Too Much Boat

Today Woofus and I went to the boat show at the Charlotte Bay fairgrounds.  The purpose of going to the show was to find a boat for Roger.  You who have experienced my assistance in shopping for something you really don't need can appreciate just how much help I can be with spending your money.  It is a talent I have developed over the years.

We found several good candidates but Roger foiled my plan by bringing a new friend along to play the part of the guy soon to part with his money.  But that is another story.  Along the way I had a flashback to the nineties and one of my first dip netting experiences.

I was new to the Kenai dip netting scene and had just made six new net hoops for the season.  Turns out you have to buy enough material for three hoops (5' diameter) or you'll have a bunch of scrap.  So naturally, I made six.  Anyway Tony says he can borrow this boat and Bill ( the owner of one of the nets) says he is game, so the plan is on.

Here is a shot of a boat exactly like the one Tony came up with.

It is about 10 feet long and had something like a 20 HP outboard.  Most hot tubs are bigger.

Tony sat straddling the center tunnel, I was sitting in the left hull and Bill in the right.  Also, there were two ice chests in there some where.  Then we had the two nets with 8' handles.  No problem, there were still several inches of free board left when we launched.  Even if we swamped the thing, it was guaranteed never to sink, at least no further than a few inches below the water.

Bill and I had our hands full trying to figure out how to handle these giant nets which were, of course, tied to the bow.  Tony's job was to steer the boat and catch the salmon we would toss in the boat.  Then he would bonk them on the head to calm them down while he cut their gills to facilitate the blood letting.  Once that was accomplished, we'd toss them in the ice chests.  Good plan!

Actually, all went very well, considering.  There were several escape attempts even after the fish were safely stored in the ice chests, but we got a bunch of reds.  In the end everything was pretty well covered in slime, blood and scales but we soon learned that was par for all our dip netting outings.  By the time we pulled out there was considerably less of that free board left.  Bill summed it up perfectly when, during a lull in the carnage, he said, "Tony, I think our only problem is we've got too much boat."

That was the beginning of some 15+ years of dip netting on the Kenai.  We made a few changes to our process but still got covered in blood, slime and scales every time.  The one constant; after that trip, we always had a bigger boat.

Going sight seeing on the inter coastal tomorrow.  High forcasted around 75.

Hang in there, winter will end.  Down here, it just never starts.

Stay warm.