Truman t a bite out of our weekend

**rlsiv** · 08-15-2010, 05:14 PM

Truman takes a bite out of our weekend

So we had a long weekend on the lakes planned with the kids before they start school again next wednesday.

Made the 4.5hr drive out to Truman Friday night, settled in, and got a full night's sleep... hit the water at 7am Saturday. Aaahhhh...life is good.

Launched the Skeeter out of Bucksaw, picked up some minners, and headed east to a point/cove we thought may be good. A few turns of the lake later, we were scooting down the channel through deep and familiar water and bounced over something submerged, (probably a treetop, because I hadn't been seeing any floating debris). Didn't even rock the boat much at all, but I lost the signal on one of my dashboard fishfinders. Darn, I probably hit a stick and ripped off a transducer. Thats the second one this year - I hit a small stick on Twain a couple of months ago (when it was super-high and full of debris) and broke the prior one.

Oh well, kept cruising to our cove, fished for about 20 minutes with only one nibble, so decided to switch spots. Strapped everything down, started the motor, and (as I've made a habit of for years and years) I flipped on the bilge briefly. Got some water discharge, which shouldn't have happened unless we got a bunch of cooler water spilled or overflowed the livewells somehow. Let it run for a few minutes while I putted out of the cove. Bilge just kept pumping and pumping for several minutes. Hmmmmm. Not good.

So finally the bilge discharge slows to a trickle, and I tell everybody we're headed back to the ramp to pull out the boat and check the hull.

Hauled butt back to the ramp and as soon as I got the boat out I walked to the stern and about $*!% myself. There was a chunk about as large as both of my fists held together knocked out of the stern at the bottom edge, just to the left of center (right where that transducer had been mounted).

When I crawled underneath, it got worse. Running straight toward the bow from the missing chunk in the stern was a crack about 24" long. No surprise there, when we're running full out, thats about all of the boat that touches the water. Looks like we're done for the weekend. Took a few pics - I'll try to post 'em later.

So we head to Clinton, hit the walmart to pick up a few supplies, then get to playing body shop for the day. I cut out the broken glass, used the drill in my toolkit to sand down the entire area with a sanding wheel. Stop-drilled the crack. Then started rebuilding the missing chunk area at the stern and fixing the crack. Took me ALL day to do several layers... I like to do fiberglass in multiple thin layers, and let them dry between. So at the end of a full day of shade-tree body work (and part of the next day), we're in good shape. Gonna need some more sanding, finish fill, and painting, but its functional and back to its' original profile. Just hauled it to LOZ and launched it... looks like we're in business

The moral of the story: We've been talking about getting rid of my duck boat (jon-boat) and the Skeeter both, and getting a much bigger aluminum duck boat that we can crappie fish out of. Something on the order of a 22' Sea Ark. Wish'd I'd have done it before today!

Oh well, lost a day of fishing to do body work on the boat in 100-degree heat while the kids swam, BUT we're back in business today at Lake of the Ozarks

Be safe out there!

**Jigging15** · 08-15-2010, 05:22 PM

Sorry about the rough luck. Hope the time at LOZ goes better for you.

**pvchief1** · 08-15-2010, 05:24 PM

Dang! Well glad it worked out as good as it did. That's what kinda scares me a little about fishing up there. The cdc tournament was the first time I'd ever been on Truman and it looked formidable with all the standing timber and not knowing what might lie just below the surface.

**Speck** · 08-15-2010, 06:23 PM

WOW!!!! that sucks!!! Glad no one was hurt. Hope you get back in business quickly.

**olesilverside** · 08-15-2010, 07:09 PM

I have had my boat on many a stump and tree over the years, but all were mostly at idle speeds or trolling, I know they can flip your boat if you are running pretty fast, glad no one was hurt and you got it functional......sorry about your weekend.......

**Radioactive** · 08-15-2010, 07:59 PM

Sorry to hear about the damage! At least you have the skills to fix it back like it should be though
When Beagle and I were up there the day of the last tournament we saw a ski boat leave one blade of his prop on a stump. He dives in and checks everything then gets back in and heads for the dock at full throttle!

You know the vibration has to do his out drive some good with one blade completely gone!

**gabowman** · 08-15-2010, 08:01 PM

Sounds like youre a pretty good handyman on fiberglass which helped to save part of your weekend on the lake. Sorry for your troubles. I guess the best way to look at it is that it coulda been alot worse.:o

**rlsiv** · 08-15-2010, 09:25 PM

Thanks for the kind thoughts... DEFINATELY could have been a lot worse. If I'd have had to rely on outside help to get it fixed, our little vacation would have been shot. As it is, I just lost a day and about $70 in materials/tools invested in the repair. I've always worried about scooting around unfamiliar waters, but in this case I was in an area I've travelled quite a few times before and in shallower levels than there were today. Such is life.

At least the kids got a good lesson in exercising a little "be on the safe side" discretion and how to handle some adversity. And they got to swim for basically an entire day...which didn't exactly break their hearts!

Had the newly repaired boat out on the LOZ for awhile this afternoon, and it held up just great. I purposefully took it down the main channel and launched it over some good sized waves so I could then go back to the dock and check how the repair held up. Good to go.

**rugsrme** · 08-15-2010, 10:01 PM

Dang Ralph, you have some of the dangest luck on some of your trips, I remember back in June you were trying to get a hold of me to get your trailer lugs fixed.
Just glad to hear it "hardly rocked the boat", that kind of damage sounds like you could have been thrown out.
Glad to hear you were able to get it fixed up and continue.

**Smitty 79** · 08-15-2010, 10:51 PM

Sorry bout your bad luck but glad everybody was ok and you got her fixed and
Runnin good again

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Truman t a bite out of our weekend

sorry about the luck Ralph

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