off season hobbies?

[dustinjean]

Since us that have to winterize mostly have done so for the season what does everyone like to do with any spare time that they have in the colder months? I am sure this will turn into people starting more and more hobbies/projects outside of collecting boat parts to install in the spring time.
I like to build things out of pallet wood, i have built multiple tables and will soon be building some different ones for our living room after i sell the ones i built a few years ago, but I just recently built the entertainment stand below. and yes I make sure everything I use is from heat treated pallets and not chemically treated.

 

[itsdgm]

I've been GoKarting with my friends in my "off boating season" months.

 

[Big Shasta]

I bought everything I need to start brewing beer.

 

[thcole]

That's a nice entertainment center.
I like to do anything involving meat....I will be making about 600 or so pounds of sausage, about 300 smoked this weekend. I am going to try to make about 20 pounds of jerky in the next few weeks and I will do that about 5 times throughout the winter. I also like to use my smoker a lot to make ribs, pulled pork, turkey and what ever else I can think of.

 

[Zarrella]

And I have everything I need to start drinking!

 

[dustinjean]

nice karts @itsdgm @Big Shasta ive always wanted to get into it that but then i just go buy some and im content lol @thcole im probably going to buy a smoker here soon to give me something else to do this winter obviously way smaller than yours though, @Zarrella i never run out of things to start drinking if i did not drink i would never have the patience to build things out of pallets

 

[Julian]

I spend my time on this crazy online forum talking about things I should be doing rather than actually doing them! LOL

1) Coming up with new things to do to the boat
2) Pondering the purchase of my next big TV (its been 10 years since I bought a 50" TV) - probably a 65" Ultra High Def (4K) - and I'll buy it in the time before the super bowl (best TV sale time)
3) Paintball....if I can find the leak in my gun!
4) Gardening....leaf blowing season is about to start in earnest....and I have too many trees!
5) Cutting down trees (see #4) and splitting them to burn in our high efficiency fire place
6) Planning our next Caribbean trip
7) I need to figure out video editing the GoPro footage I have....which might escalate into a new PC!

 

[GTBRMC]

Coaching my son's hockey team

 

[Kevin M]

Just booked a February Caribbean cruise.

 

[96Pirate]

Since us that have to winterize mostly have done so for the season what does everyone like to do with any spare time that they have in the colder months? I am sure this will turn into people starting more and more hobbies/projects outside of collecting boat parts to install in the spring time.
I like to build things out of pallet wood, i have built multiple tables and will soon be building some different ones for our living room after i sell the ones i built a few years ago, but I just recently built the entertainment stand below. and yes I make sure everything I use is from heat treated pallets and not chemically treated.

You scared me there for a minute until I read the last line!

I too like to build stuff but wifey says I need to finish my existing projects before I can start any new ones Yes, I tend to be a 95%er meaning I get 95% done on jobs and then get bored and start new ones.

So...
1) Finish cabinets, crown, etc in movie theater room
2) Finish stone wall in backyard
3) Finish daughters loft in her bedroom

If I get those done then I can...
1) Redo the pantry with slide-outs
2) Redo walk in closet with custom built ins
3) Build entertainment center for family room
4) Add pavers to sides of driveway
5) Re-landscape front yard

 

[96Pirate]

I've been GoKarting with my friends in my "off boating season" months. View attachment 14476

Thats pretty cool stuff @itsdgm How fast do you get going on the track? What kind of g's do those pull around those turns?

 

[96Pirate]

Ohh and of course praying for the warm weather to hurry up and return

 

[Ronnie]

We took down the snowboarding gear when we put the boat and waverunners away. Had a storm this week and opening day is tomorrow but I think I will wait for more real snow to hit the ground before we hit the slopes. With highs in the 70s and sunny for the next 10 days it's a little chilly to boat but way to warm to snowboard/snow.

Other than that I've got a pwc trailer to refurb with a pwc on top of it, both of which I want to sell ASAP (I need the space back). My son and I are also customizing his waveblaster. It's being tuned now and the mods we ordered just came in. I will be ordering my boat mods for the year soon as well but I don't think those will take more than a weekend to install.

On the physical fitness side, I'll be starting another round of P90x soon as well as running and biking in between. As my son says, "Do it for the belly!" And "Batman doesn't have gut." I stopped him from continuing by threatening to exchange the long board I got him into a toy tech deck since his birthday is not until the end of the month.

The off season sucks, especially with daylight savings time in effect. Its dark by 530 now. I almost welcome winter since its that much closer to spring/boating season but we still have 6 weeks / half of autumn to get through before winter even starts.

 

[octavio3311]

And I have everything I need to start drinking!

I'm always prepared for that, regardless of the season.

 

[itsdgm]

Thats pretty cool stuff @itsdgm How fast do you get going on the track? What kind of g's do those pull around those turns?

Our favorite track has many do figurations. I believe that were close to 70 mph at times. Not sure about the G forces, but it's amazing how far you can push the limits when the conditions are right. Lots of fun!!!

 

[scot71]

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your opinion. I think most of my free time this winter is going to be taken up with overtime. Trying to build the savings account so the misses and I can enjoy a couple vacations next summer. Otherwise, I will probably be working on the Honey-Do list.

 

[dustinjean]

Sounds like we all have the same house work on our list but i dont consider that a hobby for me because i dont enjoy it anymore. I recently finished staining the entire outside of my house and told my wife the next time it needs to be done we are moving! Now onto getting a nursery done before april hits, and start my new job which will probably cut my spare time down but help out my bank account for our next boat

 

[dustinjean]

@itsdgm are they shifter karts or just running a crazy gear ratio with a small engine? ive drove a 125cc shifter kart a buddy built and i about crapped myself but man was it fun

 

[Speedling]

Work gets long and agonizing for construction at this point. Winterizing for masonry is NOT fun. Then i work a lot more hours at the fireworks store. Any time off construction gives ne time to clean the floors, move stock around, paint walls, get things ready for spring, etc. The owner goes to California from late January until late march so i kinda do whatever what i want.

I hope to sell my house. It's been up a couple months now, and we are contingent on a nice ranch. If it doesn't happen by mid January, then a tower is going on my boat to appease the waiting process.

I also have been working so many hours and have had so much going on at church (i am chairman) that i have been putting off a lot of maintenance type things like paperwork, cam phaser on truck, tax prep work, etc.

Most importantly i play with my kids because i am so busy this year i will go with only seeing my kids on Sunday for months in a row. I leave for work before any one is up (5 am) and often come home about 9. My oldest just started preschool so that's pretty exciting for us!

 

[PEARCE]

I'm pretty busy with work this time of year and it will stay this way till Christmas. I'm in the hospitality industry in Dallas. When we have a free weekend we usually go camping. We camp as much as we can and feel like it during the fall, winter and spring. We of course enjoy some tasty adult beverages while enjoying the great outdoors. The summer is just too hot to enjoy it and it's boating season during that time anyways. I don't enjoy yard work\maintenance and we have a yard full of oak trees that are getting ready to turn brown and drop. I pay someone to remove the leaves once they're all on the ground. The only yard work I do is mow and cut up trees for firewood. If any of us get the urge to drown some bait we can do that without leaving our property. We have a pond full of fish that we share with our neighbor.