2017 March EMCBC Newsletter
EAGLE MOUNTAIN CLASSIC BOAT CLUBNEWSLETTER
March 2017
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From the President………..
Hello members & guests, we are coming into the busy fun time of the year and like most of you were getting an early start on lake fun because of the weather. I'm thinking we've only had one bad hiccup of weather and that was before Christmas other than that we've had a pretty mild winter. Last month's February meeting at Flight went well I thought. We had a good turnout of members.
Here are some members coming to the meeting in their boats.
I have nailed down time and dates for our Annual Wood, Waves, & Wheels Show in May. That info is below. Berkeley Merrill will be Once again taking care of the cars & motorcycles part of it. The kick off dinner will be the night before the event like it's been in previous years. In the next couple I'll be sending a shout out for RSVP's. The Fort Worth Boat Club will need a accurate count on how many people will be attending. Your president would sure appreciate prompt attention to these RSVP's. Pricing for this event is below.
I'd like to say again that I'm still having a blast serving as your president. It's now been a little over 7 months now. As always if you have someone that may be interested in joining, bring them to a meeting or get together. It just so happens I have an application right here for joining: https://sites.google.com/site/treybullemlnewsletter/eagle-mountain-classic-boat-club/membership-application or if you'd like me to contact them I will or better forward them the link.
Wanda Spriggs, Cyndi Herbig, and are handling the social schedule and doing a fine job. Wanda & Cyndi are still hard at work thinking of ideas. But, if you have any ideas on what you would like to see or do feel free to shout at us. You can contact Wanda & Cyndi by clicking on their email below:
Wanda Spriggs: Spriggsw57@gmail.com
Cyndi Herbig: cherbig@att.net
Be sure you pay your dues. If you forgot that info here it is:
Mail your $50 check in payable to: EMCBC
Mail Check in to:
Carol Reince/EMCBC Treasurer
P.O. BOX 137537
Lake Worth, Texas 76136-1537
****donations are always accepted
Upcoming Events
March 2017
Our annual EMCBC Auction
Spring Creek Barbeque
6701 Lake Worth Blvd.
Lake Worth, TX 76135-2901
Date: Saturday, March 25th, 2017
Time: 6:30 PM in the banquet room
Start collecting those old boat memorabilia, parts, accessories, collector's items, tools, lakehouse/dock decor, you have in your garage and attic or other you think can be auctioned off. Donations of items and services to be auctioned are also welcomed.
April 2017
EMCBC Meeting TBD
May 2017
Wood, Waves, & Wheels Show Kickoff Dinner @ the Fort Worth Boat Club on Friday night, May 12th, 2017 @ 6:30 PM - Cost of this kick off dinner will be $16.00 per person. A Mexican style buffet will be present along with a cash bar.
Wood, Waves, & Wheels Show @ the Fort Worth Boat Club on Saturday, May 13th, 2017 from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
June 2017
Rum Runner/Poker Run Event TBA
July 2017
Tiki Torch Tequila Poker Run
August 2017
EMCBC Meeting
Location TBD
September 2017
End Of The Summer Party @ the Butchard's lakehouse. New officer elections will take place.
October 2017
"Burning Man" Island Party on Pelican Island on Eagle Mountain Lake
November 2017
EMCBC Meeting TBD
December 2017
Annual Christmas Party @ the Fort Worth Boat Club
**** Be sure to look off to the left of this writing to catch up on previous events and stories of the Eagle Mountain Classic Boat Club.
Two Red Flags
Or
F Bombs on the water
By: Andy Butchard
I was excited about making last month’s club meeting at Flight because for once in a long time I would have both of my boats in the water AND both would be flying the red Thompson burgee mounted on their bow pole. For a variety of reasons, I have been unable to have that happen so with dreams of making a grand entrance I invited some friends to join me. Dan took Leviathan and was about 300 yards off shore awaiting me to load passengers in Helios and shove off. As I was backing down from my side dock where I mounted mooring whips the lines got caught in the bow rail and as I was looking aft I heard the sound of my bow rail being ripped off the foredeck. One loud and very clear F bomb from me carried across the still water and I immediately got a call from Dan asking is everything was all right. The only thing all right was the bow rail got tangled enough in the mooring line that I did not lose it in the 8’ of water so I was able to return to the dock and retrieve it along with bits of foredeck plywood, bent screws, and the red burgee. I swear these old wood boats remind me of things said about FORD autos when I was a kid, FIX OR REPAIR DAILY. Raymond made some round ¾ “ thick mahogany bases slightly larger than the bow rail base which covered up the ragged holes in the deck and gave new wood to hold the mounting screws.
Hydrotherapy Group Session
By: Andy Butchard
A couple of weeks ago, a group of classic old wood boats, the usual suspects of Big Fish, Helios, and Leviathan gathered in Ranch House slough on a Wednesday evening with eight patients aboard (think of the fishing trip in “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”) to enjoy the perfect evening on the lake. Patients whose health care approved the medical necessity of the prescribed therapy included Gary and Lisa Sebastian, Raymond Huyge, Henry Stewart, Dan Stober, Hal Normand, Andy Butchard, and Bill Tobin and mascots Lucy2 and Lucyifer. Hal Normand, last month’s Possum Kingdom virgin, came out to experience his first Hydrotherapy session and judged it highly therapeutic. Hal offered some of the best and funniest observation about fishing that I have heard. He said he noticed fishermen standing on the bank try to cast out as far as possible while fishermen in boats try to get as close to the shore as possible, making the necessity of a $40,000 bass boat moot. After a couple of hours of drinks, ribs, snacks, conversation, jokes, and hijinks everyone’s blood pressure had been reduced and everyone reported feeling great.
Safety on the Water
By: Andy Butchard
After several recent reports of drownings and one case of a fellow boater falling in the water while working on his boat I have made myself a commitment to wear an inflatable life jacket at all times when I am boating or just hanging around my dock and messing about in boats. My diminished stamina due to age and chemo and cold water would not bode well if I fell in the water. I now keep one in my ditty bag near my easy chair so it is hard to forget plus I have stocked my boat with automatic inflatable jackets for my guests.
That point fell close to home when last month on a cruise in Leviathan we were idling in Snug Harbor on a sunny but breezy day with temps in the low 60’s. I eased out of the harbor, passed the no wake buoys and planed off heading across to Walnut Creek. After ascending the creek about a half mile, I noticed that my canine crew had been reduced by 50% and one dog was missing. I immediately turned around, hauled ass in the creek throwing up a large wake for the fisherman and kayakers and headed to the open lake which was a little choppy making a small head swimming hard to see. Add the Sun glaring off the water and I had to zig zag on my return course so I wouldn’t run her down in the glare. I think we were gone about 10 minutes from Snug Harbor which has vertical sides making it impossible for a dog to climb out. As we entered Snug Harbor and made it towards the back I saw Lucyfer on the only vacant lot and luckily, I guess she had made it to the very back of the harbor where the wall terminates and the sloping shore allowed her to get out of the water. I called her but she wouldn’t come to me and she seemed to be moving erratically, I thought maybe wallowing in an attempt to dry off. I left the boat and chased her down and when I got to her she seemed to be losing muscle control so I immediately put her under my jacket and returned to the boat, lit the heater, and tried to dry and warm her ASAP. By the time we returned to the house she seemed normal but exhausted and when I googled hypothermia in dogs the second stage symptoms were identical to hers. Loss of muscle control, mentally impaired, shaking. Pretty scary but I don’t think a life jacket would have helped since the danger was the cold water. This dog has great sea legs and has never fell at speed and only has fallen off the boat when at idle as she leans out to see and smell the sights. She didn’t learn any lessons as she fell off the boat the very next day near the girl scout camp as we idled along. I have accused her of being a swamp rat but I think she is a swamp cat with a few lives consumed of her allotted nine lives.
ALL POINTS BULLETIN!!!!!
The Lake patrol and the game wardens urge all boaters to be on the lookout for this suspected unlicensed fisherman
"WANTED"
last seen in Ranch House slough. Although witnesses did not see his face some judged from his motions that he was wielding a thick surf type casting rod or deep sea rod you see on the back deck of a sport fishing boat off the shore of Mazatlán in search of swordfish, but others described
slow lazy motions consistent with river bank fishing on a hot summer afternoon with a long flimsy cane pole with a bobber on the end yet other witnesses described a smooth military marching like fluid motion of a fly fishing rod with a fly on the end or possibly a skeeter. Quoted one witness: “he could hang it low, he could swing it to and fro, he could tie it in a knot, he could tie it in a bow, he could throw it over his shoulder like a continental solider…”. All agreed that fish trembled at the mere sight of him and his unlicensed fishing gear. As it is with all events with multiple witnesses some disagreed entirely with the others and thought he was not fishing at all merely checking the temperature AND the depth of the water. Details at 11.
Boat Projects, continued…..
By: Andy Butchard
This past winter, what little we had, offered some motivation for me to complete some projects that had been on the back burner for some time. I decided to replace the vinyl Nautolex decking in Leviathan after 17 years. It was torn, stained, and had varnish drops imbedded in the grain. I went with the Natural color which is slightly darker and better hides varnish drips. When we removed the floor boards we found a few places that needed repair, glued a broken floor beam and replaced one floor panel, cleaned and varnished the bilge and re varnished the mahogany trim along the side of the floor.
I had Raymond make some jump seats that I planned for the 1961 Thompson Off Shore that I had last spring but when I sold it retained the unfinished pieces.
They are folding jump seats right behind the front seats and make conversation easier than from the back seat, balances the passenger load, and provides a more relaxed seating arrangement for hydrotherapy sessions. The seats are supported by posts that I imbedded stainless steel quarter inch bolts in each end and then ground the heads off into a rounded shape. We placed matching holes in the deck and under the seat bases to secure the posts. I added matching cushions and when not needed they can be folded against the inside of the hull. I also replaced the rear seat bottom cushion.
Next I finished a canvas drop that snaps behind the front seats and stops the cold back draft and makes the heater work better.
A zipper allows a step thru for easy access. A great idea but a lack of cold weather limited it use.
Finally, after 17 years I decided to install a fuel valve to switch between tanks. I run a 12 gallon main tank and a 3 gallon reserve to get me home. In the past I had to remove the rear seat bottom cushion, first relocating my passengers, lift the seat base, secure it with a hook, get on my knees and fish around to disconnect the fuel line from the out of view main barb and then connect to the reserve tank all the while getting a few drips of gas on my hands. For less than $20 on Amazon I found a switching valve and mounted it inside the transom in easy reach and view. Why it took so long to make this simple improvement is something that I don’t have an answer for.
Member Of The Month
Gary "THE MODEL" Files
Gary was spotted out on the lake recently with his trusty 1st mate, Allison. Allison is great in 1st Aid techniques as she has extensive medical training due to the business she's in on dry land. She has saved her captain a couple of times from scuba diving for buried treasure in Eagle Mountain Lake. Watch for Gary & Allison
and their family cruising around Eagle Mountain Lake on "H2Oasis" pictured here:
