My new (Florida) boat.

[Bartman44]

Nice set up, enjoy the rig, you've put plenty of time into it.

[wallyworld]

Sweet ride 

[Jethro]

Looking good Mac! Back on the open water forum now. Nice rig, I bet a toon is the perfect rig for Florida waters in retirement when you can pick and choose your days. Glad to see you're enjoying it!

[Mac Attack]

Thanks Geoff.
I was just over working on it.
Installed a new bow eye.
My daughter Kelly will be here Sunday.
We will take it out next Tuesday.

[Raquettedacker]

Looking great.  👍👍

[Mac Attack]

Finished a few repairs and upgrades.
Couldn’t hook the winch strap on the bow eye without going into the water.  Seriously into the water!  And the bow eye was mounted 14” under the front deck.
So I fabricated a plate to move and mount the bow eye on the front of the boat instead of 14” under it.
I also figured out a way to use my boat hook to extend the winch strap and hook out away from me to reach the bow eye from further away.  Hopefully staying dry.
Today I mounted a mooring cleat on the bow for a 25’ dock line I have.  This will allow me the ability to pull the boat in straight further up and onto the trailer, closer to the winch.
Lastly, I installed a safety chain on the trailer with a hook for the bow eye.  I have had a winch strap fail in the past and the safety chain kept the boat from coming off the trailer.  I cannot believe this trailer didn’t have one to begin with.  I cannot believe it’s legal without one.
Tuesday we take Kelly out in the boat and I’ll get to full test everything.

[taxid]

Looking forward to your report!

[Mac Attack]

Looking forward to your report!

Thanks - I responded to your pm.

To be perfectly honest, the boat hasn't worked out as planned.
I wanted a house on the water.
So I could have a dock and a lift for it.
That didn't happen.
For many reasons that I won't bore you with.
So, we have to launch it each time.
I have owned probably a dozen boats since the late 70's.
I can launch small or huge boats alone.
However, I'd rather not.
The older I get, the more I want things to get simpler.
Like walking down to our little fishing pier and throwing Cleos.
Fishing for perch instead of trolling for walleyes.
That is simple.
Far easier than all that's involved with launching a pontoon boat at a public launch ramp............especially when you take into consideration the tides.
I'm keeping an open mind.
A small open mind.
 

[Mac Attack]

Tomorrow’s boat ride is cancelled, or maybe postponed.

I got front row tix for the Sabres game on the other coast.  Will be a long day, but fun.  And hopefully a win!

 

[wallyworld]

Enjoy the game 

[Mac Attack]

Thanks Wally.
We probably will now go out on Thursday with Kelly.

I'm too big of a Sabres' fan to pass this up.

[Mac Attack]

I shoulda took the boat out.  lol


We had fun.
Too bad they lost.

[wallyworld]

 

[Mac Attack]

We went out today for a bit.
My youngest son Christopher and his son, CJ, are here and came along.
It was fun.
We trolled 2 rods with shallow diver Rapalas.
Had something decent on but it came off after a few minutes.
Would have liked to see it at least.
Had another something on for a few minutes and, like the other, it came off.
That one was a lot smaller fish than the first one.
A good day on the water though.
It was in the upper 80's but we had a nice breeze out there all day.

Afterwards, Donna and I both agreed we are going to sell the boat.
It's just too much work to get it ready, launch it, load it back onto the trailer, and then put everything away.
We spend more time in prep and cleanup than we do on the boat.
It would be different if we had gotten a place right on the water like I wanted.
But that didn't happen and I'm not moving ever again.
So somebody is going to get a phenomenal fishing pontoon.

Here's some pics from earlier -

[iceman260]

Sorry to hear that Mac, why can't you leave it docked at a marina so you can drive to it and go fishing. Don't they rent dockspacedown there?