Bet On Another Thousand

Every boat owner is intimately familiar with Bet On Another Thousand. Boats, while the source of endless summer fun, are also notoriously high maintenance. It stands to reason; you don’t want to trust a poorly kept piece of equipment when motoring across a deep and wide body of water!

Maintenance means time and money. This is probably why many folks chose to rent watercraft or make friends with a boat owner. My family never owned a boat when I was growing up as they had neither the time nor the money to invest in a boat. We still had a great time fishing, swimming and being on the water, just from the shore.

It’s not just the hull which requires maintenance, it’s also the motor and trailer.  All three require constant inspection and frequent investment. Since buying my fixer – upper boat in 2016, I’ve repowered it, had fiberglass hull repair, rebuilt the trailer and replaced the battery. On top of all this, there is the annual maintenance and of course the occasional accessory add on such as a new fish finder or fishing rod holder! I do what I can myself, but needless to say hull and boat motor repair is a bit nuanced…and expensive. I’ve definitely bet on another thousand, a few times over, since becoming a boat owner seven years ago!

One might ask, why the hassle? Well, I’ve blogged previously about the joys of being on the water and fishing. I think it’s probably just something one enjoys, or they don’t. Thankfully our youngest son still occasionally gets out on the water with me to fish. There is just something about the sun, the water and the connection to nature that being on the river or lake provides. Not to mention the father – son bonding time. In my humble opinion, it is money well spent.

Which brings us to 2023. This past weekend, I took out our small boat for its shakeout cruise after a long winter in storage. I was a bit concerned as our area was hit with record cold temps this past winter. Extreme cold weather can be disastrous if a boat is not winterized properly. You don’t have to look far to hear tearful stories of cracked boat motors.  Although we store our boat at an indoor facility, there was still a chance it could have succumbed to the extreme cold. Thankfully, after a thorough inspection and some routine maintenance, all that was required to get our craft water ready was a new battery, about $100. The battery was four years old and time to replace anyway!

The little boat started right up and performed like a champ out on the river! Definitely a positive start to the boating season, but it’s early yet, I am not ready to declare victory. There were quite a few folks on the river this weekend, my guess is they were probably also doing a shakeout cruise. I didn’t catch any fish, probably the water is still a little too cold, but last weekend really wasn’t a fishing trip. Most importantly, our boat is serviced and ready to go for this summer! I am looking forward to spending a few weekends fishing and cruising with my son. I know there will be a time probably soon, when it will be just me out on the water. 

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