I’ve owned several Carolina Skiff J-series boats over the years.  They are inexpensive, utilitarian boats that are designed to serve a simple purpose - a basic boat that’s supposed to be tough and low-maintenance.

Overall, Carolina Skiff makes a decent boat for the price.  When you look at the insane prices that Boston Whaler is charging for even their smallest models, a Carolina Skiff may start to make more sense.  The basic construction of a Carolina Skiff s low-cost, using chopper gun layups with a foam and fiberglass floor as the boat’s structure.  The company claims this construction method results in a boat that is stuff and unsinkable.  That much is true, however the foam inside the boat has an uncanny habit of absorbing water, should any unsealed holes int he floor be present.  This isn’t a Carolina Skiff-specific issue though, I’ve seen many boats using closed-cell foams absorb water like a proverbial sponge.

Putting this aside, my J12 and J14 boats have been good to own and lot of fun. They are very easy to trailer, and although they slide very easily in turns, they also draw very little water.  I never had any problems with them, so I thought I would give the new JV model a try, since it looks much better than the typical squarish, flat bottomed Carolina Skiff.

:: The Carolina Skiff JV13 has a familiar style - click on image to enlarge ::

I went down to the local dealer and ordered a JV13, and requested that the boat not have any of the standard electronics and accessories installed.  The factory had no problem meeting this request, and they provided all of the accessories with the boat separately.  Why did I do this?  Because I do not want any holes drilled into the floor of the boat for accessories I’ll never use.  No holes means no chance of the boat getting water intrusion into the foam.

The boat’s construction appears more robust, although it’s basically the same as a J model.  The obvious resemblance to a Boston Whaler is not coincidental, and it’s one of the reasons I chose this model in addition to a better ride in saltwater.  The gelcoat is pretty well finished, and overall mold quality is pretty good.  The installation of the seats and front deck is very neat, and unlike the previous J skiffs I owned, there are no stress cracks anywhere on this boat.  No, the mold and finish quality of this boat is not up to Boston Whaler standards, but neither is the price either: the JV13 sells for about $2300.

I’ll be rigging this boat with a new Yamaha 15-horsepower two-stroke engine.  That should be enough power for it, though this boat is heavier than an equivalent J model.  We’ll see, but I would rather not have a 20 or 25-horsepower engine that would be heavier and require bolting through the transom.  I’ll post more photos and a report on how well this little boat runs.  Thanks for reading.

Related Links:

• Carolina Skiff Boats
  

A few days ago I had this need to get out of the house, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do.  I spend way too much time in front of my computer, so I’ve been making a concerted effort to pull myself away from it for my own sanity.  So I call my friend Ryan, A.K.A. ‘Z-Man’, and we headed over to a Kawasaki/Yamaha dealer in Punta Gorda.

I had no intention of buying anything, but I just wanted to check out this place since my local Kawi dealer closed down right after I bought my ZX-6R.  We arrived to see many bikes outside - mostly smaller motocross types and some sport bikes.  After Ryan made fun of me for thinking the Ninja 250 was cool, we looked at the small motocross pit bikes and I immediately had the urge to buy one.  Why?  Well, why not?  I figure I could just put one in my truck and have fun at the local trails or bring it with me to larger Scream And Fly events for transportation and fun.  At least that was just justification for buying it.

:: Yamaha TTR-50E 49cc 4-stroke off road bike weighs 125 pounds - click image to enlarge ::

Among all the bikes they had was a brand new leftover 2007 Yamaha TTR-50E.  Mind you, many of these smaller bikes will no longer be available soon, thanks to our government deciding what’s ‘best’ for us.  Yeah, we really need a lot of that, don’t we?  I made a quick offer on the small bike and I got it for several hundred dollars less than they were asking.  The dealer prepped the Yamaha and Ryan and I loaded it into my Blazer.  That’s right, the TTR-50 rolls right into the back of my truck, fully upright while clearing the roof by less than an inch.  It’s perfect.

The Yamaha TTR-50 is a very small 49cc 4-stroke off-road trail/motocross bike designed for younger riders as well as adult pit bike racing.  This small Yamaha strongly resembles the Honda CRF-50, which has enjoyed huge success with both pit bike racers and younger riders. According to Yamaha, fully half of all buyers for the bike will be adults, so they immediately introduced high performance GYTR parts for the TTR-50, including a big bore kit, high performance exhaust, larger handlbars and suspension upgrades.

The resemblance the TTR-50 shares with the CRF-50 is so uncanny, that I did a bit of research into where the TTR-50 was made.  From what I can gather, the TTR-50 (and perhaps other models in this line) is built in China by Jianshe, a company that produces scooters, motorcycles, and ATVs. I bet that doesn’t inspire confidence in the quality of this product, does it?  Well, from what I can tell the TTR-50 is very well made, though it still suffers from the sloppy mig welds that most motocross/trail bike frames have.

:: Yamaha offers many high performance upgrades for this bike - click on image to enlarge ::

The little Yamaha is equipped with a 3-speed transmission with an automatic clutch, which makes it a heck of a lot more fun than centrifugal clutch models although I would much prefer a manual clutch and maybe a fourth gear.  Top speed is over 30mph stock, which is plenty fast for a bike with 10-inch wheels.  The TTR-50, like all TTR models includes an electric starter, and this bike lights off at the touch of a button, even when cold.  The exhaust is very quiet, which is good, since I won’t have to worry about pissing of my neighbors.  Total specified weight for the TTR-50 is 125 pounds.

I’ve been riding this little bike around the local streets and empty lots here and it’s a riot.  The first gear is so low that it’s almost useless, except for wheelies and climbing, however third gear is plenty tall for great top speed.  Since the bike has an automatic clutch, all the rider needs to do is close the throttle and shift - it’s an easy process, though not very smooth at all.  The bike will lurch slightly at every upshift at lower speeds since there’s always a connection to the engine even with the clutch engaged.   Downshifting is performed in the same manner - just close the throttle and kick the shifter down.  It has an up-up-up shift pattern, so finding neutral is a cinch.

:: TTR-50 features electric start and an automatic clutch - click on image to enlarge ::

As a play bike, the TTR-50 is perfect - it’s light, reliable, and fast enough to be fun.  It’s small enough to fit into my Blazer upright, so no worries about having to use a trailer. If I ever want to go faster, performance upgrades are easy to obtain, and I could even race it in pit bike races.  I just hope the cops that live near me don’t mind much when I pass by their houses while riding it.

Related Links:

• Yamaha TTR-50E Specifications
  

For as long as I could remember I was always fascinated with outboard motors - especially small ones.  I remember looking at them and studying the various colors and styles over the years, eventually becoming very fluent with every year according to their colors and other features.

The very first new outboard motor I owned was a 1985 Evinrude 2.  I remember that one summer Al Grover’s Marine in Freeport, NY was running a sale in the local Pennysaver paper - $289 for a new Evinrude 2 horsepower engine.  I asked my dad about it, and to my surprise he said “Let’s get ready and have a look.”  Well, we bought one, and I loved it, even though that outboard was so temperamental and constantly needed adjustment to the fuel mixture.

:: 1989 Evinrude 3 horsepower motor is old dealer stock, never used - click to enlarge ::

The next year we went back to Al Grover’s and I traded in the Evinrude 2 for a 1986 Evinrude 4 Deluxe.  The standard model 4  had the same exact twin-cylinder, 5 c.c. powerhead as the Deluxe model 4 horsepower Evinrude (with the exception of CD ignition), though it had a much smaller midsection and lower unit, and it only had neutral and forward gears.  The Deluxe model was based on the older 4.5 horsepower midsection and lower unit, which resembled the 6 and 8 horsepower engines - it had full gearshift and just looked much better.  My dad saw the value in this and purchased the Deluxe model for me at $686.  It was one of the greatest outboard motors I ever owned, and I should never have sold it back in 2001.

Recently I found this 1989 Evinrude 3 horsepower motor, which is basically a detuned standard model 4.  It weighs 36 pounds, and it’s in mint condition.  Apparently, it’s an old dealer stock item that was never used, and it appears as though that is indeed the case.  I have not run it yet, but I checked it over, and everything looks good so far.  This engine is exactly the same as previous years’ standard 4 horsepower engines from Evinrude and Johnson.  I’ll probably keep it for a while and maybe pick up a small boat to keep in the back just to go cruising up the canals here. I think I’m going to have a lot of fun running this little motor.

Reading my post on the Team-BHP forum - an India-based automotive enthusiast website, I see there’s some confusion as to this car’s legitimacy.  All in good internet fun I guess. I registered to that site after finding it while searching the web.  I found it interesting to read about another culture and how similar their interest in performance cars is to ours in the United States.  The internet is great for shrinking the world like this - just 20 years ago this type of communication would be unheard of in the casual sense.

In any event, well, I know they’re reading, so here’s a quick video for you - enjoy. : )

I read Guitar World magazine religiously (what guitar player doesn’t?) and in the last issue, I noted the small sideline feature on their model contest for the upcoming Guitar World Buyer’s Guide.  I never even remember previous buyer’s guides being full of hot ladies, but heck, if they say so I thought it would be fun to submit photos of Donna.

:: Guitar World model contest photo submission - click to enlarge ::

So Donna and I had fun in the 90-degree south Florida sun, shooting some photos of her posing with my old Jackson Kelly Performer PS-6T.  That guitar has a lot of sentimental value to me, as it was a gift from my dad ten years ago.

We thought of some gimmicky poses with the instrument that would be cool for photos to submit, and it turned out to be a lot of fun, for laughs if anything else. As usual, Donna looked great, and although she did well in the hot sun, and my black guitar was radiating a temperature of over 100 degrees when it went back into the case.  That can’t be good.

::  And you haven’t even seen her race BMX yet!  Click to enlarge ::

For those that want to know, I shot these photos with a Nikon D300 and Nikon 70-200 VR 2.8 lens, using a Nikon SB-600 mounted on the camera with a diffuser. Anyway, I guess what matters is we had a good time and took some cool photos.  I hope she wins - it would surely help her modeling career that I’m already positive she will excel at.  I’ll be crossing my fingers for you, Donna - you deserve to win!

Related Links:

• Guitar World Magazine
  

It’s hard to believe this car is 20 years old now.   I still remember when it was ordered, and the day it was picked up - the day after my birthday (April 26).  How do I remember this day so easily?  It’s not because getting a Corvette was such a big deal - many people had them in Massapequa - it’s because I had some friends over for a cool party on my birthday the day before.

:: I can’t believe this car is 20 years old now. Where does the time go?  Click to enlarge ::

Over the years the 1989 Corvette accumulated a total of about 6000 miles, and when I moved to south Florida, the car was brought here on an enclosed trailer.  There’s really not much else to tell about the car - it’s your basic fully-loaded C4, optioned the same way most were at the time.  It’s not a [then new] 6-speed model, however.  I always liked these cars for their digital dashboards, which reminded me of the old television series “Battlestar Galactica“.  I know that digital instruments are considered geeky and useless today, though I still think they look awesome.

:: Bright red leather surely designates this as a 1980s-era car - click to enlarge ::

I still have the car and it sits in the garage covered in a fairly thick layer of dust.  Although the car still looks new, it will need some attention to make it roadworthy.  Nothing major - fluid and filter changes mainly, from its long hibernation.  The last time I used it was in December of 2004 (date of photos above), and it ran just fine.  Today I purchased a new battery for the car, and replacing the battery in a C4 Corvette is a pain in the ass, believe it or not.  I’ll install the battery this week (I hope) and we’ll see what happens.  On a side note, these images were taken using the first real digital camera I owned - a Nikon Coolpix 995.

:: All-digital instrument panel as seen from 1984-1989 model years. Click to enlarge ::

A quick update:  I have a new battery installed in the car - the install wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, maybe 30 minutes total.  I was also able to correct an incorrectly installed lower sill fastener from the factory.  One thing that surprises me is all of the tapping screws and cheap plastic fasteners that keep this car together.  The fasteners are designed for a loose-tolerance fit, so the car could be assemebled with no issues no matter how poorly the fit.  I’m not impressed.  I’m assuming that the current Corvette does not follow this trend. In any event, I’ll change the oil and bring the car to my local dealer for a fluid change and injector service.  From there, it will be ready for regular use.

Related Links:

• Corvette Forum

Too complicated
Not oblivious
Never completely content
Never unhappy, yet never completely understood.
Independent
I have permanent hearing damage from loud guitars.
And I wouldn’t change a thing about it.
Just repeat yourself sometimes and we’ll get along just fine.

You may have read in a previous entry about my purchase of Dan Durr’s rare pink Haro Sport.  Since then, I’ve been negotiating with Dan about the purchase of his Haro enthusiast website, HaroFreestyler.com.  This website is very well constructed, and its an information-rich location for all technical specifications and historical material pertaining to the Haro Master, Sport, and FST from 1983-1985.

:: Click on image to be taken to the HaroFreestyler.com website ::

What are my plans for this website?  For now, I’ll be adding a message board that focuses primarily on Haro collectors and establishing a Haro Owner’s Group of sorts.  The message forums will likely have multiple sections - one for each generation of Haro Freestylers and perhaps a “new-school” section for current Haro bikes.  We’ll also be testing the new Haro Retro Freestyler soon too, so stay tuned.  This is going to be fun.

Related Links:

• HaroFreestyler.com
• Haro Bikes

I’ve always been fascinated by outboard motors - especially small ones.  I remember when I was younger, all I would do is draw them in my notebooks when I should have been paying attention in school.  I’m not sure why I always had such an interest in these little motors - maybe it’s because they are a gateway to all of the fun I’ve had boating, which is a big part of my life.

:: 1973 Evinrude Fisherman, preserved in new condition - click on image to enlarge ::

A few months back, I found this 1973 Evinrude 6 horsepower “Fisherman” outboard, still new in the box.  You read correctly - a new, never used outboard that’s over 35 years old.  It’s a collector’s dream, and in absolutely perfect, ageless condition. The engine shows no signs of age - no staining, fading, or scuffing whatsoever.  Even all the hang tags are present, as is the paper inspection decal.

:: Cowl removed - click on image to enlarge ::

I carefully removed the little engine from its box, which also included the “Cruise-A-Day” fuel tank and fuel line.  I bet you might be wondering if I’ll ever start the engine.  At this point, I would say it’s not likely - there’s just no reason to, and once started, I would have to drain the carburetor and make other preparations to store it indoors.

My plans are to build a nice stand for it and keep it on display in my office.  Who knows though, I may get the urge to run it one day - and I believe it would start right up as if it were manufactured yesterday.