SuperEnzo
Seaman Apprentice
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2014
- Messages
- 32
I felt that this post belonged in the hull restoration section because of the story that will unfold before you. This is the story of the "Lady" - a 1971 Sears 14 foot row boat and its transformation into a much bigger vessel- a 2000 Tracker Deep V16 Combo. This is a true story and I hope you find it enjoyable.
In the June of 2014 I, a young man (18 years old), purchased my first boat, the aforementioned 1971 Sears Row boat. This exact forum (iboats) and its members helped me learn and make modifications that would not only improve my fishing/boating experience, but also my safety. Below are links to the exact articles in which members helped me diagnose my outboard (1977 Mercury 7.5)
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engi...hunderbolt-dswitch-box-repairs-it-can-be-done
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/gene...ansom-too-thick-for-johnson-18hp-is-this-safe
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engi...n-18hp-surging-backfiring-and-stumbling/page2
So as you can see quite a bit of work went into making this boat a reliable fishing-machine. Here are a couple pictures of the vessel to show you how far she came. I suggest taking a glance at the posts above for even more pictures.
Fast forward to June 6, 2016 when a tree trimming business arrived to remove a large tree in my backyard. A tree crane on a flat bed semi-truck rolled into my neighbors drive way to remove the tree. I will not release the name of the business and I have blurred any identifying evidence in the photos below. What happened next was truly astounding and horrifying.
In the process of removing the tree the crane picked up a section of tree. The cause of what happened next has been hypothesized but I will not speak to any of it. As you can see the crane tipped over onto its side and with it came 88 feet of the crane's boom. The boom hit my boat directly in the middle, crumpling it like tin foil. All of my fishing poles were destroyed as I kept them lengthwise in the boat. The boat was basically "crimped" onto the trailer and was destroyed. The 1963 18hp Johnson was unscathed and so was my trolling motor and batter mounted on the front of the vessel.
With my boat destroyed, so too were my plans of fishing the whole summer- something I worked all winter for. The hard work I had spent- estimated for myself to be some hundreds of hours- fixing up my boat and learning had been destroyed in a matter of moments.
I do not wish to talk about the monetary or legal standing of this incident. I will tell you that everything has been settled and insurance is a wonderful thing.
I searched high and low for a whole year, trying to find my next boat to no avail until finally, in late June of this year, 2017, I found my perfect boat- a 16 foot Tracker Deep V16 Combo with a 75hp mercury 2 stroke. This is the boat I had dreamt of owning. Meticulously maintained by the previous owner, the boat is in excellent condition. It has everything I need and then some! And boy is it quick, much quicker then my old boat! And hopefully it catches more fish than the old boat!
In the end, I wound up with the boat I had always wanted. I waited a long time for this boat but Im glad that I did. Now I have the "Lady II" and an interesting story to tell for the rest of my life. This is a true story and now I have a great boat. Thanks for reading!
In the June of 2014 I, a young man (18 years old), purchased my first boat, the aforementioned 1971 Sears Row boat. This exact forum (iboats) and its members helped me learn and make modifications that would not only improve my fishing/boating experience, but also my safety. Below are links to the exact articles in which members helped me diagnose my outboard (1977 Mercury 7.5)
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engi...hunderbolt-dswitch-box-repairs-it-can-be-done
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/gene...ansom-too-thick-for-johnson-18hp-is-this-safe
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engi...n-18hp-surging-backfiring-and-stumbling/page2
So as you can see quite a bit of work went into making this boat a reliable fishing-machine. Here are a couple pictures of the vessel to show you how far she came. I suggest taking a glance at the posts above for even more pictures.
Fast forward to June 6, 2016 when a tree trimming business arrived to remove a large tree in my backyard. A tree crane on a flat bed semi-truck rolled into my neighbors drive way to remove the tree. I will not release the name of the business and I have blurred any identifying evidence in the photos below. What happened next was truly astounding and horrifying.
In the process of removing the tree the crane picked up a section of tree. The cause of what happened next has been hypothesized but I will not speak to any of it. As you can see the crane tipped over onto its side and with it came 88 feet of the crane's boom. The boom hit my boat directly in the middle, crumpling it like tin foil. All of my fishing poles were destroyed as I kept them lengthwise in the boat. The boat was basically "crimped" onto the trailer and was destroyed. The 1963 18hp Johnson was unscathed and so was my trolling motor and batter mounted on the front of the vessel.
With my boat destroyed, so too were my plans of fishing the whole summer- something I worked all winter for. The hard work I had spent- estimated for myself to be some hundreds of hours- fixing up my boat and learning had been destroyed in a matter of moments.
I do not wish to talk about the monetary or legal standing of this incident. I will tell you that everything has been settled and insurance is a wonderful thing.
I searched high and low for a whole year, trying to find my next boat to no avail until finally, in late June of this year, 2017, I found my perfect boat- a 16 foot Tracker Deep V16 Combo with a 75hp mercury 2 stroke. This is the boat I had dreamt of owning. Meticulously maintained by the previous owner, the boat is in excellent condition. It has everything I need and then some! And boy is it quick, much quicker then my old boat! And hopefully it catches more fish than the old boat!
In the end, I wound up with the boat I had always wanted. I waited a long time for this boat but Im glad that I did. Now I have the "Lady II" and an interesting story to tell for the rest of my life. This is a true story and now I have a great boat. Thanks for reading!
