Now that the trailer was all set, it was time to get started on the boat.

First I removed all of the old hardware: more than half of the bolts on the boat were rusted to the point where they wouldn’t turn and just sheared off.

I also removed the old battery rack. It was well put together (other than the corroded bolts), but I needed to get at the deck under it to clean and paint.

My only complaint about my 12′ MirroCraft is that it’s a little cramped.

Although I usually go to the lake alone, I thought it would be nice, once in a while, to invite a buddy along without worrying about snagging a hook in his ear or, if he was of any size at all, about foundering the boat under our combined weights.

So it was that less than a year after buying my first boat I started checking the listings again. I was looking for another MirroCraft–but bigger–since I knew and trusted that brand. I thought a 16-footer would be about right.

Unfortunately, none were available, at least not in my price range. I eventually widened my search and found this 1976 14′ Gregor all-welded aluminum boat online.

I previously claimed that the boat project was complete, but it turns out that was a lie.

I took my freshly-painted rowboat out several times last month.

Late October brought freshening winds, and the last time I went out I had to crab so severely into the wind to hold my course that I made very little headway.

To add insult to injury, the fish were moving to the far end of the lake, out of range of my trolling motor, and–unless I had a lot of time to spare–of my oars.

While I’d managed not to melt the boat with my brazing experiment, I worried that painting would be a problem.

I can fake a rattle can touch up (like the one on the boat trailer) as well as the next person, but tend to get myself into trouble with more advanced finishes.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I bought a 12′ rowboat this summer.

It was a turnkey operation: in addition to the boat and trailer, the seller threw in a trolling motor, a couple of deep cycle batteries, a pair of oars with rowlocks, an anchor and line, a couple of Type II life vests, and some fishing equipment.

A smart man would’ve been happy with the setup as is.

Naturally, I immediately set about replacing EVERYTHING.

I’ve noticed my performance at “twitch” computer games has fallen off of late. Rather than blaming my aging eyesight and/or reflexes, I’ve singled out my old Razer 3lue Mazer gaming mouse as the likely culprit.

I recently bought a 12′ boat and trailer.

The boat’s a 1976 model: I plan to refurbish it when the weather cools down a little. The trailer, however, is from 2002 and appeared to be in good shape when I brought it home.

However, since my total experience with trailers up to that point had been living in a single-wide with my parents and brothers as a kid, my opinion of its condition really wasn’t worth much.

In the days and weeks to follow, I would learn more…much more…

I found this old Dake Model X arbor press online.

I hoped to use it as a pistol sight pusher in addition to the press/stamp/rivet operations it was actually designed for.

Some quick research revealed that these Dake presses last forever and are easy to refurbish, so I took the plunge.