EricM
Well-known member
I got a bug up my butt (ewww - what a mental picture) (now I have to scratch) and decided to spend some time on the boat. I started by taking everything out of the boat. And took it out. And took it out. Hours later I had a pile of crap that appeared larger than the hull. Is that possible? Maybe it's the new math.........
Exactly why I chose to carry everything I owned, stole, or borrowed in the boat is a mystery that would have old Sherlock Holmes scratching his butt (oops, here we go again....). I sat and stared in awe at the amount of "necessary" stuff. No wonder the waterline on the hull seemed perilously high. I probably lost 10 mph just to the "just in case" stuff. In case of what??? In case civilization ends one day while I'm on the water and I need to build a camp and survive for months? In case I run into a fish that won't take any lure except the ones that I have never used in all of the years I've carried boxes of them around? In case I decide to fish for a species that I rarely target but I still need to have all that special equipment on every trip? In case I need 7 life jackets in the boat for an unexpected flash mob?
I eyeballed each piece of equipment; cleaned, fixed, and consolidated things together. No more cramming everything anywhere and never seeing it again. No more boxes for each possible species and each possible type of fishing - with lots of duplication in each one - just so I don't have to open a second box to get something. Waaaaayyy too much useless crap in each box. If I haven't needed it in the last couple of years, then it can be tossed, given away, or stored in the garage. It doesn't have to be in the boat. What, like I'm going to suddenly decide to fish for muskie while I'm shooting docks for crappie??? Somehow I think maybe I'll know ahead of time whether I'm going to need my fly rod equipment or deep sea jigs.
While the boat was empty, it was time to squirt bleach on everything. Since the boat sits outside, mildew has become the perfume most associated with me at social gatherings (skipjack is a close second). Wow! The boat is white under all that, umm, natural camouflage. Who'd have thought??
New plastic storage boxes were purchased that fit the intended space, zip-locks were used for towels and toilet paper (there's that damn itch again..........OK, better now), and everything was put back in logical places and can once again be found without help from a CSI team. There is even room left over in the storage areas. The storage of the "extra" stuff in the garage worked out nicely too. I even made up "travel boxes" for different species that will fit in a lure bag/tote for when I go with others in their boats, just grab and go! The rest of the garage equipment is ready for when I do make those special trips.
I even washed and bleached the Bimini top that I hadn't yet used - and installed it. Should be great in the rain. I even started to use Mr Clean Magic Eraser on the outside of the hull to eliminate the brown scum line that I had let grow like barnacles. What a miracle it has worked (as far as I got, anyway).
Now all I have to do to enjoy fishing is to get off of my butt, scratch it (one more time), and GO! ( I mean go fishing, not just, umm, go, but maybe I should do that FIRST).
PS: With all that scratching, the bug is gone but I'm a bit sore.....................
PPS: Maybe the Preparation H should go back into in the boat..........................
Exactly why I chose to carry everything I owned, stole, or borrowed in the boat is a mystery that would have old Sherlock Holmes scratching his butt (oops, here we go again....). I sat and stared in awe at the amount of "necessary" stuff. No wonder the waterline on the hull seemed perilously high. I probably lost 10 mph just to the "just in case" stuff. In case of what??? In case civilization ends one day while I'm on the water and I need to build a camp and survive for months? In case I run into a fish that won't take any lure except the ones that I have never used in all of the years I've carried boxes of them around? In case I decide to fish for a species that I rarely target but I still need to have all that special equipment on every trip? In case I need 7 life jackets in the boat for an unexpected flash mob?
I eyeballed each piece of equipment; cleaned, fixed, and consolidated things together. No more cramming everything anywhere and never seeing it again. No more boxes for each possible species and each possible type of fishing - with lots of duplication in each one - just so I don't have to open a second box to get something. Waaaaayyy too much useless crap in each box. If I haven't needed it in the last couple of years, then it can be tossed, given away, or stored in the garage. It doesn't have to be in the boat. What, like I'm going to suddenly decide to fish for muskie while I'm shooting docks for crappie??? Somehow I think maybe I'll know ahead of time whether I'm going to need my fly rod equipment or deep sea jigs.
While the boat was empty, it was time to squirt bleach on everything. Since the boat sits outside, mildew has become the perfume most associated with me at social gatherings (skipjack is a close second). Wow! The boat is white under all that, umm, natural camouflage. Who'd have thought??
New plastic storage boxes were purchased that fit the intended space, zip-locks were used for towels and toilet paper (there's that damn itch again..........OK, better now), and everything was put back in logical places and can once again be found without help from a CSI team. There is even room left over in the storage areas. The storage of the "extra" stuff in the garage worked out nicely too. I even made up "travel boxes" for different species that will fit in a lure bag/tote for when I go with others in their boats, just grab and go! The rest of the garage equipment is ready for when I do make those special trips.
I even washed and bleached the Bimini top that I hadn't yet used - and installed it. Should be great in the rain. I even started to use Mr Clean Magic Eraser on the outside of the hull to eliminate the brown scum line that I had let grow like barnacles. What a miracle it has worked (as far as I got, anyway).
Now all I have to do to enjoy fishing is to get off of my butt, scratch it (one more time), and GO! ( I mean go fishing, not just, umm, go, but maybe I should do that FIRST).
PS: With all that scratching, the bug is gone but I'm a bit sore.....................
PPS: Maybe the Preparation H should go back into in the boat..........................
