Overcurrent

Ditto last....Whirlwind?? (although Whirlwind was made in Cockeysville MD, not Miami)

Does anyone here have any RECENT experience with the Northeast Cape Fear River between Wilmington and Castle Hayne? I'm thinking about launching at Castle Hayne (leaving the truck and trailer at the ramp there Fri-Sun - safe??) and traveling the 22 miles down to Wilmington. Are there any known navigational hazards in that area? There appear to be some 30'-ish boats up that way, but my luck is that if there's a hazard, I'll find it, usually with a propeller. Would appreciate any and all feedback - THANKS.

sweet!

Looks like you're doing it right, Spot. Only thing I might have done differently would have been a Morad HD156 instead of the Digital 529, but they're both great antennas (I seem to have better luck with stainless antennas over fiberglass). That CS will be the perfect rig for Bogue.

Nice ride, Spot.

That's right, the original "Bubba Bimini" is Semi's design Off-topic but BTW Glen, with the addition of additional grommets and two tent stakes and ropes, the BB works very nicely on the beach attached to either the Excursion or the Grand Cherokee, and takes less time to set up than the expensive so-called "self erecting" tents....

How was the trip back across on Sunday? Looked pretty flat from the ferry.............

I was about 250 yards away from where it occurred and saw it. The first explosion sounded like a cannon going off, followed by several seconds of rapid, massive explosions. To picture the scene, imagine the entire 30 minute fireworks show in five seconds and occurring entirely at ground level. Thoughts and prayers to the family of the individual who died, and to the pyro workers and firefighters who were injured. Update at midnight: Two other members of the pyro crew did not survive (3 fatalities total). Thoughts and prayers to their families as well. Definitely a somber mood on Ocracoke today/tonight.

We are here right now (#18) ....I assume that's your boat out at the end of the HS pier..... (we did not bring O2 this time)

Yikes! What were the conditions out there?

Way to go, Ralph!

On my last two coast trips (Beaufort and Bald Head) I have noticed several of the big sportys and yachts with BLUE LED accent lighting on deck, on the bridge, and on the tower (if equipped). Is this a new fashion trend, or has there been some recent discovery about blue lighting and night vision ? I gotta admit, it looks nice....

My first boat was a 1969 "Sportyak II" , LOA 7'0", with a 1.5 Hp Evinrude outboard. I received the boat not long after my EIGHTH birthday. Boat #2: 8' fiberglass dinghy (unknown make), 2HP Johnson outboard. Boat #3: 12' Sears Gamefisher (made by MFG, green, not cored) with a 9.8HP Mercury. Bit of trivia for the poster who had a foam-cored "Super Gamefisher": they were made by Seacrest Marine in Washington, NC. Boat #4: 15' Duo Rounder trihull, 55 Evinrude pushbutton shift Boat #5 (owned concurrently with #4 and #6): 11' Sea Snark sailboat, acquired for $40 and used on the lake at the apartment complex at which I lived back then. Boat #6: 18' Dixie 186 bowrider, 115 Merc Boat #7: 21' Dixie 821 walkaround cuddy, 165 Mercruiser Boat #8: see signature

Just did the email letter noted in stevek185's post above. ALL RBC MEMBERS SHOULD DO LIKEWISE

Glad to hear that Greg is off of the injured list!

We were in one of the cottage rooms (#18 I think). You will probably remember seeing my gray Excursion sitting there as well

Is it open now? When we were down on the 26th it was not open yet. I hope that it has more water at low tide than the ramp on Taylor's Creek....launched at low tide and dinged a prop.

No, after 7 years it was time to physically inspect the bearings and races, plus the rear seal was starting to leak. FWIW, the races were absolutely pristine, so I left them. I replaced the bearings only because they were 7 years old; they too were in excellent condition for their age. (I use Lubrimatic marine grease and change it every 1-2 years) . Also, I remove the caps when I do the grease change via the Super Lube spindles; less mess that way (for me, anyway). I did, however, have a stuck caliper (TieDown non-vented disc brakes) and fixed that too.

I would rather have had a piece of 2½" ID metal pipe or rigid conduit, but could not find one on Sunday (Homer D doesn't stock any metal pipe over 1½") but the PVC has worked OK so far.

Problem solved. A piece of 2½" PVC conduit, about 8" long, fits over the cap and by using a 2x4x4 block on the other end and a short handled sledge hammer, the cap went on on the second try. bly - It didn't come loose on its own; I had taken it off to service the hub.

We were there July 4th weekend last year. O2 was tied up at Harborside

Hadn't thought of that one; good idea. I'm also off to Homer D this morning for a piece of 2.5" pipe to slide over the cap (which is 2.45" OD) BTW this is a METAL cap with an opening/rubber plug in the end for my Spindle Lubes.

Please don't laugh. I repacked one of the bearings on O2's trailer tonight and tried to install a NEW dust cap. The usual trick of tapping it on with a rubber mallet by getting it started on one side is not working. Any suggestions? The new caps are allegedly the correct size for my Tie Down 5200# hubs.

We are planning to be there July 1-5, have our reservations for both hotel and ferry. Don't know yet if we're taking O2 with us this year or not.

Thought I remembered seeing a projection TV in your living room...... I bit the bullet about a year ago and bought a 42" LCD (JVC). Phenominal quality............