Going to see my boat.

[macojoe]

Snowing here also! But all I have to do to look at my boat is open the window!

Have a good time!!

[lumberslinger178]

Hey RM how far away is your boat? there should be a law against it ,if its to far away.

take lots of pics

[randlemanboater]

Driving time was 3.25 hours last time I went, but they have opened up another section of highway bypassing a 20 mile stretch of 2 lane with towns so I'm thinking less than 3 hrs now.



They are working on another stretch of bypass that will be finished in the next 1 to 15 years that will make it almost all 65 mph 4 lane from me to my boat.

All that being said, it is a crime to be so far away from the boat, but I use it most at the beach so I leave it there to save on towing gas money.

I checked the forcast. Sunny and 53 with a north wind 10-15 in the afternoon. The beach runs east and west so it will be slick out 3-4 miles. I have some good spots for winter BB fishing in that range.

[spareparts]

be carefull thru that stretch after you get off 140, they have been pulling a lot of people thru that area lately(most recently, my boss, last Thursday, pulling a boat down to teh Chas Boat Show). BTW, Randleman, did you ever know that it is required to have a class A in NC to tow if the total weight of the tow vehicle and trailer excede 10,000 lbs? At least thats what the Trooper told my boss as he wrote a $950 ticket. Seems like anyone pulling a decent size boat behind any new full size vehicle would be at fault, never mind the camper guys

[reelapeelin]

I know yer already down there, but if ya pick this up...in Calabash, go eat at the Grapevine...it's right there at the red-light in Calabash and it's as good as food gets...excellent service, too

[randlemanboater]

Well, it is amazing how just a few hours on your boat can make you feel so much better.

Billy picked me up at 7:30 pm on Sunday, he had the furniture in is pickup, it turned out to be just one piece of furniture, a huge armoire. I told Billy I had my new boat seat to take so we put it on top of the armoire and had it situated so that it would stay put, or so we thought.

After about a mile on the highway, the guy behind us started flashing his lights like crazy, we looked back and the seat was GONE!!!!!

Luckily it landed out of the highway so it didn't get hit, and I had repacked it like it came to me so it didn't get damaged. The rest on the ride down was uneventful although my neck got sore from constantly looking back to check on the seat.

We arrived in Calabash around 11pm. For the next hour and a half we carried in the armoire, did I mention it was HUGE!!!!! Billy's condo is on the second floor with narrow steps, but that part was not bad, it was getting it through the door that was the worst. But after removing doors and chair mouldings and much struggling, it was inside.

Monday morning we got up, grabbed a biscuit and drove up to HB. Picked up the boat from the storage place, filled it with gas and Stabil, pulled in the place and rinsed off the dust. Hooked up the water and turned the key, it started like I had just run it the day before, man I love that motor.

While I was messing, getting the electronics put on and such, Billy went to switching out my seat.......the holes didn't line up on the slider so I am going to have to make a bracket or get a new slider that fits, oh well.

So we threw in a couple of rods and some tackle and headed out. The water in the ICW was the clearest I have ever seen it, the tide was high but I could actually see the end of the boat ramp and further, it was as clear as glass. Usually you can't even see a foot down, but yesterday it was almost unlimited.

We rode out about 4 miles out of Shalotte inlet to a spot that always has black bass and others on it. On the depthfinder, they looked like carpet on the bottom, tons of them. But they would only bite short to start and then got complete lockjaw. But that didn't matter, I caught one so it wasn't a skunk, and Billy hooked something big and got to fight it for several minutes before it came off.

We packed up and rode down the beach to the other end of the beach and came back in the Lockwood Folly Inlet where the Corps of Engineers was dredgeing the channel. The seas were around 1-2 when we went out and had increased to 2-3 as we came in.

Came back in, took out the boat and washed off the salt, flushed the motor and put it away. We were back home by 8:45pm. The new section of road makes it a 3 hr ride now.

I have ONE pic, I'll post it up later.

It was a great trip and my terrible longing for the sea has been satisfied, at least for today.

[msbhammer]

Glad you got to see your baby.

[randlemanboater]

Originally Posted by reelapeelin

I know yer already down there, but if ya pick this up...in Calabash, go eat at the Grapevine...it's right there at the red-light in Calabash and it's as good as food gets...excellent service, too

I will give it a try another time REEL. We only ate a biscuit in Calabash, a huge hamburger at Mankins Causway Cafe @ Holden Beach for lunch, and Taco Bell on the way home. I was going to go to the Seafood Barn for dinner and have an Oyster Roast but they were closed until February.

[TunaHead]

Oyster roast? I have no idea what that is but I want one already...

[randlemanboater]

Originally Posted by spareparts

be carefull thru that stretch after you get off 140, they have been pulling a lot of people thru that area lately(most recently, my boss, last Thursday, pulling a boat down to teh Chas Boat Show). BTW, Randleman, did you ever know that it is required to have a class A in NC to tow if the total weight of the tow vehicle and trailer excede 10,000 lbs? At least thats what the Trooper told my boss as he wrote a $950 ticket. Seems like anyone pulling a decent size boat behind any new full size vehicle would be at fault, never mind the camper guys

Your boss was apparently stopped by a Commercial Motorcarrier Enforcement Trooper.

And what the Trooper probably told you boss is that if the trailer you are towing has a GVWR of 10001 pounds and up, then you have to have a class A Commercial DL. It's not the total weight of both units.