On and on.....

It's well into the month of February and I am still waiting on the insurance company to settle. There have been some developments of late but I kind of prefer to keep my cards close to my vest as the old saying goes since one never knows who might be reading this.

Here is what I can say though. While the insurance company was doing thier research, I was doing mine as well as I wanted to know the actual value of the Hotrod to know if they were trying to screw me over or what.

First the motor. I searched everywhere for a 2001 or newer used 25hp yamaha 2 stroke short shaft motor to replace mine. Blue book puts the value around $1600-1700. Problem is, nobody is selling them, and I wanted to make sure the one I bought was in as good or better condition as the one I had before the accident. Well I couldnt find one. I basically gave up and said to heck with it and decided to buy a brand new one. Guess what, nobody has any new ones either. Something about the EPA cracking down on 2 strokes etc. ad nauseaum whatever. But then I lucked out. I called another dealer asking about a new one and he told me he just happened to have a used 2006 on consignment for several hundred dollars less than a brand new one, which he told me he probably couldnt get anyway... and it had less than 5 hours on it. I went to check it out and the paint wasnt even scratched on the skeg! It was for all practical purposes brand new. Needless to say, I snatched it up so fast his head was spinning. And on top of that, it had a brand new composite 4 blade prop on it and came with the factory prop as well, a 6 gallon gas tank and the hose to connect it and on top of all that the gas tank was full! I put the motor on the Hotrod and took it out and it performed flawlessly as one would expect a brand new motor to do.

About a week later I finally got a call from the insurance company. They told me how much they were going to give me for the motor, which luckily for me was actually a few dollars more than what I paid...shhh! They also told me what they were going to give me for the trailer which I have found a new trailer that can be had for that amount.

Now the only thing left is to figure out how much they are going to give me for the Hotrod itself. As I stated in an earlier post, initially they told me it was a total loss. Well I managed to convince them that it is not a total loss and they told me to take it to a fiberglass repair shop for an estimate and to send the estimate to them. I prefer to do the work myself if possible but I guess I need to take it to a fiberglass repair shop for an estimate. The fiberglass repair shop wants to charge me $45 for the estimate...which they will waive if they do the work. So I guess I have to spend $45...

Hopefully this will all be over soon so I can get back to terrorizing the fish in the bay soon. Of course nothing is stopping me now other than the fact that the weather has been total crap and I've been taking the kids to doctor and dentist appointments and various other mundane tasks assigned to me by "She Who Must Be Obeyed".

Look forward to a sheepshead or other winter fishing type report.

Oh one other thing. My good friend Apollobeach Sam and I made a fishing video for your viewing pleasure. It is basically a fishing show trailer spoof called The Ultimate Angler.

Check it out here