Welcome to The Bonefish Flat

There's a stiff wind in your face as you squint in the sun trying to see what the guide sees. "Bonefish at 12 o'clock about 90 feet, do you see it, mon?" You don't and keep squinting, your hat pulled low to keep the sun out of your eyes. "Bonefish at 11 o'clock 70 feet out. Come on man, do you see it?" As the guide is calmly shifting the skiff into position, this time you spot the fish, "I got, it," you reply.

"OK, Mon, Bonefish 50 feet at 10 o'clock. Cast when you're ready."

Cast when you're ready. And with that you drop your fly, roll out a cast, false cast once, and then...

Welcome to the bonefish flat.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

The New Trailer

I shared my homemade trailer for the back of my truck.  The truth is that while it worked ok, I wanted a "real" trailer.  I tried to find a nice used one, but where I live people always either wanted just about what a new one would cost OR the trailer didn't have a title.  In Virginia, a trailer is no good without a title, so I decided to buy a trailer from Harbor Freight.

It came in the mail in three packages.  

Here's my trailer on my front porch.

I had read reviews and everyone said it arrived this way so I wasn't too concerned at first.

Soon, I had the frame put together.

Coming along nicely.

Then, a flip, an axle, and wheels.

Notice the messy garage.  And, the old homemade trailer on the side!

Almost done.

Basically put together here, just had to wire it.

And voila, finis!!


One thing I really liked about building this is that I really learned a lot about trailers.  How to pack the bearings, get the wiring all straight, adjust bunks and so forth.  This was a big deal with the bearings, which are probably the most fickle part of a trailer, at least so I've read.  

This was a fun project that took some time but makes me feel like I have a real boat now!