Driven to ground by the Fauci plague and all its accompanying fears and restrictions, I took what I expected to be a simple summer off so I could explore the lake I had known for all my life. Little did I know the challenges, the dangers, and the lessons I was about to become acquainted with. I had little idea of the natural wonders and, yes -- threats, that were soon to make my life much more interesting.
I was the mostly careless caretaker of an older pontoon boat that was docked at my lake cabin. It had refused to motor anywhere the last couple of times we tried to take it out, then I abandoned it for my wandering, camping days. I have worked on about everything mechanical save a nuclear submarine, albeit always in a very novice way, but confess to limited skills on outboard motors. That would be the first challenge when the boat floated in Spring.
I had been waiting and watching the lake levels rise since the weather first began warming. As of the last week in March, 2021 the boat still rested high and dry on sidling ground with much work needed before it could be considered 'seaworthy'. This situation was made even worse since thieves had stripped it clean of everything worth stealing -- even if it was "Nailed Down". The doper scavengers visited the cabin and boat so many times that I lost count after 15 burglaries. Thievery was so bad they were carrying off garbage.
All this was a little daunting as I made plans to set sail-less as soon as possible. Little did I know that when the water finally floated the boat it would float it right up to just over full pool, a situation this novice did not realize would complicate my travel mooring in a very unfavorable way, being so close to entangling trees and a wealth of floating tree trunks and general trash.
The boat was almost ready to float. Unfortunately it was landed at a bad angle making repairs a little more challenging. It had not been running in about 3 years since it had balked the last several times we attempted to start it. I did not own the boat at that time, just providing parking at my dock.
Bravely and without fear for myself I charged into the recovery/refitting process (That’s what we heroes do).
The place was pretty generally a wreck having been mostly abandoned for many months and seasons. Combined with the neglect and the serious interest shown by thieves things were looking pretty dismal.
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