Yet another tale in the chronicles of the voyages of the Tin Guppy. A three is a fair description of the fishing but the day itself would rate at least a 4. Hadn't been to Keller Ferry in quite a while so the wife and I gave it a try on Saturday. Only put 3 fish in the boat and lost a little one. Had a couple drive byes but overall it was a slow day for the fish but it was so nice I didn't mind too much. Well actually I minded a little. Talked to another boat when we were taking out that had been fishing near me in the morning and they had moved up to the Lincoln area and had better luck there.
But that is only part of the story,
We had planned on taking the trailer and the boat down and camping for a few days. I was getting things ready which included taking the Guppy down and topping of the gas tank. When I got home I noticed I was missing the starboard bearing buddy. Hmmmm? I had just put a new one in after loosing one on the Labor Day trip. What's Up? Jacked it up and spun the wheel and it sounded somewhat like a Conestoga wagon on a gravel road. Bummer but I can throw some bearings in there and get down tonight or at least in the morning. Pulled the hub and ouch! There went that plan, the bearing had been turning on the axle spindle. Take a deep breath Mark, we got this. The folks down at EZ Loader were really good to deal with and they had a new axle built by 11 AM next day. Got the new ones with the oil bath hubs and Oh Gee Whiz wouldn't some new wheels and tires look nice on the old girl. A bit spendy but I was so happy that I found it at home rather than breaking down on the road somewhere that is was hard to get too riled up.

But wait theres more!
When we got the Guppy on the water the big motor(1993 75HP Merc) would fire. Spun like crazy but that was it. No worries, head downstream with the kicker. After making several laps I decided I wanted to go up stream and put some more effort into starting the big motor and finally got the bulb pumped up tight she started right up. Bad bulb. Changed things up and put 2 new ones into today. There is a lesson in all this. Don't skip the maintenance just because you haven't had a problem before.
Stay after them, it's the right thing to do!

hewesfisher

10/9/2018 8:37:08 AM

Thanks for the report even if it wasn't the way you wanted to post a "fishing" report. At least the rest was good news, as you said, better than breaking down on the road. You'll love the oil bath hubs, maintenance free other than looking at sight glass to make sure oil level is correct and isn't milky. If you need any help with your Merc contact me via the forums. ;-)

mtngrizz

10/9/2018 10:17:23 AM

Maintenance - boat,trailer,electrical - always second fiddle to everyday activities. Thanks for the reminder.

downriggeral

10/15/2018 8:14:24 AM

Glad you got home with that axle Mark. You will love the oil bath hubs for sure. I have them on the new trailer; that was a bonus! Then there's those pesky primer bulbs... Tight lines - Alan "The Experiment Must Continue"

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