Maiden voyage, Sea trials, and Stoway.

[big easy]

Well the boat project is finally done,after 2-1/2 years.I ran it for 11 days on lake Ontario/Olcott in may,and was extremely happy with it.It has an amazing ride.

Twenty five Mph in four footers(not these pictures) without a serious pounding,I wouldn't have believed it until I experienced it myself.

We also had a stowaway on board for five hours.We were in 300' off Wilson,when my buddy went to get a rod out of the rocket launcher.All of a sudden,I hear him yell,that there's a pigeon on the tower.

Sure enough,this pigeon is perched on the top,and crapping on it.I took the wash down hose,and sprayed him with it,and he took off,but kept coming back,finally,he landed on the bow,where he stayed for about an hour.

I guess he felt safe with us,so he walked down the port gunnel,looking at us all the time.He then just jumped in the boat,and proceeded to eat our peanuts.

He actually sat down and slept on the floor next to our feet.When we called it quits for the day,he jumped up on the cooler,and sat there for the whole ride into the dock.

We tied up in the slip,and after a little while.he just flew away(just like my ex wife did ),only I'd welcome "Him! back.

Here's a few pics of the boat,and bird.My thanks to Jeremy,(Chromeslayer) who took the picture of us trolling off of Wilson.

HERE'S THE STOWAY

[L&M]

Great pictures John thanks for sharing. There a great ride & the pigeon even knew how to ride in style.

[Erbyjoe]

John are you sure it was just peanuts the bird was eating??? it looks like it's trying to say DAVE Boat looks great

[coup]

That is a homing pigeon my friends and in transit they often times get so tired they take a break. Very cool and nice boat. Was this bird banded?

[coup]

I notice you have an I/O and a kicker. How do you make the steering connection from one to another?

[big easy]

Coup,thanks for that info on the pigeon,I was wondering if it was a homing pigeon.No it wasn't banded,that was the first thing we looked for.It was actually very funny,as he stayed with us all day,and wasn't scared of us at all.

I swear it was like he was really enjoying the ride back into the harbor.

I run the Kicker steering with an EZ-Steer connector rod,from the kicker to the outdrive.It works like a charm.The kicker has power trim and tilt,and is mounted on a stationary bracket.

When it's time to run with the outdrive,I just trim up the kicker with a push of a button,until it's completely out of the water.

I can't say enough good,about this T8 Yamaha kicker.It is an awesome motor,runs like a watch,sips fuel,very quiet,and most importantly,it moves the boat at any salmon speeds,even into big waves.I would never be without a kicker,for these,and many other reasons.

[Erbyjoe]

Homing bird huh Wait until Johnny reads this one Now the question is who this bird belongs too Johnny boy I have 3 choices is it BOB or DAVE or is it yours JOHN!!!no wonder you guys were asking me about my daughters barbie cloths And you laughed about Johnny's Chickens

[big easy]

Hey,That's a special pigeon mr.ERBYWho knows it might look good in a halter top,and stiletto heels,so keep johns chickens away from it..

If you're not nice,I may send him your way,to crap on your boat while you are working.Or maybe I'll have him steal all your tackle.Be afraid,be very afraid.

[LongLine]

Big Easy - Beautiful job on that rig.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[Erbyjoe]

John ARE YOU TALKING TO ME Be carefull I can get a rooster that will swoon away your Bird in a halter top then you 3 will be back to trolling the Sheep pens but in Bob's and Dave case Goat pens

[Diversion]

Looks great John

Does your I/O still have the power assist steering, or did you go with hydraulic? Curious about the steering for the kicker.

[muskybob]

Nice job on the rig.

[FX]

Great lookin rig! AND she catches fish and birds Life is good. Congrats on a job well done. It must feel good to get her wet and have a successful sea trial. Have a safe and enjoyable season!

Shawn

[big easy]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Yeh,it does feel good to have it done and in the water.I am extremely pleased with the way it fishes and handles.Two and a half years of work,but it was worth it.

I didn't know much about these boats,until some real boat nuts in the salt water told me how well they rode.

I was a little skeptical of their claims at first,but it does perform as well as they told me it would.

Adam,it's funny that you mention the steering,as I was concerned about the same thing that you asked about.

Yes it does have power steering,and I was worried that when the I/O was off,that it would be very hard to steer.My other boat(22' Trophy),(now for sale)has the same setup,power steering with an outdrive and kicker,and it's a real b-tch to steer when the big engine is off.

This boat, however,is fairly easy to steer with the engine off.This was one of the first thing that I and my buddies noticed,when we used the kicker,how much easier it was to steer.It takes far less effort to turn this wheel,than it did on my Trophy.

The only thing that I can think of is that when I installed the new steering in this boat,I went with a a rotary helm.

The Trophy has a rack helm.(both of these are mechanical cable systems,not hydraulic)

I actually think that I could use an autopilot successfully with this setup,as it's so much easier to steer.No autopilot mfg.said their units would work,with the power steering disabled,but I think this would.

And one more thing, I envy all of you who live close to the lake,what a beautiful place,I miss it a lot when we are away from it.I wish I was lucky enough to be a few minutes from it as some of you are.Every time I ride along the southern shore on the parkway,and look out on the lake,I ask myself,"what the hell am I doing living in Massachusetts,why don't I just move up here".One of these days,one of these days.

Good luck to all of you on the water this season

[fishfearme]

Hey...Did some mention my name. My rooster could kick the crap out of that wimpy pigeon. John I got a couple of pictures of you trolling out of Wilson. I think one of them actually came out pretty good.

Great seeing you guys up there earlier this year. When you heading up again??

John