ROLMAO Bradford, I pondered the thought of that phone becoming a permanent part of the boat!  The phone light was still on but was facing down.  There was a faint glow in there. 
As far as painting it, while it would look a whole lot better I don't think it would serve much of a purpose.  The internal parts, spring, adjustment, etc. are probably what's going to go first.   I will just clean really good and hit it with some lube here and there.  If I end up really liking it I'll replace it as necessary as long as it lasts a few seasons.  Don't really want to spend $100 per year on it.  
Macojoe, thanks - do you mean the tractor base or the duct tape