SPECIES from Haulover Canal

I had an extra minute and thought I'd show some close-ups of the other animal encounters we had besides the dolphin and manatee.

Here is the undersized snook that Jack caught.

Here is the puffer species that we all caught. (Like potato chips. Can't catch just one.)

Here is the 6 ft gator that swam across the canal. I really wanted to say something to that guy we saw later that was swimming in the canal with his retriever. As it was, on the way home, we saw the gator sunning itself on the southern banks and some guys walked up on it and it slid quickly back into the water.

There is a good chance that we will be fishing in the Dodge Saltwater Classic 2008 this weekend!

http://whtq.com/saltwater/ More details to come.

(Renee, I may have to miss SS. LOL)

SEA TRIALS
by Robin

I wish I had more time to post up all the stories but I don't. You'll just have to live with some pictures for today. Sea trial went wonderful. Two small quirks that Jack already remedied.

Jack pushing all the buttons.

There would never be pictures of me if I didn't take self-portraits.

Haulover Canal (N. of Kennedy Space Center)

North end of Haulover Canal - gorgeous view.

Fishing the wind-protected waters of the canal

Bringing in yet another puffer fish. Jack caught the only snook.

Haulover is famous for its wildlife. Here is a dolphin, but we also saw raccoons and a gator.

Oh and this guy sleeping next to us. It is a manatee on the verge of surfacing.

Then, the camera battery died. Oh well.

Before/After pics - 8 mo restoration project on the Mako 248.

I thought you'd like to see some before & after pictures of the boat. We finished up some miscellaneous things today and will be on the water tomorrow for a nice picnic lunch. It seems surreal that it's done. (Well, it's never *really* done, but ykwim.)

(Before: Left , After: Bottom)

I feel like the stripe has made her look as long as she really feels when you're inside fishing. The Mako 248 is a huge 25 ft boat. But, by the time you add in the pulpit, bracket and engine, we're hauling a good 30 ft, plus tongue of the trailer. She is an excellent fishing vessel thanks to ability to walk completely around her but also a family boat because Jack can stand upright in the cuddy cabin (6 ft tall). The sides are tall and I don't have to worry about the kids falling overboard as easily as some other boat.

It truly has been a priviledge to restore this 21 yr old vessel back to its youthful glow. I'm not sure there are even 100 Mako 248's still operating today.

Back in 2005, we were told that this was one of the two best hulls to have, ....... if we could find one. In August, that year, we found one in Orlando, owned by a dentist who kept it in great condition. She even had the original '87 Laser engine on it. It was unreliable so we repowered it with an '03 Merc Opti-Max 225, which we love. Praise God it hasn't had a single hiccup.

Before picture. See how the outline of the pole storage boxes don't even stand out?

This picture came from the last outing we took on her in Aug '07 before we took everything off. Check my archives to see the makeover from the beginning.

Here is a picture of the finished pole storage 'boxes'. Doesn't the wood make it look fabulous? It really brought it up to first class with the dark wood against the white boat. WOW!

Here (left) is the helm area the day we bought the boat. Pretty plain & faded looking. There was an old, moldy white canvas top which got replaced in '06. We still have the original old compass which we plan on restoring as well. At this point, the new GPS chartplotter sits in it the compass spot. Back when this boat was in production, Mako hadn't seen the likes of flush-mounted electronics. Everything had brackets and rolls of paper to get your readings.

On the right, it is almost done, minus the Captain's chair, which was put in minutes after the photo. What difference in the black trim vs the brown original Mako 248 trim. Also, the boat needed to be brought into the 21st century with some modern electronics and music. Since this photo was taken, Jack already purchased new speakers. I don't know the details because I couldn't hear over the blaring music. ha ha

I love the detail in the new flooring as well. Much of the wiring in the switch panel was enhanced and nightlights added.

In the future, we'd like to add a complete hardtop with a mini-tower for me to spot fish. I can only imagine that Jack will add some radar as well to spot thunderstorms and maybe birds (to find tuna). Oh..... but a new trailer or trailer makeover will come first. I would love to haul our boat down to the Keys or over to the Gulf.

Happy Fishing

Robin

WE'RE COOKING w/ CRISCO NOW!!

by Robin

Didn't everybody's family used to say that in the 70's or 80's?

(Hose pretending to be in use - left)

I sure hope that nobody needs to reach me on Thursday because I'm going to be on the river.

(see how it hides away? - right)

Friday, I might even go fishing!

(Hoses in bildge coming from the pick-up tube. T-valve allows water to go to livewell and washdown.)

(Pump hiding in right access door. Or is that left? port? I think Jack said this was 50 gpm.)

Teak wood is all done but 2 pieces waiting for installation on Thursday. I washed all the gold pole-holders down so they can be put back into the pole storage boxes on each side of the cockpit.

I think we're done........ except for those weekend wet-sanding projects on the inside gunnels saved for bad weather days. We're going to fish NOW because mahi mahi are running and we can stock up the freezer on a good day.

FISHERMAN DOWN

It's so hard to be a truly sick fisherman. Everybody from work keeps beeping Jack on his Nextel and asking him what he's catching or what's the water like. I have to laugh to myself when I hear him exclaim that he's really sick and on antibiotics. When they listen to him sound like a baritone with a nasty cough, they end the conversation quickly with a "Get Well." LOL

You know you're sick when you get a call on Friday night for a fishing trip on Saturday and you turn it down.

If all this wasn't bad enough, I ended up throwing my back out today. I'll be blessed if I can get out of this chair in less than 30 seconds.

Happy Fishing - - the weather has been beautiful!!
Robin

TRAILERS, RIVER & WASHDOWN

Jack had to do some work on the brakes which had rusted the wheels into place. He had to rebuild this after some intense pounding (both sides). Afterwards, bearings were repacked in grease and new cap put on.
Wait......... what's in my mirror? Is that a boat with water in the background?

Yep, it is....
Jack took a few minutes to run the engine and put it into gear. We can run the engine in the driveway but not test the gears & tachometer, check for leaks, etc. Don't forget, we changed the entire foot of our Merc Opti-Max 225. It went from 30" to 25" in length.
It was so tempting to take it for a run but we didn't. Our new registration sticker didn't come in the mail until the next day. Plus, we had no lifejackets, proof of ownership, etc. on board.

However, they're all onboard today. We were hoping to get out in the river for a quick ride and test everything. Unfortunately, Jack is sick as a dog the past few days and so all progess has been halted.

Side note: All our back-order equipment came in the mail this week. New livewell pump and GPS antenna are here! Jack has partially been working on a new washdown station when he isn't fevering or dizzy. He made a fiberglass mold out of some plasticware from the kitchen.

It is now painted black and will have a nozzle in there. This keeps us from banging a knee onto any hardware while fishing. The hose storage is behind that hatch next to the insert in the last picture. Handy yet it doesn't interfere with fishing.

We'll be out there in no time. Pray that Jack gets better soon. He's on antibiotics but it is slow going.

Happy Fishing,

Robin

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

BOAT Update:

All navigation lights and electronics equipment are ready to go. Swim-step ladder is reattached. VHF radio now tells us up-to-date tidal and NOAA info. (huge life-saver if you need to hail Coast Guard) Anchor (not shown to the left) & rope was added. Fire extinquisher back on board.

We were slightly hindered by not getting 2 parts in (thanks back-order!). We ordered a top-notch livewell & wash-down pump. That will keep our bait happy in their kiddie pool AND serve as a way to wash down any blood or fish slime with salt water. It is soooo much easier to clean it while it is fresh rather than baked-on in the FL sun. Jack came up with this clever location to stow away the wash-down hose. It is on the inside of the new back hatch.

Our other equipment on order is a satellite cable that goes to the new GPS Chartplotter. It's basically like the little antenna you put on your car for satellite radio.

Also, I have the last 2 pieces of teak wood to finish this week. Jack has to do a little maintenance on the trailer since it has been sitting for so many months. Something about the wheels have rusted into place. He has to bang on something. Don't ask me. We'll probably work on those last things on Thursday and dunk her in the river on Friday, Saturday at the latest.

Be sure to check back for those pictures.

Happy Fishing,

Robin

PS: It was $1 less per gallon last time we put gas in her. Ouch! I'm really glad we didn't buy a $70K new boat instead. Can you imagine sticker and gas pump shock?

ALMOST DONE! - Chairs in!

Chartplotter mounted and powered up.

I helped Jack run all the wires from the transducers (fish finder) and whatever else to the helm. Then, he does the hard part and hooks them all up while I finished up schooling.

Radio works too now. There are a few final touches today and then we're out of work until the livewell pump gets here. It's on backorder. The wood around the pole boxes needs to be finished and varnished.

I think we're going to the river next week to test drive her. Woo wee! I thought the day would never get here. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to quit. Jack too. But he kept at it with perseverance. Plus, he has loads of talent. I've never seen somebody so able to fix things of all natures. Washers, dryers, stoves, dishwashers, pool pumps, lawn mowers, boats, cars, airplanes and the list goes on and on. I just LOVE HIM.

John 15:5 Apart from Him, we can do nothing. This is so true! Even with all of Jack's talent, restoring this boat was very humbling and we did count on God for so much of our needs. Many things we prayed about were answered. We even got free floor paint in the color we wanted inspite of the can saying "Cloud Gray." It was like a miracle when it dried the tan that was in our hearts. Many times money came in at the right time for an expense or product we needed. The chartplotter was a quarter of the original cost. (Too many miracles to mention.) We incurred very little debt during our restoration process. Thank you God.

Happy Fishing,
Robin

MORE FISH PICS

Sorry, I got a little distracted with hatching out chicks.

We head due east from Port Canaveral and stopped once we got to 120' of water. We were aiming for 140' but our first puking started in 120. What are you going to do, eh?

It took a little while for the water to clean up to the dark blue you see in the below picture. It was nice and we hit a lot of scattered weeds as we trolled east to deeper waters.

Mike and daugher w/ the 1st phin of the day. She was the first to pull in a fish. Don't underestimate the ability of a kid to crank in a big fish.

Next up was my eldest with his dolphin. It spit the hook during a jump. I hated that because he sure does love to catch big fish. It was a good size mahi on the line. It made several jumps.

Mike's fish since Helen and his son didn't want to take their turn. Nothing like seasickness to making you immobile.

My escape dolphin - story below

This one charged the boat, got put on ice very green. Then, jumped for his life.

Jack fighting his Mahi. Mike's son looks on.

Here is his catch. Not a very good angle photography-wise. Nothing we caught was in the "hero" category but it all makes for good eating and a day of constant action.

This was "Family Day" on the water.

I think by this point, we were heading south after hitting 240' of water. Next thing you know, we're catching kings instead of phins. Little man fighting his Kingfish. Can you see the determination in his stance. Mike was very patient with teaching the kids. The kids were very long-suffering with throwing up between turns of reeling in fish.

Here is the only picture we have of the Kingfish before it went under the boat and the line was caught in the props and cut off. What a loss for the little guy. Jack is standing by as gaff man.

Here is Mike's son reeling in his fish. We knew it wasn't a mahi or kingfish the way it was fighting. No jumps or major runs. This fish went down and down. It surely didn't want to come up. We were so hoping it was a wahoo or black fin tuna when we saw a slight silver sheen a dozen or more feet down.

It ended up being a Bonita. It was caught and released. They are in the tuna family but considered more as bait and not dinner fare.

I was up next to fight this kingfish since Helen was still so incapacitated on the couch. It was a fairly easy fish to bring in. Here is my Kingfish. Not the biggest but we kept him for smoking and making into dip.

Mike fighting a kingfish. By this time, we had a lot of kids not wanting to move. My eldest had thrown up for the 5th time. I was in the tower.

The line took off as Mike was putting the ballyhoo and skirted lure out. Poor Mike suffered a blistered thumb in the process.

Here it is in the boat. I think this is the point where Jack cut his finger with the gaff (sharp hook). The gaff has a protective cap and while recapping it, a wave push Jack into the point rather than around the point.

We did go to our snapper hole for a little bottom fishing, but the current was pushing us quickly and with so many seasick folks on board (5 of 8), we only got 1 undersized red snapper before heading home. Plus, a black cloud was coming and waves were building.

Little man slept here for over an hour. After he joined me in my lap, his brother fell asleep here and actually hit the deck. What a rude awakening.

Here are the kids, each holding a fish. We had 6 keepers total. Four Mahi mahi and 2 Kingfish. Lost 3 more. Plus, 2 released non-edible fish.

It was such a good day to be on the water. Lots of fish meat for the 2 families.

In the waters below the cleaning tables, the pelicans have learned to wait patiently for scraps. It's an easy meal for them. Jack gave them plenty of fish skin & guts. The carcasses also go overboard after the eyes and stomachs are pierced. This allows it to drop down to the bottom of the sea for crab food.

Many times, we have seen folks hang around the tables asking for fish heads. I guess Fish Head Soup is pretty popular in certain cultures.

I think Helen got some great shots from the 1st deck. If she sends me those, I'll post them up here.

Happy Fishing. This weekend, we'll be finishing up our Mako 248 project.

Robin