Melt Down At WoodyBoater HQ!

When you need to try this it isnt good!

You may have noticed over the past two days that we are reusing older photos and doing more Header Days. Well, it happened. The main engine that drives Woody Boater had a complete meltdown on Thursday. Okay, no more metaphors.

Ugh

Our Hard drive just fried. Gone. poof. Which BTW, has around 3000 photos on it. Now, the good news is we use 3 laptops here. I have backups of backups. And everything resides on the cloud or a server. But Photoshop one of our major tools which is also on the cloud needed some downloading and so on. okay, okay, I know this is getting boring and so what. but man oh manachevitz, when it all starts melting down, it sure is dramatic watching your world crash.

The good news, is I am now on the trusty 2014 laptop and she started up like an old flat head sitting in a barn for years. Didn’t miss a beat, cracked screen and all. It’s amazing how with a couple squirts of starter fluid can revive an entire universe of data. What? you don’t use starter fluid on your computers?

Still reading?

Okay, for those loyal enough to read through my boring geeky melt down story, we did get the unnamed Trawler up on the Rail at Reedville Marine Railway for her out of the water Survey so she can be insured. And I was able to grab some photos. Here ya go. Hey its Sunday, wait, it’s Super Bowl Sunday. Dang it, we should have done a Super Bowl Sunday ad? Ugh.

The Boatress looking over her Trawler.

Beautiful line

Sitting right behind the Elva C, one of the rare BuyBoats from the area.

She has been refastend and bottom was painted last year!

Her current name. Going to be changed soon

Enjoy a crazy sausage day and Super Bowl Sunday!

 

28 replies
  1. Greg Lewandowski
    Greg Lewandowski says:

    The trawler is impressive and that rail thing is really cool. We use a travel lift in Michigan in places like Algonac and Port Huron. We have some great stuff happening there in June and September. Thought I would include a logo just in case you lost it in the melt down. Happy Super Bowl Sunday to WoodyBoaterville!

  2. Dan T
    Dan T says:

    Love the trawler, but you’ve got to get rid of the green. Your fortunate to have access to a marine railway. Best and safest way to haul big old wooden boats. Good Luck with your survey!

  3. m-fine
    m-fine says:

    Computer meltdown stories are better than zipper pull stories.

    And, I think you should take the Trawler to Port Huron in September. Up the coast to NY harbor. Up the Hudson, across the Erie Canal then Lake Erie and finally up the river. It would be a helluva fun trip.

    • Wilson
      Wilson says:

      From there they could do the grand loop and anchor off behind our place on the Florida Gulf coast where the intra coastal ends before heading out across open water to Tampa.

    • Jack Schneiberg
      Jack Schneiberg says:

      And….then….they could do the rest of the “Great Loop” which as I understand it covers roughly 7,000 miles and consumes 2 years with minimal sightseeing – hell with proper timing a stop near Tavares for the 2019 show could be worked in. I could see a real command/communications center on that trawler. Work from the boat. There are those who do this – just check out YouTube……

      • Troy in ANE
        Troy in ANE says:

        According to the AGLCA website “The Great Loop has been done in as little as two months and in as much as 12 years.”

        It has been completed in classic cruisers, sail boats, pontoon boats, even a canoe I think.

        It is definitely on Sandi and my list of things to do.

      • m-fine
        m-fine says:

        I would guess it is around 1200 statute miles. A leisurely pace of just 60 miles a day will get you there in 3 weeks. You could do it in two weeks without much trouble but less touristy fun.

      • Mike W
        Mike W says:

        First thanks for getting me home from Tampa the other day before the crash. Boring story for everyone.

        We brought our 47 Commander up from Florida to Grand Haven last year against the current, trees, and … Not recommended but had little choice. It was about 2,000 miles and most of the way 8 knots would have been welcome. Grueling but rewarding trip which took us about 3 weeks spread out through 3 separate trips. I started keeping track of fuel but gave up for the sake of my sanity.

  4. Dennis J Mykols
    Dennis J Mykols says:

    I did a little more than 1/2 the loop in 1997. From Grand Haven, around thru Detroit, and then to Buffalo to do the whole Erie Barge Canal. Down the East Coast, and curised the whole Chesapeake Bay. Ended up in Key West for New Years eve. Spent the rest of that winter at Moss Marine in Ft Myers Beach. Did most of it single handed.

    • Mike W
      Mike W says:

      You took the best part of the trip with the exception of the West Coast of FL. The TennTom, MS and IL river part was just a mission. Of course if you don’t complete the loop you sell your boat or leave it as a winter vacation spot.

  5. Chad
    Chad says:

    IMHO, you should upgrade to a 1-2TB SS HD PDQ. Or back-up photos to an external 1TB HD. You can fill up a 512GB in no time. No BS!

    Good Luck,
    SOB

    • Matt
      Matt says:

      Normally i upload the photos every couple weeks to make sure they are safe on a 1TB harddrive, we also have a server at the Agency that houses the real critical stuff. The website is hosted by two places seperate as well. As to this laptop, it was the bad boy of its time, I am due for a new one in about a year. I could feel the harddrive giving way. So I scrambled. I should have been on Time Machine to make sure it was all there. But oh..ugh. The good news is we are not dead in the water.

  6. Dick Dow
    Dick Dow says:

    Hackers, gotta be Hackers – wait! Those are great boats, what was I thinking??? NK or the Russkies – that’s it… 😉

  7. Wilson
    Wilson says:

    You great louper’s could do what Bob and ChrisAnn( nee Smith) Braff did last year. Trailer your cruiser…theirs is 28 feet… to Tavares, then trailer it to Key Largo, do the keys, then trailer it up the West Coat of Fl, stopping off where water invites, and our place, then to Pensacola for the Naval Air Museum, then to New Orleans for the WWII museum, then on to Houston for Keels & Wheels and then back home to Colorado.

    • Troy in ANE
      Troy in ANE says:

      Sounds like a GREAT trip Wilson.

      I for one would rather be on the boat vs on the highways with a trailered boat. Colorado would be tough though.

    • m-fine
      m-fine says:

      Wilson, that might be a fun trip with a new 18’ Aristocraft, but trailering that trawler 5 miles would be stressful. Actually I would be sweating trailering that boat 5 feet!

  8. floyd r turbo
    floyd r turbo says:

    Crewed on a section of the loop from Chicago down Mississippi to Ohio to Cumberland River to Lake Barkley Marina as deck hand and cook. Great fun with the fellas. A 54′ mid 70’s Hatteras with twin 8v71 Detroit diesels had a great galley and sleeping arrangements. That was probably the least picturesque part of the trip although we had an interesting stop in Missouri trying to tie up to a gas dock taking into consideration current of the Mississippi and a 70′ space to dock between 2 other vessels at the docking barge on the main river. You better know your boat, crew, and handling skills in top form.

    • Mike W
      Mike W says:

      It sounds like you are referring to Hoppie’s. The only other stop is in Cape Girardo and the dock is just a fuel stop with no more than 50′. We ended in Lake Barkley for a while prior to the final trip. Great place.

  9. Randy
    Randy says:

    Great lines on the “Redville Queen” !!!!!!

    Virtually ‘maintenance free’ with NO varnish/chrome — a real user.

Comments are closed.