I'd agreed to meet Lynn W. at 8:30 am.  I was going to give starting the boat one more try before accepting his offer to tow me over to the public ramp where I could retrieve the boat and get it loaded on the trailer.  I didn't expect success but thought I'd just as well try.

I hit the key and after a couple of short tries, the engine fired right up.  I was elated!  I may actually get to fish today after all.  I left the motor running for a good 5 - 10 minutes before attempting to back off the throttle.  Boat engines are cooled by the water in which the boat is floating.  I checked that the engine was warm by feeling that stream of water as it left the engine.  It was warm.

But as I backed off the throttle, the engine died again and wouldn't start.  It seemed to be a repeat of yesterday.  Instead of fucking around with it all God damned day, I accepted the tow offer.  Well actually I tried backing the trailer down to the lake on the sandy beach.  However the heavy truck quickly began to sink in the sand.  Only 4-wheel drive in the low range combined with my extensive 4-wheelin' experience from my younger years saved my ass.  It was starting to look like I was going to need a tow back to the road but I kept her steady and just let the wheels chug slowly through the sand.  Finally the front tires hit blacktop and I was free.

I drove my truck and boat trailer to the public ramp as Lewie rode along.  Lynn W. followed with his boat.  After launching Lynn's boat, the three of us rode in it back to the docks by the steakhouse.  We tied my boat to the back of Lynn's and began the slow ride back to the public dock.  I'd guess it's about a mile or two between the two docks.

It was a bit difficult getting my boat loaded on the trailer since we could not use the engine to assist us.  Plus the boat is still leaning to one side.  And of course the mother fucking wind had to kick up, blowing from the side to make the effort as difficult as possible.  But on this trip, I have become quite used to getting in the lake so I just jumped in and wrestled the boat onto the trailer as Lynn slowly drove the truck up the ramp.  That worked fairly well and I was only wet up to the middle of my belly.

Then we got Lynn's boat loaded.  Even with the assistance of the engine it was a bit difficult because of the wind.  But I was already wet so I just returned to the lake and helped him.  With both boats loaded, Lewie and Lynn went back to camp and I headed for Dalton Sports.

I explained the situation to Jason.  Bill, the boat mechanic was not in today and Jason couldn't speak for his schedule tomorrow.  I asked about other repair shops but the nearest ones Jason would recommend are 40 - 50 miles away.  And going to those would not guarantee any faster service anyway.  Dalton Sports was good to me last week so I decided to just leave the boat there and see what happens.

After dropping off the boat, I went to see Missy at the Dalton Liquor Store and bought a case of beer.  She hadn't heard about my boat but after I told her, she understood why I was buying the beer.  It was about 11:00 am and I told her I was sure that this would keep me occupied until the afternoon anyway since fishing was out of the question.  However if not, I'd be back.

I returned to camp.  Denise and the kids had gone to Dalton to take Jack to the public playground.  The cousins were loading up their boat for a day of fishing at Pelican Lake since the weather was just perfect for spending the day on a lake.  Lewie was at the bridge.  I let the dogs out of their crates, fixed some lunch, and started drinking the beer.

And that was my afternoon.  Denise and the kids returned so I moved down to the cabin and sat outside with them.  As the afternoon progressed, the cousins returned and Lewie left the bridge.  I don't really know how many beers I consumed as I already had some in the ice chest before my earlier purchase.  And no, they weren't all gone.  But no matter, I was tired of beer and switched to Captain Morgan Rum and Pepsi One.

I grilled country style pork ribs for supper.  There were various salads left over from the previous evening and Lynn and Rose brought sweet corn with from their neighbor's garden.  We had a nice supper and sat around the campfire.

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