Greetings! And... SmokerCraft Re-build

[JKTreveccaFishin]

Progress has been slow but I picked it back up this week. All of the deck pieces and framing are are cut, bathed in 2 coats of epoxy resin, painted the sides that aren't wrapped in flooring material, and fully installed into the boat. Tomorrow will involve installing the vinyl onto the aluminum hatch doors, re-assy of the console, wiring, and then it could technically go into the water. I'll still need to do my side storage pieces which I've cut but can't decide how I want to best utilize that space. I updated about 30 pics into the album here ( https://goo.gl/photos/7KKadFCFsfcLS78RA ) but also attached the most recent status photo into this post.

I hope all of you are doing well!

 

[richg99]

Looking good!

 

[Fire1386]

Very nice re-do.....should last a long time.....

 

[JKTreveccaFishin]

Almost there....

 

[bonz_d]

Impressive!

We're still iced in and temps are still going to 0 at night.

 

[JKTreveccaFishin]

For all practical purposes, the boat is done. I'll upload some pictures later today. My camera battery was dead last night. I finished it last night after work. I was super excited and my 6 year old was too. We threw the life-jackets, paddle, and fire-ext into the boat along with my son's new fishing rod he got for Christmas that has only been used once since then. He's begging me to stop and get McDonalds so we can eat on the boat like was always used to. It was almost dark and I just wanted to make sure she floats and all systems were working as intended so I told him we'd eat after the boat test. That didn't temper his excitement any at all. Nor did it mine.

I pull up to the nearest boat ramp and he begs me "can I get in the boat while you put it in the water daddy?". I agree and put his life-jacket on him and tell him to sit down while I'm backing the boat up. Plug is in and everything is ready. I back him down the ramp until the back half of the boat is in the water, hop out of the truck to release the winch, hop back in the truck to back him the rest of the way into the water. I can tell the boat is floating so I stop and get back out of the truck.

In all my excitement, I had not only released the winch, I had also disconnected it from the boat. So... my 6 year old son and my boat are ever so slowly drifting off into the middle of the cove as I stand beside my truck in absolute disbelief. It takes a couple seconds but as soon as my son realizes what is going on he enters full on panic mode. He rushes to the front of the boat, nearly jumping into the water as he reaches both hands out trying to get to me while fighting the urge to scream like a girl.

After about 7.2 seconds of thinking "how can I fix this without swimming?", I surrendered and remove my wallet, shoes, belt, and pocket contents proceeding to take the polar plunge and swim about 25 feet to my son's rescue. Luckily... the boat started and I proceeded to re-load it onto the trailer and go home while my son was shaking in fear.

I laughed it off and tried to get him to trust that everything was always okay in hopes he wouldn't be hesitant to fish with daddy next time. The jury is still out on that but as you can imagine, I still had to face mommy and explain why I was dripping wet with blue lips and near frost bite when we got home. Luckily, she's cool and thought it was hilarious but after laughing, I did get a "suggestion" to never put our kids in the boat while backing it into or pulling it out of the water. Fair enough.

So... I really am an idiot.

Pics and boat details will come later. Have a great morning everyone.

 

[Ictalurus]

:LOL2: :LOL2: :LOL2:

That's really funny! My daughter fell out of the boat in February a few years ago, I still start laughing when I think about it. So long as no one is hurt, those are some of the best stories.

 

[richg99]

Brave guy...not for diving in and rescuing your son, but for having the courage to tell the story here.

You are to be commended for your honest rendition of an error on your part. It may stop the next guy/ gal from doing the same thing.

Good for you!

richg99

p.s. my old poly painter (bow rope) broke when I launched my boat a few weeks ago. She floated away. A fellow fisherman took me out to recover her. No kids on board, though.

 

[hankthecrank]

I did the same thing while launching alone last Nov. The rope broke , I stepped out of the truck and thought, crap now what?! Waded ,swam out and brought her back. One of my buddies came along later in the day and wanted to know why i was all wet when I was in a perfectly good boat. Yuk, Yuk.

 

[Fishfreek]

That is one mistake that will never happen again and I'm sure your son will remember when he is an adult and launching his own boat. Very proud of you for admitting your mistake in such a public way. It will also be a good story around the dinner table for years to come.

 

[mainjet]

Great Job on the boat, great story on the launch and all ends well. Enjoy the boat and all the memories.

 

[JKTreveccaFishin]

Aside from a few details like a vinyl snap-in cover that needs to be sewn for the gas tank/battery compartment under the splash-well and some hatch lid pulls, my re-build is completed. I added about 50 additional photos to the album you can access here. https://goo.gl/photos/7KKadFCFsfcLS78RA In reviewing the photos I noticed the clear sealant fully penetrated the floor rivets as you can see in the under-floor photos showing the bait tank plumbing. Also, I noticed that my LED strip lights have at least 1 screw going through them from the storage hatch frame hardware. Oops!



Since the last update I painted the boat portion of the inside of all of the storage compartments, added LED strip lights (they are white but appear blue for some reason in the photos) to all interior storage compartments including the bait-tank, completed the re-wire for all of the remaining accessories and running lights, and finished the rear and side storage compartments. I also cleaned, re-caulked, and painted the splash-well, plumbed the bait tank in, and wired in the trolling motor etc. Nothing is ever 100% done in my world but I'm calling this completed.



She's not a brand new boat by any means but I'm pleased with the overall outcome of the rebuild. All in all, I spent a little more than $720 on the project which is about $220 more than I had hoped to spend but a lot less than a new boat. I'd like to add a 3rd battery and a 3 bank onboard charger later this year but that will have to wait for now.



I'm eager to fish out of the boat and see you guys out there soon. The march striper run on the Cumberland is right around the corner! Thank you for all of the encouraging words over the last 7 weeks.

 

[richg99]

Where, on the Cumberland, do you fish? I spend summers in the Crossville area.

richg99

 

[JKTreveccaFishin]

Rich - I fish different spots spread from the tailwaters below old hickory all the way up to defeated creak on cordell hull. If I told you more details than that I'd have to hunt you down! :twisted:

 

[richg99]

JKT...Ha Ha....that may be even better. This way, you can tell me all of your catching secrets, and not have to worry about me fishing in your spots. Ha!

richg99