The Next Chapter Begins

The days that have lead to this point have been great, only minor setbacks
have been encountered. The first one showed up just after the wedding, when
one of my dock neighbors noticed that my bilge pump was cycling-- Often !
Too Often ! So back on the trailer we went , just for a day. Dennis , Ronnie
and myself  resealed the suspected source, "The Mercathode units" and back 
in the water we go. And "Voila" !!!! no drips ---- Sweet.

In doing all the work inside and outside the boat, some smaller issues that
came to light were just put on a separate list and held for a future date.
These are not earth shattering repairs, with most of them, the time to get the
tools collected and site prepared will take longer than the repairs themselves. 
The small repairs are not keeping us from using the boat at all.
So lately we have had the pleasure to make some short trips around
the Alton pool,  we well experienced captains know this area as Alton Lake. 
That's for real and you can check me on that.
Matter of fact on the Missouri side just above My River Home is an old harbor
called Alton Lake Yacht Club , some friends of mine kept a small Gibson
house boat there years ago. Which brings me to say that in our recent
travels I have also had the pleasure of meeting some of you. Our last outing
included a stop at the Larosa Cabana ( rapidly becoming one of our favorites)
where we were greeted by Mike Hentrik  ( hope that's right) who like us, 
likes the the Larosa and introduced himself as someone who has read us since the 
beginning. Mike  you have no idea how flattered we are and really hope that we
see you again. As we stretch our nautical legs a little more each time we go out
our trust factor in the Fuelishness increases as does our satisfaction in a job
well done.

The Fuelishness is behind the band at the courtesy dock of the "Larosa Cabana Bar"

There is so much I could say about a job well done.
Which brings some interesting points to light. First let me say that I'm not 
some self made expert or dock side know -it - all. Heck I'm not even Captain Ron.
But like many of you "or at least the ones who know who Captain Ron is", i'd like 
to be Captain Ron, minus the sailboat anyway. We all know the value of a job done
well , and what is a job well done? I think we all might answer that question a
little differently,I mean that each of us may see a difference in the comfort level given. 

Well anyway I must say that I have truly learned a lot about all things marine during 
the past months. A couple of points that have came up really hit home and I figured
that I would share them with you. 

The first point is trust, yes trust. Its a given in our sport. We must trust the vendors 
who we spend money with. Face facts guys ,if you don't trust the people you are spending
your money with , why are you spending your money with them? Talk to fellow boaters,
get references, look at work that was done for other people, be objective. Because once the 
money is spent its real hard to get it back. When I was a little kid at the store my dad he 
always said "Son - choose well -- cause you cant spend that money twice" 
Either way its good advise.

The last point is to me the most obvious and probably the easiest one to make life simple.
Look at the work and ask questions about it , and  require intelligent answers to your 
questions. Learn a little something about the work your asking for, (ie do your homework)
so your questions have substance. But I cant stress this enough,,, Look at the work, do a visual 
inspection. This is where my hardest lesson was learned. Before my boat went in the 
water I should have said "STOP" don't launch it !!! I want to see the work. 
Once it went in the water the work was hidden from sight. We are not boating in the 
Bahamas, we cant put on a mask and inspect the bottom or drives or any underwater gear.
How is that relevant to anything ?
When it came out of the water it was extremely obvious that things were a miss. 
I guess what I'm saying is Stevie Wonder couldn't miss this. A visual inspection would have
created questions that would have required answers and corrections, I firmly believe the
out come would have been different, The long term effect anyway.  Enough about that.

I have had a great time with Suzanne re-creating the Fuelishness  and If you asked me if 
I would do it again I would say yes. 


Up Next :  Lets just go Boating