Chuck Buck
Jet Boat Addict
- Messages
- 89
- Reaction score
- 98
- Points
- 97
- Location
- Lake St Clair
- Boat Make
- Sugar Sand
- Year
- 2004
- Boat Model
- Mirage
- Boat Length
- 18
Background - my supervisor, who I send status reports to every week, appreciated me keeping him in the loop regarding the boat’s progress. He kept saying I should write a book about it, Well, he asked for it, so I put together my past weekly emails, together will a few forgotten details, and well, here's my story:
"When Nice Boats Go Bad" a nonfiction work by Chuck Buck.
Part 1.
Front Inside Jacket: Let This Serve as a Warning!
Written in the style of Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles, When Nice Boats Go Bad is a collection of short technical stories compiled into one narrative. The author takes you along on his journey of used boat ownership; loss and redemption, sorrow and joy, expensive lessons and free stuff.
Prologue: Why me?
My first boat, a 1978 Sea Ray SRV195, had been a great first boat for five years; versatile, economical, fun, and taught me much about boat maintenance and ownership. However, Lake St Clair was always chopped up by noon on the weekend from all the forty-footers. Trim tabs may have helped it from getting tossed around somewhat, but then I remembered how a coworkers’ Crownline CCR210 rode: it refused to slam, it had a lot of freeboard, and took the chop without a sweat. So, “A Buoy Named Sue” was sold to Andrea sight-unseen, and with no boating experience, but she trusted that whatever I was selling was scrupulously cared for. She got a good 10 years out of the “Sea Hag” as she renamed it, then quit boating for personal reasons and sold it to a friends’ son.
The Crimson Red 1994 CCR210 “Shahrazad” as she was previously named, was perfect for the lake; big, tall, and heavy.
The Ford 5.0L HO and Volvo Penta SX were flawless, the cuddy "useful", and 41 MPH was tons-o-fun, but she was very stern-heavy and porpoised especially bad in following seas. Bennett Sport Tabs got her on plane much quicker, reduced the porpoising, and kept her bow down in heavy seas. Three major drawbacks were; taking it on a small lake to tube and ski was out due to the deep draft, trailering farther than the local launch was out due to the weight exceeding the Astro’s towing capacity (by about 1000 lbs.), and getting it in the garage was out due to the height. This meant being restricted to Lake St Clair or adjoining waters, and performing any work on it out in the weather. As everyone I boated with moved away, that left me on the lake alone. After ten good years, it was time for her to go to a nice young couple with a son in Port Huron. Then I was boatless for three years, but enough was enough. I figured I needed something small and light enough I could trailer an hour to a lake near the grandkids to go skiing and tubing, yet big enough to take on Lake St. Clair once in a while if I got the urge. I purposely wanted to avoid the “handyman specials” (or so I thought) since my free time is so valuable. What I wanted was an “ARF” (model airplane term - Almost Ready to Fly). Stay tuned…
"When Nice Boats Go Bad" a nonfiction work by Chuck Buck.
Part 1.
Front Inside Jacket: Let This Serve as a Warning!
Written in the style of Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles, When Nice Boats Go Bad is a collection of short technical stories compiled into one narrative. The author takes you along on his journey of used boat ownership; loss and redemption, sorrow and joy, expensive lessons and free stuff.
Prologue: Why me?
My first boat, a 1978 Sea Ray SRV195, had been a great first boat for five years; versatile, economical, fun, and taught me much about boat maintenance and ownership. However, Lake St Clair was always chopped up by noon on the weekend from all the forty-footers. Trim tabs may have helped it from getting tossed around somewhat, but then I remembered how a coworkers’ Crownline CCR210 rode: it refused to slam, it had a lot of freeboard, and took the chop without a sweat. So, “A Buoy Named Sue” was sold to Andrea sight-unseen, and with no boating experience, but she trusted that whatever I was selling was scrupulously cared for. She got a good 10 years out of the “Sea Hag” as she renamed it, then quit boating for personal reasons and sold it to a friends’ son.
The Crimson Red 1994 CCR210 “Shahrazad” as she was previously named, was perfect for the lake; big, tall, and heavy.
The Ford 5.0L HO and Volvo Penta SX were flawless, the cuddy "useful", and 41 MPH was tons-o-fun, but she was very stern-heavy and porpoised especially bad in following seas. Bennett Sport Tabs got her on plane much quicker, reduced the porpoising, and kept her bow down in heavy seas. Three major drawbacks were; taking it on a small lake to tube and ski was out due to the deep draft, trailering farther than the local launch was out due to the weight exceeding the Astro’s towing capacity (by about 1000 lbs.), and getting it in the garage was out due to the height. This meant being restricted to Lake St Clair or adjoining waters, and performing any work on it out in the weather. As everyone I boated with moved away, that left me on the lake alone. After ten good years, it was time for her to go to a nice young couple with a son in Port Huron. Then I was boatless for three years, but enough was enough. I figured I needed something small and light enough I could trailer an hour to a lake near the grandkids to go skiing and tubing, yet big enough to take on Lake St. Clair once in a while if I got the urge. I purposely wanted to avoid the “handyman specials” (or so I thought) since my free time is so valuable. What I wanted was an “ARF” (model airplane term - Almost Ready to Fly). Stay tuned…