Tin addiction 18' Starcraft Chieftain

[laurentide]

Glad you're enjoying your Chief. I always try to remind myself that we all share the water...skiers, tubers, sailboats, fishing boats, pwc, cruisers, etc. However, the 5 ton bathtub cruisers do make a big, sloppy, dangerous mess for everyone else, especially when off plane. I'm happy to have one weekday off every week and make sure that's the one day that I definitely get out.

4 footers on a narrow lake is so much different than big open water. The short wave periods really do make them seem more like 6'+. These hulls are pretty amazing, though. They pound like a sledgehammer but are buoyant like a plastic bobber. I've briefly (foolishly) been out in actual 6'ers, and it was scary, but I didn't take a single wave over the bow. It just pops right up and over. Not recommended, however :facepalm:.

 

[tgordon1234]

that looks amazing! not sure mine will ever reach that level of awesome! nice job.

 

[Watermann]

I had a problem finally when out on a cruise last weekend... the dang pitot tube came off the back of the speedo, dropped down from under the dash and sprayed my crotch. Thought for a second I was having a going problem :lol:

A Deputy from a neighboring county was at the launch doing safety inspections, he was saying wow! before I even got in and tied up to the dock. He was amazed and said that he loves to old see things made new again. We talked for about 10 or 15 minutes and he never did do the inspection.

Thanks for stopping by Gordo, I'm sure you'll make your Islander into what you want and that's the main thing.

 

[GA_Boater]

So you're having so much fun showing the old gal off you peed yourself. Way to to go WM. :lol:

Do they give out safety stickers for boats that pass the inspection?

 

[tgordon1234]

well i deff want it to look as good as yours holy crap!

 

[Watermann]

Yeah GA they hand out State Parks inspection stickers for the hull and floaty fobs.

So I was running with the hammer down pretty good when the tube popped off, the story goes like this... there was a fancy new 30 - 40k fishing boat that pulled off of the shoreline and was apparently wanting me to eat his wake as he buried his throttle and over took me pretty quickly. I was just cruising by at about 30, so I pushed the throttle slowly down until I ran him to his top end and then just left him behind. :lol:
... and that's when I noticed my shorts were getting wet...

I could tell he thought my old boat was at it's top speed and he was going to show off to his buddy.

Thanks for kind words Gordo

 

[pckeen]

Sweet.

 

[tgordon1234]

its a gorgeous boat thats for sure! deffinately set the bar very high!

 

[crankbait cowboy]

real sweet ride there h20. settin the standards pretty high for the rest of us.

 

[SigSaurP229]

Yeah GA they hand out State Parks inspection stickers for the hull and floaty fobs.

So I was running with the hammer down pretty good when the tube popped off, the story goes like this... there was a fancy new 30 - 40k fishing boat that pulled off of the shoreline and was apparently wanting me to eat his wake as he buried his throttle and over took me pretty quickly. I was just cruising by at about 30, so I pushed the throttle slowly down until I ran him to his top end and then just left him behind. :lol:
... and that's when I noticed my shorts were getting wet...

I could tell he thought my old boat was at it's top speed and he was going to show off to his buddy.

Thanks for kind words Gordo

That's fun isn't it. I flat out left a jetski and a bass boat doing the same thing. The real question was did the speedometer tube actually pop off cause I know the first time I throttled up hard I couldn't have convinced anyone that it was actually water.

I have got several lookers out on the lake, and I am still not done.

 

[Watermann]

Hey Sig, here's a pic you'll like, me in the Chief with my long time friend on my hip... Sig Sauer P220 that I've had since the late 80's, it goes just about everywhere with me.

 

[classiccat]

Dang! That's some hand-cannon that you have there Agua!!

 

[GA_Boater]

It's just the starter's pistol to begin the race against the go-fasts.

 

[pckeen]

Just saw the video on youtube - looks amazing. Paint job looks as good up close as it did from a distance. Nice, nice work.....and I was using your video to sell the admiral on a Chieftain...

 

[Watermann]

Well I think we had our final outing of the season for the Chief this weekend. The seasons here come on quick in September but this weekend it was still summer in the mid 80's. The Chief got to stretch it's legs on the big lake again and we pushed uplake about 35 miles into the wilds.

Stopped at a boat in only Dept of Interiors dock that has a big fire shelter way off the grid.

A wilderness view in the wake. Until next year!

 

[pckeen]

End of season. My Holiday has to come out of the water before the 22nd. :scared:

 

[Watermann]

Those pics a page back from yesterday could have been my last of the Chief in her current state. When we were pulling out for the day, the launch was crowded and a guy with a huge Maxum glass tub had no idea what he was doing trying to leave the dock. I was 2 boats back of him watching from the lot in horror as he mashed the throttle in reverse thinking it was like a car and would just pull out from the dock. Instead the big tub lurched backwards, smashed into a guys Skeeter and continued on now heading for the Chief. To add even more to my horror and dismay the admiral wanted to protect the Chief so she jumped from the dock and laid out over the bow of the Chief thinking she would stop that behemoth from mashing the little Chief like an empty beer can against the dock. Luckily the guy got his sheet together and managed to gun the thing again in forward in the nick of time stopping about a foot from the bow of the Chief. All I could see was the admiral falling in the water between the sterndrive of that thing and the bow of the Chief.

It was a horrible end to a great day on the water but all's well that ends well.

 

[GA_Boater]

And that kinda explains the trailering post, WM. Added pressure on the road after that, I'm sure. There are idjits about. On and off the water.

 

[dozerII]

Wow I bet that incident caused a few choice words to flow freely, glad it all worked out. I'm going to bring the Holiday home later todays as well forecast -4 for Wednesday night, boy this summer went fast.

 

[Gibbles]

I have seen some close calls, one right after I warned a guy about having his boat just sitting in the loading and unloading.
His little tin boat almost got crushed minutes later from a guy doing the s ame thing

I had a guy take my warning all personal too, I got threatened with a bow (flashed it at me)... funny because I always carry my glock.
I just smiled at him and waved

I had one with the second outing on the Chief, apparently a guy unloading next to me had some engine problems, and he decided it would be best to let his boat drift around until it started...
And he launched by backing up with speed, and stopping, shooting his boat off of the trailer. :facepalm:

so much drama at some docks... :watermelon: