Cal, just get a canoe. It's totally you. Excellent for the core and upper body, good for breathing, provides another mode of transportation should the zombie apocalypse arrive. Even a heavy 18' Grumman can still be picked up by one person, and if you're handy, you can just lever it up the back of the pickup into the bed.
I have an inflatable Sea Eagle catamaran/kayak. I'd rather have a 16' - 18' Grumman, but my tiny little car is smaller than both of those boats, so the inflatable works best. It fits in the boot and takes about 8 minutes to inflate. If you want to remain on the cheap, don't get a boat with a motor, the titling/registration/fees will make it no fun. Then you have to carry around cans of gasoline which is dangerous and stinks. The canoe allows you to paddle wherever you want, either solo or with a partner. A good canoe can hold about 600 - 800lbs of gear if you wanted to do your own expedition. A buddy of mine and I are floating around (pun intended) the idea of getting a couple folding bikes, a couple bike trailers, and taking the Sea Eagle from the Monongahela all the way to wherever we like, maybe across the continent. Not unlike a 21st century expedition along the Lewis and Clark route. We'd put the inflatable cat on a bike trailer when we needed to go over mountains and then put the folding touring bikes on the cat when we're on waterways. An incredible and difficult journey, to be sure, but it could be done. My Sea Eagle can hold almost 700lbs, which includes passengers. Both of us weigh about 350 combined, so that leaves 300lbs with capacity to spare.
Phil Forrest
Phil,
Seems like you give the best advice. You recommended an old C10 and now I own one. The route I’m taking with the truck is a “Rat-Rod” where I enjoy the patina of an aged 56 year old truck that has a remarkable OEM finish that held up well through the decades.
I worked hard today cleaning out the garage to make room for the truck (Green Machine). It will barely fit.
My resto-mod will be disc brakes, electronic ignition, fuel injection, and a new bed (red oak and stainless steel). Of course I’ll pull the head and send to Harry (“Maggie’s brother inlaw’s brother, who will send it to his head shop). In the end the C10 will get a 2/4 front to rear drop and will have a level stance. Of course a new set of BFG T/A’s for tires, profiles and widths TBD.
MFM sent me some info on another HEI electronic ignition.
I kinda know to save all the old parts. Also know that down the road all my resto-mods are good to go if I ever move to the 292 cubic inch I6 from the base 250 Ci.
I can see where I could always get my money back on this truck. For someone that wants to do a full off chassis restoration this would be a good C10 because it still is so OEM. All the mods I’m doing are bolt ons that can be reversed. The only mod is the under bed gas tank that is not factory original.
Anyways I kinda drive Maggie crazy. Know she is an anxious nervous Nellie. She is so anxious that she deems that she is unfit to drive.
Anyways the Audi really surprised me. Know that I added a container of Techron, a fuel additive made by Chevron, that is a fuel system cleaner and octane booster.
Pretty much I drove from Peekskill to Lavalette (Jersey Shore) at moderate high speed (70-75 MPH) for 250 miles round trip on half a tank of gas. I know the Audi has a 14 gallon tank, and I’m pretty sure the computer advanced the timing a lot,
Yesterday’s 2 hour ride punished me. Today I was kinda drained of strength, I went for another ride to today, but shorter.
I discovered my friend A.J. at the local bike shop has a 1955 1/2 Chevy truck that he has been working on for a decade. He secure a truck fro Death Valley with no rust, F-body independent front suspension (80’s Camaro/Firebird) 350/350 fuel injected Corvette engine, anyways mucho crazy show car that he says when completed worth around $150K.
Know that A.J. Back in the day was a down hillier in the NORBA circuit.
Anyways the idea of getting a boat is a dream, but it seems like I’m already living the dream with this awesome C10 that is remarkably clean, maybe too clean to be called a Rat-Rod.
Nippon called me and left a message. The camera has been tested every day for a week. I should be good-to-go. I miss this M3-DS. I love it with my version one 50 Rigid with the narrow focus ring.
I use the cylindrical 50 Elmer hood without a filter. If I use that hood with a filter I get vin-YET-ING. I just love the look of the camera with the rigid.
Maggie is at Atlanta, Thursday she flys home, maybe Friday I can pick up the M3-DS.
BTW I was a Boy Scout. Kinda proud that I remained a “Tenderfoot” for over 2 years. Even back then I was a “Lazy-Slacker” who never wanted to be an Eagle Scout. Anyways I’m familiar with Grumman canoes. At camp we would attack and swamp other canoes from other troops for fun.
Kinda funny that decades later, at Grumman, I would reunite with my old Troopmaster. Mr McNaulty was a welder at Grumman in Plant 14. When he saw me it was like seeing a ghost, and he asked me “Why are you not in jail, and how did you get a job at Grumman.” LOL.
BTW his son Brian was a hell raiser too.
Cal
