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All
Went to the Cowpalace on Monday to see the latest in on-the-water =
technology. Big disappointment! Sure it was fun looking at boats that =
cost half-a-mil, but what about something for the average guy? I looked =
at a small boat (17ft-er) that was $20 thou, without a motor! Even the =
kayaks were high, I saw one for $2700. It cost me $125 to build my last =
one, and only that much because I epoxy encapsulated the wood, and used =
aircraft fabric to cover it. =20
What became clear to me is that other than IM and a few others, none of =
the boat builders want our business. When I made the mistake of talking =
to one of the salesmen about powering a 19 foot fishing boat with a 70, =
he all but laughed at me. Seems that now days you need at least 150 hp =
on the transom to make a boat go. Must be the global warming has =
thinned the air, or something, because back in the 60s all we needed to =
push our runabout was a 35hp Merk. With a little work (and a special =
ski) it even pulled me up on a single. Our friends could pull two with =
a power prop on an OMC 50! =20
One good thing about the show, it made me really appreciate what I have =
in Happy Camper!
LCL
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