Live and learn

Took Duh!k out to a different lake today. A further drive, but larger lake and more places to put in, and much better maintained boat ramp areas. Was quite pleasantly surprised at seeing trashcans, not overflowing piles of trash.

Ended up beaching after about three miles of paddling. That rib in Duh!k was just killing me. Decided that it was time for surgery: rib reduction time.

Theres the offending rib in my hand, and yes, thats a pack of reds in the day bag. Thats the first pack I bought in a month and they taste so damned awful now, that I ended up giving them to a guy at the ramp when I was headed out.

Water clear, warm and mostly flat, with the exception of the occasional power boat zooming elsewhere. Water was on the lively side then, and Duh!k weathered it all perfectly. Beam waves feel goosey as hell, but headed into them, she cuts the chop like a pro.

I was taking on water too. Not much but enough that after an hour or so, my backside was getting damp. Damper than usual I should clarify. Where there is always some water just from my shoes and boarding the boat, this was more, and enough that I beached, again, to look for leaks.

It wasn’t where I expected. Apparently on my last trip, I dogged a screw holding the wear tab on the stern. It had torn loose enough to let the water seep in. Just a steady drip every 5-6 seconds, but that drip can turn into gallons given time. When I beached, there was about a half gallon sloshing around, and thats how I found the leak.

Easy fix and it can wait till the polyurethane comes in (it hadn’t shipped as of yesterday, but Chris does have a Class scheduled this week and past, so he’s busier than hell.)

So, back home, decided to make the new seat a little better than some paracord.