What the F...

[tuggertoy]

It is only October 29th and it has been snowing to beat the band here in southeastern Pennsylvania for the last 2 hours. The predictions are for 3 - 5 inches of snow to fall between now and early Sunday morning. We don't normally put our R-21 Classic up for the season until the second week in December but if this is how things are going to be for the start of winter I guess I might as well get her winterized when temperatures moderate just a bit next week.

This has been our worst boating season since we bought Tugger Toy in the summer of 2009. It was blazing hot in the early part of June and into July, then it rained for most of August and September and now it is snowing in October. Not to light a firestorm but if this isn't global warming then I don't know what it could be.

For those of you in warmer climates (like Florida, Texas and California) you can disregard this post. For the rest of you, I know you feel my pain and thanks for listening.

Eric

 

[abcandjrc]

The primary reason we moved from Michigan to Alabama was that our boat was on blocks from the week before Thanksgiving to the average date for Easter, and we were "hardy types". Now Alabama is too cold for us after 43 years here, including a move from the northern part of the state to The Gulf Coast 8 years ago. We plan to overnight in Mobile Bay on Monday for some early Tuesday fishing and the forecast is for 43. I wonder how that will go.

The old joke is that a guy was moving south and at every gas stop he would show something to the attendants (obviously an old joke) and ask if they knew what it was. He finally settled where none of them knew what a windshield scrapper was.

 

[JamesTXSD]

We first heard the joke from the RVing crowd: strap a snow shovel to the front of the coach and drive south until someone asks, "What's that?"

Or, as the sailboat cruiser crowd says, "Sail south until the butter melts."

You might try: As you trailer your boat south, ask at the local boatyard about winterizing your boat. If they say, "Do what?", you are in the right place for the winter.

😉

Warm wishes,
Jim B.

 

[LADYBUG TOO]

I bought my R-29, Ladybug, Too, right before the BP oil spill. With a boom across the bayou entrance and the threat of an oil damaged engine, she sat on the trailer all summer. First launching was in October and I got one fishing trip in and that was it till the end of this summer. So far I have 25 blue crabs, one king mackeral, one flounder and one grouper. I fugure they cost me about $400 an ounce. I feel your pain but I have to admit that other than BP's mess, mine is self inflicted. Hopefully the winter cruising will ease my frustration. I have only 43 hours on the engine. I gotta do better! Hope the spring thaw comes early for you and you get enjoy your Tug. Pat, Ladybug, Too

 

[abcandjrc]

We plan to overnight in Mobile Bay on Monday for some early Tuesday fishing and the forecast is for 43. I wonder how that will go.

Turned out Ok. The almanac shows that it reached 40 within a few miles of where we were. We wound up fishing and anchoring in the Fish River instead of the bay because the bait guy and the wildlife division guy told us the Spotted Sea Trout were running heavy in the river. Should have been called the No Fish River. Caught a few "others" of no size nor value, but no "Specs". Like an old joke about preachers discussing their recent revivals goes, at least no one else was having any success either.

We did have a chance to use the heater I built (see my Gallery entry about that) and it worked like a champ. Didn't help much during the night, of course. The two big problems were that the cabin sweated, heavily, and that those BPH-inspired trips to the porta-potti were a bit on the chilly side. 😱