All Set for a New Season on the Water...Well, Almost

Yesterday afternoon, I was sitting at the dining-room table, helping my wife assemble a jigsaw puzzle--something I haven't done for longer than I can remember. Suddenly my cellphone rang, and it turned out to be Wayne, my boat mechanic. "Ready to get your spring service done?" he asked.

Knowing that the latest weather forecast I had heard hadn't sounded too promising for any outdoor activities, I asked if I could call him back early this morning with my reply. A check of The Weather Channel revealed chances of some showers this morning, but only between 5 and 10 percent until 11 o'clock, when the chances jumped up to 50 percent, with the possibility of some thunderstorms thrown in for good measure. It wasn't exactly the kind of forecast to give me a warm, fuzzy feeling.

A subsequent call back to Wayne, though, was all the reassurance I needed; he said he would be done in an hour and a half...max. I gulped down my breakfast, grabbed some rain gear, and headed for West Neck.

A half-hour after my arrival there (not bad for me, considering I was going slow, so as not to overlook something), I was on the road to Wayne's house.

Once there, it was the usual: spark and compression checks, change oil in lower unit, install new plugs, spray some cleaner, install new fuel/water separator filter, service the tilt/trim (probably will have to be replaced in due time), then hook up the garden hose and run the outboard for a few minutes. A check of trailer-tire pressure followed, and I was on my way back to West Neck Marina. Time elapsed: exactly 1 hour and 30 minutes.

The way I see it is that you can't beat a mechanic who does quality work and keeps his promised delivery time to boot. If only I could get the same thing from my auto mechanic.

In conclusion, let me explain the "well, almost" part of my headline. I have a couple new registration decals to apply one of these nice warm days. Could have done it today, but that was something I forgot to grab before heading out the door this morning. Just have to make sure I get this job done before my first trip on the water because I'm long overdue for a check by the game warden--can't remember the last time I had one of those, either.

Now comes the itch that can only be scratched with that first trip to the water of the new season. I can hardly wait.