By STEPHANIE SHIBATA
ASK THE EXPERTS THE EXPERTS By GRID MICHAL GRINDING GRID’S GEARS
GOOD SCUPPERS EQUALS NO SCOOPERS “BACK WHEN,” AS THE old timers say way to often...wait a minute. Reminds me of a neat saying about the best part of aging is you can’t lose
the years that are behind you. That in itself makes great sense, and when you apply it to what seems to be a way of life as one ages (“Now, where did I put…?”) every day is a perfect analogy. And that’s how a boatyard comes alive at 5 p.m., with recollections that start when somebody sips something and says, “Back when…” This generally has to do with boats sinking, and the word “scupper,” which has two meanings according to Webster: one means “defeated.” And the other means a drain to allow water to sluice from a boat’s deck. That is not a good combination of definitions, as we learned. as offshore fishing boats, both were bought online in Florida a First, the sameness, then the weirdness. “Weekends were made day apart, and the second boat had an almost-new four-stroke 9.9 for Michelob” were ignored as Hank and I planned and practiced coming from Georgia. Both arrived at the same day at a preartwo jobs starting Monday, both involving removing lower horseranged marina. The first thing we noticed on both boats was that power two-stroke engines from both boats and on one, replacing the aft scuppers had scum lines about an inch under them, across the main power with a large V6 four stroke; the other was the the transom. The four strokes were about 100 pounds heavier than same, but the owner wanted a “kicker” installed on the currentwhat they replaced, and the one with the kicker—well, that gem ly-empty bracket. Now for a bit of weirdness - neither boat owner added another 125 pounds to port. Both boats would have scuppers knew the other; both boats approached 30’ in length. Both were that were about to be Webstered (defeated) because they wouldn’t custom built with cuddy cabins. Both were built in South Carolina
Mexico Boating Guide by Capt. Pat Rains Updated 2021 Pacific Baja, Sea of Cortez, mainland Mexico Comprehensive, mile-by-mile guide to all the anchorages, marinas, fuel docks, boatyards, port clearance, fun stuff. GPS charts, photos. Paperwork Cha Cha, WX Radio Freqs., 400 pages. Written for yatistas by U.S.C.G. mariners & veteran Mexico TRUSTED cruisers. Still $69.95
MexicoBoating.com
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