Fishing Rhino

Good grief man, as much as I like fishing, it's not even a close second to.............................................................well, I think you get my point. And this year will mark our 48th anniversary.

I have a Bass Pro rewards card. The problem I had initially was that they took a one percent per month fee for insurance, to "protect" me if someone else managed to get my card, and maxed it out. You don't need insurance for that. If I understand it correctly, you are only responsible for a max of fifty dollars, no matter how much they may ring up on your card. Every purchase with the BassPro rewards card returns at least one percent, some two, and some as high as three percent. As a rule, most charges will get you the one percent, though at times BPS will hold events where you get double or triple rewards. In any case, the one percent rewards were wiped out by the "insurance fee" and the two and three percent rewards became one and two percent rewards. As soon as I noticed this practice I called BoA and told them I did not want the insurance. The person I was dealing with told me they could not cancel the insurance. I would need to notify BoA in writing that I did not want the insurance. I told them I did not request the insurance in writing, and there was no way in heck that I was going to waste my time jumping through hoops. I told them that either they cancel the insurance or cancel my account. Their choice. My position was adamant that if that person could not or would not do it then the account was to be cancelled immediately. There would be no discussion. They cancelled the insurance.

3M 5200 is great stuff, but, it's not silicone. At least it's not the same type of silicone you'll find in hardware stores. It's an adhesive, and a darn good one. It cures very slowly, but, it will even cure underwater. If memory serves, it cures faster in a wet environment than in dry. Yes, it will stick to aluminum. It should work very well to seal leaks. I recommend cleaning the area around the hole and hitting it with sandpaper to roughen the surface. Force the 5200 through the hole so that you have a good sized drop on the opposite side. Leave the same size drop on the side where you applied the 5200. Spread the drops onto the prepared surface, leaving it a little higher in the center. Then let it sit until it firms up. It could take a few days, but once it's set, your leaks should be permanently fixed. 5200, in addition to being a very strong adhesive is also very durable. It can withstand a lot of abrasion from the elements. It will also remain flexible, so if the aluminum around it flexes, it will flex with the aluminum and the bond will remain intact.

Don't know how many caught this, but when the Grand Marshall gave the order to start engines, he said, "Drivers,.....and Danica, start your engines." His intention, I'm sure, was to emphasize Danica, but the reality made it sound as though Danica was not a driver.

If you cannot do number one, and/or number two, you better see your doctor.

Me three. I don't drink, but if something happens to me, I want someone who is totally sober to take the wheel. The "captain/owner" is responsible for his vessel, and those on it.

Bon voyage!

I second that motion.

NIce. I'll make a suggestion. Try tung oil, or Minwax Antique Oil Finish. I think you'll like it better than linseed oil. Lemon oil is handy to have around. I don't recommend using it to provide a finish, but wipe down your furniture, stairs, cabinets, etc., once or twice a year. It cleans and "feeds" the wood, even if it has a polyurethane, laquer, enamel or any other finish. These pine cabinets are 32 years old, with a Minwax Antique Finishing Oil finish, and treated once a year with lemon oil, or another coat of the antique finishing oil. The beauty of an oil finish, including linseed oil is that it requires no sanding or preparation to apply another coat. You'll never have to worry about the finish chipping or peeling. If the wood does get damaged or dug up, just smooth it out a bit, and finish the damaged area the same way you originally finished it. If you stained the wood, apply the same stain to the repair area before applying oil.

Al is such a tease.

Racin' ain't about the brand, though NASCAR would like you to believe otherwise. It's about the team, driver, crew, engineers, fabricators, etc. There will always be the same teams at the top of the heap, Roush, Hendrick, Gibbs, Childress, Penske, etc. There are times when a team will find something that gives them an edge, but at some point, the other teams catch up. It's a revolving door of a half dozen teams that are always knocking at the championship door. The rest of the teams are perennial also rans. Yes, Tony won a championship for Stewart/Haas two years ago, and he is always a threat, but they are not in the same class as Hendrick. In fact, Hendrick supplies S/H with engines and chassis. Sans that affiliation, Tony would not have likely won that championship. He beat out Edwards by a hair's breadth in a tiebreaker.

They claim that the gen 6 cars have a brand identity, and they look like the cars you see in the showroom. They have them on display, side by side at Daytona, at the Fox/Speed Channel fan/broadcast area. The noses look different, but the side sheet metal all looks the same. On the track, going by at a buck ninety plus, you still cannot tell them apart. The manufacturers stamp out the sheet metal for their brands, but I'll bet you a ten dollar bill that they all conform to the same template. The "opera windows" in the quarter panels are shaped like those in the various makes. The hoods are now composite, and the rear deck lids come with the spoiler affixed. They are no more of a Chevy, Ford, or Toyota than is my Nitro bass boat. The last I knew they all run Ford nine inch rear ends, but the components are heat treated, freeze blasted, cryogenically, and who knows what else to make them more durable.

Make sure your doc knows which is starboard and which is port, or you may have to walk backward the rest of your life.

Here are the numbers from the Daytona Beach News-Journal: 54 Daytona 500s 9 have been won from the pole 7 have been won from outside front row 27 have been won from the top 5 starting positions (11 wins from 3rd, 4th, and 5th starting positions combined) The remaining half (27) of the wins have come from the sixth position to the rear of the field. 39th is the deepest starting position to win the race. (Matt Kenseth 2009) The front row has won 16 races. Positions 3 - 5 have accounted for 11 wins. The better you qualify, the better are your chances of winning the race.

Get well soon! Here's hoping the surgery is a great success that improves your physical condition. Take care, follow the doctors orders, and don't do anything that could jeopardize the outcome. The final outcome is in your hands as well.

You've changed the fuel lines, but, what about the vent line? If I'm not mistaken, some vents have one way valves, to allow air into the tank. There is a separate vent, usually in the fill line to exhaust air as the tank is being filled. That air is supposed to be sucked into the fueling nozzle of the gas pump. Air out your boat and loosen the filler cap to prevent pressure build up, then see if the gas smell persists in the rod locker. Any problem in the venting system could allow vapors into the enclosed areas of the hull.

Sell your Dodge and you can buy a couple of packs of Senkos to go with all the other goodies, and have change left over for a cup of coffee. Congrats. Hope you make many happy memories with her.

Looks like you've done a great job, but I'm going to agree with those who have said the black will be very hot in the summer. I'd add to the point of being unbearable. The floor should be ok because the water will keep it cool. The sides and the seats will be cookin'. When it's out of the water, keep it in the shade, or covered.

As little work as possible now. Not fully retired, but close. I have been, in chronological order: The general manager of a production woodworking shop Self employed making clock cases for a company on Cape Cod. Everything from grandfather clocks to wall and mantle clocks. My next adventure was as a commercial lobsterman. Somewhere along the way I managed to build our own home. Did it all except for the wiring, plumbing, drywall and skim coat plaster. The woodworking background helped with the cabinets, wainscotting, wood flooring, cabinets, stairway, etc. My most recent venture is making fiberglass race car bodies. Not so much now. I don't go to the tracks promoting my business. Whatever comes my way now is done for walking around money. When the next generation of bodies hits the market, I'll be done. Not making any more molds.

It would be interesting to see what percent of the winners came from the rest of the starting positions. But, lacking that let's run with what we have. Forty two or forty three start the race. That means each position makes up 2.5% of the field. The pole position wins one sixth of the races while comprising only one forty second of the field. That's not too shabby as percentages go.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100660167/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=snake&storeId=10051

Keel guards are cheap money if you have to pull up to a concrete ramp just once. The edge of the keel is easily damaged, and expensive to repair. If you never have to pull up, onto a concrete ramp, then maybe it's not for you. But, as previously stated, you can gently ease it onto a concrete ramp with no worries. A concrete ramp will rapidly chew up gel coat, especially if waves or a wake are lifting the hull, and setting it down again on the concrete. It gets ugly in a hurry.

Eight or nine hours from Bristol. Been there. Done that, though not by design. I'm looking at stopping in the Crossville area, west of Knoxville. That will leave me four to five hours. I'm considering leaving a day earlier, and making two stops rather than one. It depends on how rested I am that week. The alternative is to leave a few hours earlier, and grab a catnap every three or four hours, as needed.

Don't know why, but I first read it, I thought you typed "for tracking us deadbeat dads". In Mass the only fee involved when you reach 70 is a "convenience fee" of a dollar fifty. A sporting (hunting and fishing) costs nothing.

Eleven weeks from now, I'll be on my way to Pickwick. If the itinerary holds, I'll be somewhere in TN, hopefully the Knoxville area, or further west, before stopping for the night. Get under way early enough to arrive around daybreak. We escaped the cold and snow of home this past Wednesday, and are now in Daytona for the races. When we get home, I'll be two, maybe three weeks closer to Pickwick. The weeks to go will be in single digits either 8 or 9, and the worst of winter will be history. A few days of fishing will help to pass the time during those last few weeks.