Oryx Posted August 30, 2011 Report Posted August 30, 2011 Yesterday was the worst day (fishing related) I have ever had. Things started off okay, the alarm went off at 5AM, dressed, packed the SUV as my buddy pulled up and we were on the road by 5:20. After a quick coffee and donut at Timmies, we were on our way... BOQ here we come. We pull into Foster's around 7:15 and talk with the owner (pretty decent guy) as my boat was being pulled around (I had it stored there for just over 2 weeks). Here's where things start going to the crapper. The gentleman who brought the boat around comes into the office with my broken bungie cord that was holding the transom saver in place????? He picked up the bar and placed that in the boat. We start prepping the boat for launch. Put in the plugs, load the gear....all the fun stuff. I go to put the tilt down on the motor, and NOTHING. You have got to be kidding me. So, I walk back in to the office and ask if they put the tilt up as I left it in place with the saver attached. I was not accusing anyone or pointing fingers, but i was upset. By then the third of our party drives in and joins us. The owner (herby known as Foster) asked the grounds maintenance guy if he knew what happened. He stated that he heard a noise coming from the back of the boat about a week ago. He walked by again a little later and it was gone. Didn't think anything of it. So upon further inspection, the top of the tilt motor has melted! I am just gutted. We have been looking forward to this trip for 1.5 months and now this. So Foster calls a 'guy' he knows, fixes all of his boats. We pull the boat over the bridge, down a dirt road and we are taken to this establishment.....(it is on Mohawk territory so we have no idea of what to expect.) It looked like a scrap yard, There were beaten cars, dead boats, and 2 of the largest dogs I have ever seen. The big one, 150lbs easy, the small one, and I use that term loosely, was 130lb English mastiffs mixed with polar bear....absolutely huge! We introduce ourselves and start talking with him. Nice guy, very personable, as real as you can get. He is able to fix up the boat. Yay, our day can be somewhat salvaged. He pulls off the old, melted, disintigrated motor with the busted magnet and puts on a replacement from a 50hp Force ( I have a 90 hp Merc). Bolts right on. Replaces the faulty solenoid and gets it working. After 3 hrs, and $200 (I am still in shock I didn't have to spend a G-note) we are on the road. About 1km down this pot hole filled dirt road, the tongue of the trailer decides to come off. It was not put on all the way, :wallbash: In our haste, to get the day going we did not double check the seating of the hitch on the ball. We were doing about 30km. and there is a bit of damage to the SUV, a couple of small dents in the hatch and a scraped bumper. I am counting my blessing as it could have been a LOT worse. (Now how do I tell my wife). I am at the lowest point I could get for the day, my day is shot! So we pull back into Fosters around 12. Launch the boat and start our day. Thank goodness the hurricane went through the previuos day and left us with only 3 ft swells and 15-20mph winds.... But at least it was sunny. Not sure which hurts more, the sunburn or the windburn? After about 6 hrs + fishing ,3 perch, a sheepshead and a sunfish for all of our efforts, we called it a day and headed back to shore. We get the boat trailered and unpacked. By then Foster wheels over on his Kubota and talks with us...Told him we that all we caught was a sunburn. he then says, "yeah, they haven't been biting here lately. Nothing has been really caught for about 2 weeks" really, you couldn't have told us that before we headed out? I will admit, I do have the best wife in the world, she was more dissapointed about having our day pretty much ruined by the motor, the trailer incident and no fish than the damage to the truck. She said at least no one was hurt, the truck can be fixed. They are only small dents! The day was so bad for me I wanted to sell the boat. (I am still debating) And to top things off, I lost the bet for biggest fish. A perch the size of a pocket calculator won.
mike rousseau Posted August 30, 2011 Report Posted August 30, 2011 Can't believe the guy walked by a boat making a noise on dry land!!! Well at least tge bad luck only ruined one trip... If you woulda split these up you woulda had a couple trips worth of let down...
Oryx Posted August 30, 2011 Author Report Posted August 30, 2011 Very true, I am still learning the whole boat game, and each outing is an adventure. But this was horrible. My friends still had a decent time, so that was good.
Rizzo Posted August 30, 2011 Report Posted August 30, 2011 Nothing has been really caught for about 2 weeks" really, you couldn't have told us that before we headed out? can't really fault him on this one, guy is trying to run a business, telling people the fishing sucks won't exactly help. I actually like it when I hear this...means the fish are ready to be caught as long as I can figure out the pattern. As far as the rest of your trip, man that sucks! When you have such anticipation and then things work out so poorly. You must have been worrying "What next" the whole day! I also can't believe they would walk past a boat that was making noise! If you can't deal with at that moment, just unhook the battery or something until you can have a closer look.
lew Posted August 30, 2011 Report Posted August 30, 2011 I shovelled gravel for 6 hours yesterday and thought I was having a bad day.....it doesn't seem so bad now Hope you have better luck with your next fish'n trip.
Oryx Posted August 30, 2011 Author Report Posted August 30, 2011 My buddy kept quoting " A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work" I wanted to strangle him!
ccmtcanada Posted August 30, 2011 Report Posted August 30, 2011 Sorry to hear this outing turned out like this! A few good things though...the repair bill on the motor was a lot less than you expected...you spent time with friends out on the water...and you likely learned a few things you didn't think of before! Every outing will be different. When you think back on this year...and the trophy, you will have stories to tell...although it sucks now, you'll be laughing about it years from now. Put it another way...you can only look up when it comes to the experiences of coming years!!
Oryx Posted August 30, 2011 Author Report Posted August 30, 2011 thank you for all the support. I do agree, in a few YEARS, this will be a good story. There will be some redemption this weekend. Staying at a cottage in Bracebrige, (Spence Lake). should be a good time.... The Tilt Trim would have set me back $1400 for a new unit at a "reputable" marina. I am thankful for the guy (20ys exp in Hamilton fixing boats) with his pet Grizzlies and his knowledge. He did a great job, did it quick and did it right. he went and checked over the motor and tweaked a couple of things. He did break my bank at the end though...he asked for a double double coffee when we went to get the cash for him (why we unhooked the boat in the first place). Hell, my buddy has 2 x 9.9's that need servicing. He will drive the 1.5 hrs to bring them down to him.
fishnsled Posted August 30, 2011 Report Posted August 30, 2011 Just chalk it up to a day you will laugh about down the road. One thing to think about would be a switch for the motor/battery or just disconnect it while storing it. Better luck next time and thanks for the report.
Rizzo Posted August 30, 2011 Report Posted August 30, 2011 a switch for the motor/battery or just disconnect it while storing I always disconnect my batteries when storing because my kids love to play in the boat in the garage. I'm afraid they'll burn out a bilge pump or even worse, pin one of their siblings head to the boat using the tilt/trim
mercman Posted August 30, 2011 Report Posted August 30, 2011 My buddy kept quoting " A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work" I wanted to strangle him! Your friend is right. a bad day of fishing IS better than a good day at work. Packed boat head out. halfway to destination realized i left licences and reg for boat at home.Went back to get them.Head out again, got around the corner, realized life jackets were on the floor in the kitchen. went back for them.got to the launch put boat in water, went to park. walked back to dock, and the wife is asking me if water in the boat is normal Forgot to put the plug in.Stepped into the boat and snapped the wifes rod in half. I sighed, bowed my head, walked back to the truck, backed up the trailer, took the boat out of the water, went home and watched WFN for the rest of the day. What can ya do?
johnnyb Posted August 30, 2011 Report Posted August 30, 2011 Attention anyone organizing G2G's and friendly tournaments: DON'T LET ORYX AND MERCMAN GET IN A BOAT TOGETHER!
Oryx Posted August 30, 2011 Author Report Posted August 30, 2011 Why not, With the luck we had, the better the fishing for everyone else? Just cuzz I am swimming at the shallow end of the gene pool.............
mercman Posted August 30, 2011 Report Posted August 30, 2011 Why not, With the luck we had, the better the fishing for everyone else? Just cuzz I am swimming at the shallow end of the gene pool............. I gotta get new genes, i tore mine on the mooring cleat.
msp Posted August 31, 2011 Report Posted August 31, 2011 At least your not the guy in your avatar picture........ Better luck next time !
Nipfisher Posted August 31, 2011 Report Posted August 31, 2011 Oryx, He pulls off the old, melted, disintigrated motor with the busted magnet and puts on a replacement from a 50hp Force ( I have a 90 hp Merc). Bolts right on. Be carefull not to burn out the pump on the replacement trim unit. Your 90 is allot heavier then the 50.
limeyangler Posted August 31, 2011 Report Posted August 31, 2011 man o man, what a day! my wife is the same...she would have been upset about my day being ruined...what a great gal!
HTHM Posted August 31, 2011 Report Posted August 31, 2011 This will be small comfort as well, however.... At least you were looking down at the surface of the water and not up at it.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now