A Goat Afloat On A Boat
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- Joined
- Mar 29, 2012
- Messages
- 1
I have a '76 Reinelle Cutty Cabin Cruiser with the Hard Top. She's only 21' but she's a big girl-wide with a deep hull and an Easy Load Trailer that's the original. She's in really good shape but I'm fixing to redo her upholstery and carpet, rebuild the original tent that covered the back, and fix the stock stove and stainless steel sink in the kitchen. Everything else is great. The hard top is still perfect and the cushions in the cutty are too. Living in Page, Az., my house is only 12.5 miles from State Line launch ramp at the one and only Lake Powell. Anyone jealous yet? My boat is perfect for camping but the original in/out Volvo V8 and 60 gal tank make her also perfect for exploring the over 2,000 miles of canyons going into canyons going into canyons. You could spend the rest of your life exploring this lake and never see it all. It's also got some of the best fishing-we WILL NOT allow those horrible sport fish killing mussles to get into our beautiful one-and-only Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. You can't miss my boat. She's got a huge picture of my service animal on each side of the bow-a goat named Abby. Yes, that's right, a goat. A goat that loves to go out on the boat. And yes, Abby's potty trained. She goes outside before we go in Walmart (go to Walmart.com and put in Page, Az.) and she uses a litter box in the house and on the boat. We're going to buff/wax the outside and keep the original '70s turquois color for the cushions since that's the color of the hard top and side stripe.
What you may find amazing (or fitting, considering), is I pull her with an '87 Dodge Ram D150 with the stock 318 in her. (Darcy's her name, and muscle's her game!) She pulls that big boat up that launch ramp like she's nothing. You'd have to drive that truck off a cliff to kill her she's got so much life left in her. They're kind of like an old married couple, Darcy and that boat. When I go to get the boat and hook up the trailer by myself I usually hit it the first try. It's like they can't wait to be joined together again or something. It's funny. That truck has taken me all over creation and back (with ice cold a/c mind you) and an original cassette am/fm radio and speakers that keep me rockin, even through endless miles of reservation. She broke down once in a little town just as we got onto I15 going north to Salt Lake City. The alternator went. It was 10:30 at night, raining, and we had been driving through nowhere N89 and state road 10. We were using the headlights, wipers, and heater, and the lights were dimming as we used up the last of the battery and frantically turned everything off. She somehow coasted off this little off ramp and straight into the lighted parkinglot of a lone convenience store. We didn't know what we were going to do in the rain that late at night. Thank god the convenience store was still open. We found out we were on the edge of the town of Fillmore and just across the highway a guy had a full service garage. She called him and he came out in the rain at 11:00 at night in his Dodge truck and locked bumper to hitch and pushed us smoothly and perfectly across the hwy crossing and into the 1st bay of his shop. There was a locally owned motel at the next exit we could stay at but we had all our stuff, Abby, her litter box, all her stuff to get there, and the shop owner, not even knowing us let us just take his little hatchback subaru loaded with Abby and all our stuff. By the time we woke up at 9am and called the shop he already had the alternator replaced and the battery charged. We brought him back his vehicle, and to our surprise the whole bill was only 90 bucks! And that included coming out in the rain late at night to rescue us!
But I must say some of the credit has to go to Darcy Dodge. We had just driven for hours through nowherseville N89 and over the 20 up and over the pass through the Rocky Mountains. It was the only time she ever gave out on me but she didn't really leave me stranded. It was like she held on til she got us to safety. Some vehicles seem to have a kind of 'soul' if you will-a life. And she's got plenty of it left. Even mechanics comment on how strong that engine is. And my boat is the same. She's got her own personality. And the two of them were made for each other. Like I said they're like an old married couple. I love that boat and I love my truck. Looks like the truck is gonna get a little makeover too. My roommate just scrounged a bunch of body parts and a bumper and some lights for the dash. The seat and dash are still factory but 2 guage lights are out and Abby knocked the ash tray out bumping her head on it over and over. The boat will be awesome when we're finished with her and the truck gets a few odds and ends she needs. So you don't necessarily need some big new truck to pull your boat up the launch ramp. You just need one with heart and an engine strong enough for however much your boat weighs. A good used older truck can be just fine. Just make sure if you aren't 'mechanically enclined' you have the drive train checked and do a compression test on the engine. That will tell you if the engine is good and strong and will last. I'm a Dodge person. You may find a Chevy C20 with a 350 in it that will work for you. I'm just saying. Just because it's older than your kid (or you), doesn't mean it can't do the job. Give those old trucks a look-see. You never know when you might find one someone loved and took good care of, not to mention you can probably pick up for 1500 or so. There's lots of "Gems in the Rough" out there. You just gotta find each other.
------- A Goat Afloat On A Boat
What you may find amazing (or fitting, considering), is I pull her with an '87 Dodge Ram D150 with the stock 318 in her. (Darcy's her name, and muscle's her game!) She pulls that big boat up that launch ramp like she's nothing. You'd have to drive that truck off a cliff to kill her she's got so much life left in her. They're kind of like an old married couple, Darcy and that boat. When I go to get the boat and hook up the trailer by myself I usually hit it the first try. It's like they can't wait to be joined together again or something. It's funny. That truck has taken me all over creation and back (with ice cold a/c mind you) and an original cassette am/fm radio and speakers that keep me rockin, even through endless miles of reservation. She broke down once in a little town just as we got onto I15 going north to Salt Lake City. The alternator went. It was 10:30 at night, raining, and we had been driving through nowhere N89 and state road 10. We were using the headlights, wipers, and heater, and the lights were dimming as we used up the last of the battery and frantically turned everything off. She somehow coasted off this little off ramp and straight into the lighted parkinglot of a lone convenience store. We didn't know what we were going to do in the rain that late at night. Thank god the convenience store was still open. We found out we were on the edge of the town of Fillmore and just across the highway a guy had a full service garage. She called him and he came out in the rain at 11:00 at night in his Dodge truck and locked bumper to hitch and pushed us smoothly and perfectly across the hwy crossing and into the 1st bay of his shop. There was a locally owned motel at the next exit we could stay at but we had all our stuff, Abby, her litter box, all her stuff to get there, and the shop owner, not even knowing us let us just take his little hatchback subaru loaded with Abby and all our stuff. By the time we woke up at 9am and called the shop he already had the alternator replaced and the battery charged. We brought him back his vehicle, and to our surprise the whole bill was only 90 bucks! And that included coming out in the rain late at night to rescue us!
But I must say some of the credit has to go to Darcy Dodge. We had just driven for hours through nowherseville N89 and over the 20 up and over the pass through the Rocky Mountains. It was the only time she ever gave out on me but she didn't really leave me stranded. It was like she held on til she got us to safety. Some vehicles seem to have a kind of 'soul' if you will-a life. And she's got plenty of it left. Even mechanics comment on how strong that engine is. And my boat is the same. She's got her own personality. And the two of them were made for each other. Like I said they're like an old married couple. I love that boat and I love my truck. Looks like the truck is gonna get a little makeover too. My roommate just scrounged a bunch of body parts and a bumper and some lights for the dash. The seat and dash are still factory but 2 guage lights are out and Abby knocked the ash tray out bumping her head on it over and over. The boat will be awesome when we're finished with her and the truck gets a few odds and ends she needs. So you don't necessarily need some big new truck to pull your boat up the launch ramp. You just need one with heart and an engine strong enough for however much your boat weighs. A good used older truck can be just fine. Just make sure if you aren't 'mechanically enclined' you have the drive train checked and do a compression test on the engine. That will tell you if the engine is good and strong and will last. I'm a Dodge person. You may find a Chevy C20 with a 350 in it that will work for you. I'm just saying. Just because it's older than your kid (or you), doesn't mean it can't do the job. Give those old trucks a look-see. You never know when you might find one someone loved and took good care of, not to mention you can probably pick up for 1500 or so. There's lots of "Gems in the Rough" out there. You just gotta find each other.
------- A Goat Afloat On A Boat
