A great maiden voyage

[GFC]

Actually, no maidens were harmed in the taking of this trip, but we did have a lot of fun.

GW and I took our recently acquired 1981 Boston Whaler to Lake Pleasant, a 30 minute drive from the house. The winds were blowing this morning and we almost canx’d the trip. We kept an eye on the weather and the winds died down around noonish as predicted.

Here’s some pics and a video of our day on the water. It turned out to be a near perfect day. The temp was in the mid-80’s, there was about a 5-10mph breeze blowing with occasional gusts up to 15-18. There were just a few other boats on the water, most of them trolling for stripers.

Here’s a couple of shots right after we launched and are headed out of the no wake zone.

One of GW enjoying the new ride.

Yours truly sticking with my “don’t drink and drive the boat” routine…It’s a Rockstar!

After cruising around for a couple of hours we stopped at Scorpion Bay at Dillon’s Restaurant. It’s right on the docks so access is easy……

And the food is good and the beer is cold…..

And the help is kinda easy on the eyes…..

After a bit we headed back out on the water and cruised around for another hour or so. Here’s a couple of shots of the happy crew and a video we took.

[video:youtube]http://youtu.be/MGVrfPXqnMQ[/video]

The boat trailered and ran well. It seemed to like to cruise with the two of us, a full 12-gallon tank of fuel and a cooler at around 24-25mph. That’s about 2mph faster than our other Whaler. WOT with this one loaded the way it loaded it was right at 33mph in a 6”-1’ chop. This boat rides harder than the other one, and I have to assume that is probably due to the lighter weight of the boat, the lighter weight of the engine and probably also some improvements in the hull design from 1981 to 2010.

All things considered it was a great day on the water.

Enjoy.

 

[FlyWright]

Oh, for cryin' out loud, Mike!! Buy the lady an inflatable PFD for the boat! She can't possibly be comfortable in that flotation collar you put on her.

I will admit, she'd be easy to spot in the water. .........

Looks like a fun boat, BTW.

 

[Giggitoni]

Nice trip, Mike. I drove through your area on Monday. Business! Stayed in Pendleton then on to Baker City yesterday.

 

[GFC]

Fly, yup, that's one thing on my "to-do" list. I need to pick up a couple of inflatables (we like the belt kind), some cup holders and I need to get some different fenders. I'm also going to install a depth/fish finder. I don't particularly like running around in these unfamiliar waters without knowing where the bottom is.

Giggitoni, too bad we weren't there or I'd have bought you a cold one.

 

[Marlinmike]

Interesting bow-rail, I like it.

 

[GFC]

Mike, that's a custom he had done. The Whaler rail is continuous around the bow and he felt like it might make stepping off over the bow a hazard. I like this idea too.

That round thing at the bow is a mount for a fishing seat. We got the seat with the boat when I bought it but haven't used it yet. We also have a cushion that covers that bow area. I took it off to trailer the boat because I didn't want it to blow out.