Saw a deal of a boat on Marketplace, and without doing due diligent research, reached out to the guy selling and made offer,,,   Surprise!!! He’s all “come and get it!”   

SO, I made plans to go there this (Satyrday) morning, arriving around noon and pick up the boat.

And had all night to stew on it, research it, and eyeball the hull shape.   

Pro-points: Carbonlite2000 hull,   Tougher than Roto-mold PE,,, lighter than Fiberglass Composites, easier to repair as well.

The downers: Hull shape is VERY similar to the Norkapp hull, Long slim, shallow V hull, long keel-line and a ‘perma-skeg’ set up on the aft end.  

All the reviews crow about how light the boat is (18′ boat, that tips the scales at 48#,,, almost 20# lighter than Lyssa and over a foot longer)  NONE of the reviews had any good words about rough water handling,,,,   Most all suggested she be “interior waters that don’t see a lot of boat traffic”

To wrap this little story up: The seller texted me this morning asking if I was 100% going to show up as he had lots and lots of offers for the boat.  ($300 for a $3000 boat, and in GREAT shape despite being 12 years old. Yah, his phone app is going off the hook.)     I think I thought about it all of 20 seconds and texted back. ” Go ahead and let someone else have it.  I need another kayak like I need a divorce (I have 10)   Thanks for the chance though brother,,,,”

So the quest for a long sporty cargo haulin’ kayak continues,,,,    Note: that boat in question, an Eddyline S18 Falcon, was NOT on my original list of options.  the Carbonlite 2000 lay up intrigued me, but not enough to buy a boat that would likely get resold almost as fast as I bought it (and it was a three hour drive, one way,,,,)

——————————————

So instead of  Buffalo humping my Carcass through the hills of North Carolina to buy a boat that I have absolutely ZERO need for,   I took Lyssa to the lake and we had a lunch and some fun fighting 10mph winds and lots and lots of CHOP,,,,

I would have liked to stay longer but there were some quite annoying people out today.    Seriously, if I, deaf ol’Dio, can make out the lyrics to the song you are blasting on your boat, FROM 1/2MILE AWAY, you are being annoying as FUCK!!!    As someone in my past said once, “If you need music at the beach, you missed the point!”   Granted, boating is a bit different, but please, RESPECT THE OTHER ATTENDEES and that they may not want to hear your bad tastes in music. Turn it up, sure, but I see no need for it to be so loud that you can hear it half a lake away. (and this coming from a guy that made a living “Getting LOUD”,,,,)

All in all, not a disappointing day,,, I really didn’t need that boat, despite wanting one more inline with my needs for camping.   I had a good time getting out and about in water and getting my soul drenched and cleaned.   Added miles to my goals for the year, and my shoulder is feeling much more at ease now.  (strange, I ache all week, but a couple miles of paddling and my shoulder feels right as rain.)   Good day, and my bank account didn’t take a hit.  Can’t complain about that.

L, L, L, L!

Water, kayaks, , , SANITY

Strange week this week, and not going to burden y’all with the mess my life seems to be right now.

It’s life afterall, right?   Shit happens,,,, Same shit, different day,,,

and I am so itching to get on water right now, the next 24 hours are going to be that much more tedious,,,,

No camping this weekend, have too many obligations that can’t be set aside for long.   Gotta take it as I can, but I can get a few hours in somewhere and not muck up the whole weekend ‘chores and duties’.

Only real bonus (knock on wood): Buffalo doesn’t need my attention this weekend.  Things going good.   Heat is working, found the problem with the ABS system and corrected that (dead sensor, right front wheel.   I upgraded my OBDII reader last weekend so I can read ABS and SRS codes as well as the usual MIL errors.)  Still has an intermittent misfire, but I think that has more to do with a worn out engine:   320K on the odo and still kickin’,,,  (about the only thing left to ‘fix’ in all honesty.)

And tomorrow is one of my splurge days (in a sense): I always play the lottery on Friday the 13ths.    So I’m droppin’ a $20 on plays tomorrow afternoon and seeing what happens.    Don’t wish me luck,,,  Its just fun and games, with a near impossible return.   Will see.    The only thing I can say for certain (If I were to win), I wouldn’t stop working,,,   Might take a REAL vacation for a month, but I can’t NOT work,,,   I’d go bleepin’ stir crazy fried in the brain NUTZ if I were to ‘retire’. (and if you think I wouldn’t be scoping out rental properties to purchase on that vakay,,,,  HA!   I know how to invest money, I just never have it in quantity to do so.)

No pipe-dreaming,,, Just buy the ticket and take the ride.  IF it pays, then,,,,  Not until.

One more day, looks like another day of core drilling.   That was the J.O.B. I was assigned today.    Dress accordingly: its nasty ass work and you wear the spattered slurry,,,No way to avoid it.  Of course, thats assuming that the rain blowing our way now, has blown past by then.   If not, not a clue what my day is scheduled to be.

But Satyrday is MY DAY and MY DAY is calling for WATER!!!,,, under my keel, on my decks, dripping from my hat, you name it, WET will be the operative word.

Keep on livin’

            Keep on learnin’

                       Laugh to make QueMala blush

                            and Keep on loadin’!  The kittehs need protected!!!!

The world shifted direction when three towers fell, and the American people lost their collective shit,,,,

I say that because since then, “SAFETY FIRST” has become the mantra

Always forgetting the “a people that are willing to sacrifice freedom for safety deserve neither” quote.

We got the Patriot Act, which was neither Patriotism nor an Act,,, it was a dead serious POWER GRAB.   Look back at the original document and tell me with a straight face, that it was not ‘ready and waiting’ for just the right moment to spring on the people.   Not saying that The events in NYFC were contrived to bring it about, (has suspicions, leave it at that) but that document had been written for some time, just waiting,,,

The we got the Testicle Squeezers,,,, Homeland Security which has grown more three letter agencies,,,   We got the Star Chambers of invisible courts systems

That road was cut and just waiting to be paved by power mongers and thier willing bought and paid for “Representatives”

The 3000 dead were the blood sacrifice to thier Demongod,,,

The world can never return to that moment before,,,  

I recall saying that morning “The world just turned a corner and things will never be the same” and lord how UNDERSTATED that was.

and its only been 23 years.

I work with a guy who didn’t even exist yet when that shift happened.   He has ZERO CLUE how the world is different, this is the only one he has ever known.   He has no idea the FREEDOM of not having a phone in your pocket.  (we were free when the phones were tied to the walls,,,)

Today is a dark day, always will be now.   and fittingly enough, today is the day Kenny “Bones” Gray is going to be laid to rest for the last time.  His memorial is at noon, and the funeral at 6,,,,    Fitting, and overshadowed at the same time.   He at last found a way over the wall of this prison and will never worry about such things again.   I feel almost envious right now.

more later

L, L, L, L!

I gotta ask, because I don’t wanna think I am goin’ kra-kray,,,

It was like the approach of a storm, the sudden drop in air pressure gives warning,,,

and like all storms, they pass: sometimes there is destruction in the passing, but there is always fresher air and sunlight with the passing,,,,

THAT,,, THAT is what I felt today.  The approaching storm, but that once its past, the fresh air and sunlight will outweigh any destruction,,,,,   

Something shifted in this time line, something shifted for the better, and while its gonna hurt a bit in its birth, the aftermath is gonna be GREAT.

Damn but I pray this isn’t just a flurry of emotions from all the ups and downs over the past weekend,,,   IT feels MUCH bigger than that, and hit me in the lower regions first.  

If ya felt something too, please chime in,,,,

I know y’all don’t know of whom I speak: he was something of a legend in his own right here’bouts, and will be missed.

Kenneth “Bones” Grey:   Jack of all trades and general no-good hillbilly that everyone around here knew.

Thirteen years ago, He essentially gave me a chance to take his job, and I did, and made it my own.   I took what he had built and expanded it into what I do today for the J.O.B.   Even he was known to say, “I can’t tell you what he does or how he does it, because I taught him all I knew, and now its bigger than that.”

But even towards then end, His mind was sharp as a tack, and quick witted: his body failed him, not his mind.

And today, I am celebrating his release from this prison.    You made it Bones, you and Chris are back together somewhere and that decrepit carcass you’ve been hauling around the last decade or so, will finally be put away for the last time.  The tears on my face are of Joy for you.    You will be missed, by many, and by many you might not recall,,,   then again, you probably would, I don’t think you ever forgot a thing,,, 

This is gonna wander around a bit,  follow along,,,

An Active shooter incident in KY Story link HERE

Admittedly, I know nothing about the actual goings on, involved, injured or what not.   Seems that most of the injuries are from a traffic accident caused by the shooter, but hey, what do I know about it?   I was 60 miles away at the time and only found out about it through other means.

BUT

I saw this in the comments section of the article.

SERIOUSLY???

just blame Trump and his voting base (they act like we are a religious lot and he is our messiah.  HAH!   anything but, but better than the shit we have had to choose from since Reagan.)

Let me break this down a bit.  

I AM THE WEAPON!!!   If and thats a big IF, I deem you “need killin’ “, you will die.   Doesn’t matter if you are removed from existence by a rifle round delivered to your cranium from 600 meters, or that 4# rock applied to the side of your head,  that just happens to be available on the side of the trail.   As I said, I AM THE WEAPON, everything else is just a tool to an end.

Luckily for the world, I am not THAT Judgemental.   I also think the best revenge is to out-live the fuckers, letting their own stupidity do them in over time.

The real problem with that take is how STOOPID some of those people are.   Like the asshat that made that comment above.   NEVER ADMIT YOU ARE THE PROBLEM.  Seems to be the Mantra of the left.    No admission that failed policies are problem, that those same failed policies start to stack up and create even more issues.  

Make it so the Crazies can’t be restrained in institutions.    Create mad homeless issues.    Remove funding from police departments and have AG’s refuse to prosecute certain laws; Crime starts to go through the roof.   

Start “INFRINGING” on that which should never be touched, and you create GAPS in societal means.    There was a time where showing up at school with your rifle/shotgun in the cab of your truck was completely normal; especially during hunting season.  (granted, more a rural living thing than an inner city thing) There were even clubs for shooting in our schools.   

THEN CAME THE LEFTARDS wishing for a ‘more enlightened world’, a “Utopian way”, whatevers,,,,    And the infringements began, the weapons ban (they call it that, I call it a tool ban, but hey,,, I’m dangerous just having a functional brain.)

AND THEN THEY BLAME ANYONE THAT DOESN’T THINK LIKE THEM AS THE PROBLEM!!!    They hate Trump, so this situation is HIS AND HIS FOLLOWERS FAULT!   Uhm, ok,,,,     How about all the psychotropic meds flooding the country to keep those disturbed individuals ‘calm cool and collected’,,,

How about the fact that EVERY school shooter in the last decade has been some leftist twit that went off their meds,,,, wanna blame that one on Trump and his vote base, too?  

Truth doesn’t matter anymore,,,  

It does, but not to those that don’t want to see it.  Those convinced they are the majority because they follow the tropes of the MSMs.   Those that never learned of “Unintended Consequences”, or have never been punched in the face.  

As I started with this post; I have no clue what happened, whos involved,,, nothing, but that it happened in a state with a blue GUV, that has a ‘Homeland Security” agency of thier own (sorry, thats so SOVIET its unsettling.) and followed on the heels of another School shooting,,,,, This reeks of more ammo for  the Blood Dance to “take away our guns”,,,,   (and Andy B, all the way over in the state capitol had better think twice before trying that shit here in SEKY,,,, There are more guns here hiding behind Grampies door, some of which are bring homes from WWII and Korea,,,,   Just sayin’   FAFO if you want,,,   I think your state troopers have a better understanding of what lays in wait if they try.)

So what is Dio trying to say with all of this?

Seek peace, but don’t try to force it with the sword.

And that is exactly what the left has been trying to do since ’68.  Take away the teeth of liberty and warp the society in divisions and hatred, all so they can retain POWER.    

Some people just wanna see the world burn so they can rule over the ashes.  (and they always find the soft headed to go along with them,,,)

(Sigh,,,,, And I was feeling so much better about the world until I started reading headlines,,,,,)

Live

        Learn

                    Laugh

                                Load!!!

One year gone, one of 55 circumnavigations of the sun; the one where I had proposed “100 miles a month” in kayaking.

Ok,  so I dropped that ball as if it were a lead weight bigger than me.  What I DID do (for the most part) was hit water once a week, sometimes twice, and my miles did add up: around 200 or so.   1000, give or take, LESS than my proposal.

But it did me good: my water anxiety is gone. My trust of my skills and the design of the boats has grown. (And a HUGE part of that was in taking Rio down the Pigeon, twice, at two different flow rates.  She showed me things these little boats can do, that I needed to learn at the gut level.)

And I am wrapping this year out with an overnight excursion.   Temps are supposed to plummit into the 40s overnight: dont care! GOING!!! 

And maybe this year will see a rise in those milage numbers. 

My quest for a “better” boat continues.  Looking at P&H, and NDK with a smattering of other makers. And I’m watching for those deals,,,  They are out there,  just not always with good timing.

Yah, I could probably make my ‘near perfect’ (there are always compromises) boat; but the investment involved,,, I think waiting for the deal will be the better bet.  Rising costs of materials doesnt help my motitvation any either.

‐–‐—————-‐—-,

Another month or so, these trees will be shedding leaves hard n fast.   Right now, Im enjoying the last gasps of summer with a dash of Autumn spice

L

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