Friend Took Advantage of Me - gave me a boat

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dahut

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Messages
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Location
Leesville, SC
My pal, JJ, got the better of me by asking the one question any tinhead will fall for:

"Hey man, you want this old boat? Its behind my parents' shed and no one uses it..."

Well, of course I bit and was reeled in hook, line, and sinker -

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I aint complaining, mind you. Yet.
 
JMichael said:
Born and lived most of my 63 years in AR and never heard of Smackover. Had to look that one up just for curiosity. :lol:
Just outside El Dorado, AR I'm told.
That could account for the name - "Eldo-Craft"
 
dahut said:
JMichael said:
Born and lived most of my 63 years in AR and never heard of Smackover. Had to look that one up just for curiosity. :lol:
Just outside El Dorado, AR I'm told.
That could account for the name - "Eldo-Craft"


and for you Northern folks, that's pronounced "EL DOOR AY DOE".

You can hear New York City radio evangelists soliciting donations down there, but not knowing how to pronounce the name of the City.



(small world; worked for a company which had a plant down there. :mrgreen: )
 
Kismet said:
dahut said:
JMichael said:
Born and lived most of my 63 years in AR and never heard of Smackover. Had to look that one up just for curiosity. :lol:
Just outside El Dorado, AR I'm told.
That could account for the name - "Eldo-Craft"


and for you Northern folks, that's pronounced "EL DOOR AY DOE".

You can hear New York City radio evangelists soliciting donations down there, but not knowing how to pronounce the name of the City.



(small world; worked for a company which had a plant down there. :mrgreen: )
Turns out that the town is about 250 miles from where I grew up and live, but my brother only lives about 35 miles from it now. We pronounce it slightly different from you but not so much that anyone would notice really. We say El Da Ray Doe.
 
Most would consider the boat itself a bit of a project - alright, its a project.
It has one dip in the keel line that needs straightening out, a few bottom dents here and there and at least one section that has been patched - badly.
Over all, its sound enough, but its a project.

Strictly from a cost perspective, I'm into it for nothing at the moment. Being conservative and expecting the worst -
It had no trailer, so there's $300, + or -, for a used hauler
Patches and repairs will likely run another $200, + or -
Incidentals (I just like that word), another $100, + or -
So were talking about $600 if I wanna just have peace of mind and get the thing to the water.

That's not a motor.
That's not seats.
That's not flooring.
That's not modifications.

Now, at this point someone is thinking I should just chuck it and get something more "user-friendly."
I like that idea. But, considering that I recently lost my job and expect to do everything on a shoe-string for who knows how long, well, I'm not really in a Donald Trump state of mind.
You won't hear me say,
"Yeah I should just get rid of the thing and spend a wad of cash on something that already has all the problems sorted out."
I'm committed to the idea that this is gonna be a low-budget fishing barge, when all is said and done.

Hey, at least I have a fish finder already. Some oars and a solid breakfast - and I'm in business! :LOL2:
 
I gotta say...

if you think someone here is going to point out the disadvantages of messing with an old Tin boat, we need to go over the premise of this entire forum. :lol: :mrgreen: :lol:

I have no skills and few resources, but my labor is cheap and my hours are flexible. So, for the last five years or so, I've been messing with old tin boats. I get more satisfaction out of figuring out a way to accomplish repairs or minor installations and get the boat afloat than I do fishing. A success is only losing a little money when I sell one. (I know, bad business plan.)

And looking for stuff...trailers, hitches, seats, oars (SO hard to find), a cost-effective UV resistant paint, eye-catching but discreet decals...well, that's like a treasure hunt for me.

The boat's smackover there, it will be your partner in time (or crime) as you invest perfectly usable hours in just messing around with it.


Excelsior!!!
 
Kismet said:
I gotta say...

if you think someone here is going to point out the disadvantages of messing with an old Tin boat, we need to go over the premise of this entire forum. :lol: :mrgreen: :lol:
Agreed, however, we both know someone's thinking it.

I have no skills and few resources, but my labor is cheap and my hours are flexible. So, for the last five years or so, I've been messing with old tin boats. I get more satisfaction out of figuring out a way to accomplish repairs or minor installations and get the boat afloat than I do fishing. A success is only losing a little money when I sell one. (I know, bad business plan.)
Pretty much where I'm at.
I have skills, tools and confidence, so one might say I'm wealthy in those. I've been in industrial repair and maintenance for decades, so I can fix most things once I know wants needed.
And I, too, like to fix on things and get them right again. I see this as a long range project, regardless.


And looking for stuff...trailers, hitches, seats, oars (SO hard to find), a cost-effective UV resistant paint, eye-catching but discreet decals...well, that's like a treasure hunt for me.
I'm all about repurposing things, too.

The boat's smackover there, it will be your partner in time (or crime) as you invest perfectly usable hours in just messing around with it.

Excelsior!!!
Thanks for the positivity!
 
Forgot about Eldocraft boats....don't know much about them, but recently a coworker and I were discussing all of the aluminum boat manufacturers that we knew of that are or were at one time based in Arkansas. Needless to say, we deemed it true that Arkansas is the aluminum boat capital of the world; or at least we say so.

Free boat. First thing I'd do is throw it in the back of the truck, head to a local pond or shallow water lake, and get it wet. See how much and where it leaks, if it does at all. Ya know, there are a lot of us that would give good money to have a boat to throw in the back of the truck. No trailer or motor, just paddle around. I used to own a 1232 flat bottom, hauled it around in the back of my El Camino. 9.8 merc. I'd throw the motor in the back. Put the boat in the water and then mount the motor, it was so light that it was really easy. Sold the motor to a guy who wanted it pretty bad and I just paddled the rest of the time I owned it. I would take it over to the local lake, which was at the time less than 2 minutes from work. I'd run over there on lunch, take a sammich and a coke, and of course a can of worms...or some hopgrassers....or a crawdad or two if I could get 'em out of the ditch at work. GREAT stress relief on lunch. Was never late getting back either, or at least I don't remember being late. I'm pretty sure the boss would make sure I'd remember.

I'm getting older and the older I get the less I want to work on stuff. That's why I bought the new boat. Old one worked fine but the new one is a lifetime boat (all welded, thick material, set up exactly like I want-although I wired it). Even it's not been 100% trouble free...always little things that can screw up a fishn' trip, like running lights that won't work. Not that I can't tinker with an old boat...just didn't want to. Rather use the time for something else.
 
Yeah I'd rather have a nice, new boat. But that aint gonna happen soon.
For now its the satisfaction of work well done.
Now to get the thing in the water
 

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