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You are here: Home / Archives for Tom

Boating Articles by Tom

Starting with the little two-person inflatable raft I had as my very first boat, I have always loved the freedom and the feeling of being out on the water. With my father's help, I added a hard plywood floor to that little inflatable, and that was the beginning of a long chain of boats I have owned, loved, maintained, modified, fixed, enjoyed, and scared myself to death on over the past few decades.
A lot of boating time is spent fixing boats, maintaining boats, and upgrading boats with new boating equipment to suit our specific tastes and needs. Lots of salespeople at stores that sell marine boating supplies and boating accessories have learned to recognize me over the years. I have spent my share of time and money working on just about anything you could name on a boat, and made plenty of mistakes. I'm here to share the lessons learned.

Varnishing The Stray Goat

June 6, 2020 By Tom Leave a Comment

I don't like trying to get varnish to flow upward so I decided to put a few coats on the underside and outside of the Goat's rails with the boat upside down. A thunderstorm came through while I was varnishing and my ever-vigilant dog ran … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sailing, Boat Repairs & Upgrades

Painting The Stray Goat

May 15, 2020 By Tom Leave a Comment

With the runners on the bottom replaced, there was still a bit more work to be done before painting the Goat Island Skiff Julie B. The problem that concerned me most was the daggerboard trunk, where I could see some pretty large gaps in the epoxy … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sailing, Boat Repairs & Upgrades

New Backyard Chickens

March 23, 2020 By Tom Leave a Comment

Since I could not get any toilet paper, my COVID19 PANIC buying consisted of four new Leghorn chicks from Tractor Supply. They are intensely interesting to Luke the Cowdog. We only wanted two, since we already have four yearling chickens and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General

2020 Everglades Challenge

March 10, 2020 By Tom Leave a Comment

I love to watch all the interesting boats and people who participate in the WaterTribe's Everglades Challenge each year. This year, my grand plan was to position myself on our pontoon boat somewhere inside Stump Pass and use my drone to take pictures … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sailing

Fishing Turtle Bay March 2020

March 7, 2020 By Tom Leave a Comment

We did a lot more fishing than catching last week in Turtle Bay, but you know what they say about a bad day fishing! While I was soaking a shrimp, the Pelicans were having a banquet! Some of them did some really aerobatic dives, like these … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fishing

2020 Speck Tater Derby

March 2, 2020 By Tom Leave a Comment

2.4mR Regatta

Inspired by WaterTribe members who have spent the last few months doing a training Derby for the upcoming Everglades Challenge, I decided to do a trial overnight camping trip on our pontoon boat. My goals were to test my ability to charge up all the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Boating Fun

2020 Valentines Day Massacre Regatta

February 16, 2020 By Tom Leave a Comment

Our boat was the race committee boat once again for the 2020 Valentines Day Massacre Regatta match races of the local Harbor 20 fleet, a great opportunity to get some pics of these attractive little boats. I brought my DJI Phantom 4 Advanced drone … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Races & Regattas

Fishing New Years Day 2020

January 1, 2020 By Tom Leave a Comment

We took our Twin Vee 22 down near the mouth of Charlotte Harbor today for some fishing. The water was thick with bait fish and some of them helpfully schooled up just in front of our boat so I threw a cast net at them. We had a livewell full of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fishing

Goat Island Skiff Runners

December 17, 2019 By Tom Leave a Comment

When the stray goat Julie B followed me home, she did it on my wife's trailer. The bunks were just the wrong distance apart and I didn't feel like moving them. As a result, one runner broke free from the bottom of the boat and a piece of it was lost. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sailing, Boat Repairs & Upgrades

Our First Homegrown Egg!

November 19, 2019 By Tom Leave a Comment

Our chickens are 7 1/2 months old and one finally laid an egg. We figured this egg cost enough that it should have a high end label. We got another egg yesterday and I decided it was scrambled egg time. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General

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  • Com-Pac Picnic Cat Fun!
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  • June 2021 Stray Goat Projects

Popular

  • The Perfect Solo Mast-Raising System for Small Sailboats
  • How to Dock an Outboard or Sterndrive Powerboat in 3 Easy Pictures
  • Small Outboard Engine Tilt and Trim: Theory and Practice
  • Tying Boats to Docks Using Springlines
  • Deep V, Shallow V, or Variable Deadrise Hull Performance
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About Tom

Starting with the little two-person inflatable raft I had as my very first boat, I have always loved the freedom and the feeling of being out on the water. With my father's help, I added a hard plywood floor to that little inflatable, and that was the beginning of a long chain of boats I have owned, loved, maintained, modified, fixed, enjoyed, and scared myself to death on over the past few decades. [Read More …]

Topics

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  • Boating Fun (30)
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  • Buying & Selling Boats (5)
  • Classic Boating Tales (25)
  • Fishing (16)
  • General (37)
    • Drone Stuff (3)
    • Trail Camera Pictures (18)
    • Tropical Fruiting (1)
  • Kayaking (22)
  • Powerboating (18)
  • Sailing (71)
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        • Abu Garcia Spinning Reels
        • Daiwa Spinning Reels
        • KastKing Spinning Reels
        • Okuma Spinning Reels
        • Penn Spinning Reels
        • Pflueger Spinning Reels
        • Quantum Spinning Reels
        • Shakespeare Spinning Reels
        • Shimano Spinning Reels
        • Zebco Spinning Reels
      • Baitcasting Reels
      • Spincast Reels
    • Rod & Reel Combos
      • Abu Garcia Rod & Reel Combos
      • Baitcast Rod & Reel Combos
      • Okuma Rod & Reel Combos
      • Quantum Rod & Reel Combos
      • Shakespeare Rod & Reel Combos
      • Spinning Rod & Reel Combos
      • Ugly Stik Rod & Reel Combos
    • Tackle Boxes & Bags
      • Tackle Bags
      • Tackle Boxes
      • Fly Boxes
      • Fishing Backpacks
  • Inflatable Dinghies
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  • Inflatable SUPs
  • Kayaks
  • Kayak Paddles
  • KeelGuard Keel Protectors
  • Marine Electronics
    • Autopilots
    • Chartplotters
    • EPIRBs
    • Fishfinders
    • Fixed-Mount VHF Radios
    • Handheld GPS Units
    • Handheld VHF Radios
  • Pelican Waterproof Marine Boxes
  • PFDs
    • Fishing PFDs
    • Inflatable PFDs
    • Kayaking PFDs
    • Survival PFDs
    • Survival Suits & Immersion Suits
    • PFDs for Infants
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    • PFDs for Adults
    • PFDs for Dogs
    • Throwable (Type IV) PFDs
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    • Left-Hand Propellers
    • Aluminum Propellers
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    • Three-Blade Propellers
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