remover worked well but would take way too long to use to do the whole boat. Tommy had tested his compound on a small spot on my boat that I had not realized and since it was nice and clean there I am going to pickup some compound tomorrow to do the whole boat. I just hope I will have time after installing the through hulls, valves and sea strainer tomorrow to get the hull compounded and polished.

Got a Question???

If you have a fishing or boating related question give me a call using Grand Central from Google. I would be happy to help my fellow boaters and fishermen as best I can.

Glass 100% Full

The holes for the through hulls are glassed in! Woo Hoo! The glass work is complete and I guess you could say the glass is completely full. Progress...now that the weather is not cooperating for re-boring the holes and installing the through hulls and valves it is once again a waiting game. That waiting should not be that long however-Monday looks pretty good as far as weather goes and we should be able to get her done and ready to get wet then (fingers crossed). There is lots of work to do this weekend and the list keeps growing as I think of things. Not sure what happened this winter but boy did I get behind. I am sure burning my hand and not working on anything for two weeks did not help. Only 8 more days till backwater bass!

What Tide is it?

My everyday watch recently started to self destruct. The rivets are popping, buttons falling off and needed another new battery. I decided to finally replace it. After some hunting around I found a really cool watch. I did have to give up alarm and countdown timers but I think it was well worth it.

I went with a Timex e-Instruments Time and Temp plus Compass. It has a compass, temperature sensor and tide clock, as well as the usual time and date features. It is water resistant to 100 meters and has a back light for low light conditions. Now I will always know what direction is home and the tide stage!

Sand Storms in Pt. Pleasant?

I was hoping to start removing my battery switch and some wiring from the transom of the boat. When I arrived to the marina an old Egg Harbor behind me was doing wood and glass work. This was kicking up dusk, particles and some good size chunks of both glass and wood not only in my direction but into the cockpit of my boat. It wasn't a sand storm but it definitly blocked out some of the little light that was shining through the clouds...at least from the vantage point of my cockpit. The guys never even apologized about the mess on and in my boat or about me having to work in their mess. They were not wearing masks or respirators either. The best part was watching them repair fiberglass with bondo though. I hope they are not just repairing the boat for a quick re-sale...the poor soul that does not figure out that they cut every corner fixing it up will have some real problems down the road.

So without being able to work outside I turned my energy to the inside. I cleaned the whole pilothouse from headliner to sole. Applied the anti-fog to the windows, polished the stainless sink, removed the drain to measure for a replacement and measured to make a bracket to support the ditch bag.

I am still not sure what to do about the black streaks on the painted glass surfaces from sneakers and even boat shoes around the seating areas. Since it is not a smooth finish like gel coat it mars very easily. I may consider sanding it smooth and gel coating it or covering it with some thin teak plywood. I would rather keep it white or light in color so it does not feel closed in, but there is a lot of surface to sand and re-paint.

Hopefully the weather is good enough this weekend. I plan on installing the new battery switches, charge relay, breakers, battery boxes, batteries, battery charger and polishing at least from the rub rail down. If I can get all that done and next week we install the through hulls I am all set to get wet!

The Glass is Half Full

I am very optimistic today...I spoke with the marina and we hope to glass in the holes for the through hulls early next week. I guess you could say we will have the glass completely full! Assuming the weather does not halt that later in the week we can re-bore the holes and install the through hulls. If all goes well the rest of the connections can be finalized and the fishing touches on the spring maintenance can be completed. It looks as if I will launch by the first week of March maybe earlier. Great news...I can then have a plenty of time to get a good shake down run in and if any unforeseen issues pop up have time to fix them before flounder season opens on March 23.

Sunday I hope to get all the templating done for cup holders, new rigging station and new shelving. The initial shelving will be for the ditch back with a small tray above it for odds and ends. After I get some other projects done I will move on to installing shelving in the lockers for tackle boxes and bins.

Keurig Brewer for the Boat

I am not sure how many of you have Keurig brewers...we are devote fans. We actaully have two...long story. Anyway, they recently came out with a hotel model, the B130. It does not keep any water in it after brewing and has a very small footprint. Best of all it consumes half the power of thier smallest home brewer. The bad news is that it will not be available for home, boat or RV use until the fall...but it is coming and we can't wait.

Check out the B130

AC Boat Show

I decided to go last minute. A couple of buddies called from the marina and they have free passes from their bosses booths so we mad the trek down. Yeah it sucks that they get away with jacking up the prices of the parking and even charge if you have a diamond or platinum card for the casino.

Ran into Mike and John, Dennis Jr. and of course Shawn and Michelle and Lenny. There was rumors Jeff was there but never saw him. Oh and of course our hard working duck from the Fisherman...Scott.

Got to see the new Shimano Lucanus jigs, pretty cool stuff but at the price they will be for bottom and wreck fishing I can't see buying them.

I would have thought Joe would have been in the World Cat booth but didn't find him there.

It seems like most manufacturers are somewhat jumping on the pilothouse bandwagon and offering at least a three side hard enclosure.

The boat that really caught my eye was the new Ocean. Very different layout, pocket in the keel for a transducer, only draws 2.5' for a 37! Only thing that seemed like it might be an issue on that boat was the deep tinted windows, although the front wasn't as dark so I guess it would be fine at night, that and I can't imagine that there is enough insulation and shielding to quiet the turbos on the Yanmars in the salon but they claim there is.

The Contender 38 Express was about the nicest outboard express I saw. It featured trip 350's but I can't imagine you can see over the bow too well running. The helm is just forward the cockpit.

I was hoping to see Everglades new 35' Express but they did not have it at the show...unless I somehow missed it.

Good News and Bad News

Well let’s start with the good for a change. We in NJ are status quo for striped bass for 2008! The current 2007 regulations will remain in effect. We are well above the mortality rates, the spawning stocks were low but the young of the year looked really good especially in 2003 and not too shabby for 2006 so we are in good shape. Actually we are well above the point of action for the spawning stock, 30.9 million pounds is the point of action and we are at 55 million!

The bad news is NJ did not come into compliance with the tautog regulations and we now face drastic cutbacks. And rumor are flying around of one fish per person per season. We will just have to wait and see how the ASMFC rears its ugly head next.

The Real Fluke Proposals

OK here is the skinny. The below proposals were wrong the four that are being made to the ASMFC are as follows:

1. 17 1/2" June 28th to Sept 8th 2 fish
2. 17 1/2" July 4th to Sept 2nd 8 fish
3. 18" May 25th to Sept 8th 8 fish
4. 18 1/2" May 17th to Oct 17th 8 fish

The Summer Flounder Board will look at them on Thursday and if approved then the NJ Marine Fisheries Council will be holding an advisories meeting to receive comments and then discuss and vote on it at their March 6th meeting.

I hope to get an update at the conclusion of the ASMFC Summer Flounder meeting in Alexandria on Thursday.

Fight for Summer Flounder

I am not sure how many of you are following with detail the fight over summer flounder or fluke that most of the Northeast states are going through. There has been some speculation over the options being presented to the ASMFC and some controversy over the three of size options that were published by the APP this week.

1. 5/24 - 9/8 18.25" 8 fish bag
2. 6/28 - 9/8 17.25" 2 fish bag
3. 7/4 - 9/2 17.25" 8 fish bag

There have been several comments that these are not actually three of the six and we may not know for another week or so if that is the case or not. But the fact that they are all a quarter inch size limit really has no bearing if they are viable options or not. In the history of ASMFC they have never approved a quarter inch minimum size, it has always been a full inch or half inch in size.

If you are not already involved at some level I urge you to join a local fishing club that is in-line with your beliefs as well as donating to one or more of the organizations fighting for the recreational angler and sportsmen and women.

• Jersey Coast Anglers Association: http://www.jcaa.org/
• Recreation Fishing Alliance: http://www.joinrfa.org/
• NJ Outdoor Alliance: http://www.njoutdooralliance.org/
• Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund: http://www.ssfff.net/