Last Call?
 

Had another great year of fishing from our homemade boat.
Time to call it a season and put her away for the winter.

It was filthy and hadn't been cleaned all year except for a quick rinse. Blood stains, puked up bait, and other crap embedded in my non skid deck took some scrubbing to get clean

Paint and varnish holding up well after five seasons of steady use.
Yamaha 60hp 4 stroke has been totally reliable, except for a finicky tilt and trim switch.

Cost of operating over the last five years has been very, very low.

Lots of memories of great times with family and friends, and a few much needed solo trips ...will help me get through the next six months of waiting.

So how did this year go for you? Share your best times and not so good times if you got any.

Holy Crap, I can't believe it has been 5 years since you finished that....time flies,,,,,, Sounds like it is holding up well.

An amazing project - I'd still be getting yelled at by the bride

Ha...After 40 years of marriage..im kinda tone deaf to it. I do what I want within reason.
She loves the boat and fishing from it. She is a good sport.....never complains....about the lack of toilet.
We have a great time even when yelling at each other. I have to ask her to watch her backcast constantly.
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We all enjoy our boats but my guess is you get a special feeling stepping on board yours than the rest of us get.....

Had (having ?) a great season with lots of memories...

We'll be back at it soon enough Bob,,,, 5 yrs... Wow

Yeah, I am surprised too. Would have guessed three years. Kudos for taking it on, and bigger kudos for completing it! I have had my eye on an offshore hull that has been under construction for at least ten years... being built by a local contractor(who is a #^&#^&#^&#^&head) Not much progress from my vantage point over the past couple years. It would be very satisfying to get it for pennies on the dollar and finish her.

My last trip for the season will be Saturday. Try livelining some macks for bass and hopefully our one cod..... Haul for the season on the afternoon tide. Spend Sunday putting her away for another winter. :crying:

Thanks Ross.....there were times during the build (2 1/2 years)that my will and commitment was tested.
My wife didnt like the idea of me building a boat and thought it meant she would be left at home alot once it was completed.
She had very little interest until the boat was finished, but after her first trip she was hooked.
Now she checks windfinder on her own and wants her right of first refusal before I invite anyone else. Not a bad thing, she is a trooper, we have fun and lots of laughs too.

Saturdays weather is looking good....soooo maybe another last call is in order...:blush:

Ray :wave:
Went out last saturday with my oldest son and had a great day.
We caught some nice fish, but what I enjoyed most was watching him at the helm with a big grin on his face. We laughed at all the trials and tribulations we faced during the build....and the gazzilion batches of epoxy he mixed.:)

spent the season trying to fix electrical gremlins with the starter/solenoid. seems like its finally fixed now that the year is (nearly) over and haven't caught a decent fish in months

awesome project, and great boat. Must feel pretty good out on the water in the boat you made!

Recounting a day this season.
I was scheduled to install a kitchen that day, but because of the great weather and knowing False Albacore were around I made a quick decision. Hooked up the boat, threw my gear together and headed for the ramp. I hadn't been out solo much and with no one else on board I felt like it would be a good time to test the boats performance, so to be safe, I attached the kill switch to my belt and looked for a life jacket to put on,.... oh crap...they were left back at home. Honestly never happened before.
Wasn't about to turn around so continued on my way.

Got out about a mile off shore and I was in the middle of breaking fish, casted an epoxy jig and hooked up right away. Stayed put and caught quite a few more. Bunch of other boats moved in but the fish were spread out and everyone kept there distance.
Lost track of time but hours later, after landing several fish, breaking my good rod, loosing a handful of jigs, running out food and water, decided to head back in. I had so much fun but was exausted.

Thats when I noticed a boat in the distance making a beeline in my direction. I changed course a little to avoid, but they changed course too....I sped up to get out of their way, but they seemed to follow, why? Took me a moment but I realized it was EPO, so I put the boat in neutral as they moved in and came along side.
Three officers in bulletproof vest with what looked like machine guns. Two started asking questions as the younger one immediatly jumped aboard my boat and was poking into my hatches. He asked to see any fish, I hadn't kept any. He commented on all the blood then asked to see my life jackets. "I forgot them" I said. Fishing License? "Back in my truck" , Boat registration? "in the truck". Trying not to sound like a wise ass I suggested they could look it up on their computer. You got flares? "yep" No good they're expired. Funny that most of the other boats were one by one leaving the area.

I respect law enforcement and think they could have been much harsher with me, I came away with a small fine for no life jackets, I had taken them out of the hatch after last trip to dry, wont happen again. They were polite and professional, and doing their job.
Despite the $60 ticket, as I drove back in, the only feeling I had was " what a great day"!

I know they're just doing their job, but when one of them assume an aggressive posture with the m16 in his hands I read um the riot act...
"Hey Rambo, ease up". Then you guys can board me without incident....

Me and Ricky got stopped by CG last year (Boston?) ,,, got a receipt for the inspection and used it twice this year for a pass!

Great looking boat Rmarsh. Was it a rebuild or a Reno?
I bought my first boat last year 17’ center console 1973 aqua-sport. What seems like a good buy turned into a year of projects. Finally got in the water end of August this year and had many a good day with the wife dog and friends. Lots of bass and Albies out of upper buzzards bay spin and fly.

Last trip out got stopped by epo in colt state park and I didn’t have flares (misread I thought under 18’ didn’t need them) but the officer was more than generous and left me a warning. Despite I couldn’t have asked for a better first year over 20 trips 270 hours and lots of smiles
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Higgie...congrats on your first boat! Wow 270 hours... thats a lot to rack up since the end of August. What repairs or problems did you run into that held things up?
My boat was built from plans and is also my first boat. There is an old build thread back in the archives here. The construction is a marine grade plywood core with multiple layers of fiberglass cloth set in epoxy resin. I also did the rigging for the outboard, wiring, fuel system etc.
I spend most of my time at the other end of Buzzards Bay.

After purchasing I had to replace leaf springs and reconfigure the roller setup and fenders on the trailer because the last guy had no idea what he was doing and the boat sat exclusively on the center keel roller which once I jacked the boat off I noticed a large crack in the keel. Had to cut out a two foot section and rebuild with fiberglass and west systems. Once I got that fixed I found out the Tilt and trim on the 1990 evinrude was frozen in place on the bottom pin so this spring I pulled the motor and had to cut the old tilt out and press the pin out with a ball joint press. Replaced with a new tilt and trim I acquired from Parker marine. Then pulled the center console out rewired all electronics and fuel lines and put her back in place. Simple as.........considering cutting the floor out and rebuilding this winter
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I bought my boat trailer and outboard used....thought I would be all set.....both ended up needing
work.
Nice that you got to use your boat this year.
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All done. Winterized and covered. Backed into winter home. Sucks.

Know the feeling Ross...mines been in hibernation for 2 weeks now...this warm weather isn't making it any easier....but with the amount of pine needles that have fallen. ..trailering to the fish was/is not an option.
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After major surgery on her, The Lady Jeanne is sleeping in her boathouse.