Bayou Chico newbie with two "Tinnies" -Long "

oldflathead · #1

Hey Cuz and Tinnie folks,

Good job on the forum Les. I was thinking, well maybe I don't qualify as most of my boats are plastic, then I remembered my jon boat and my 12' aluminum skiff I carry on Satori, our Cal Cruising 46 motor sailer.

So, with two aluminum boats, total length of both 24', so here I yam!

Anyone who lives on a bayou must have a jon boat, ugly as sin, but totally practical. they will float on a heavy dew, light weight when you need to drag it, stable and so ugly no one would steal it. I used mine mostly to push my work boat around and to drag pilings from the beach to set when I was building docks. I have used the cloth covered rub rail all around as I get up close to the NON ALLOY boats when working, so no scratches. My wife put the rub rail on using 3-M 5200 about ten years ago and it is still there. While the boat is officially rated for a 3.5HP max, I use everything from an old 4HP Johnrude to my Yamaha 15HP, depending on the work.

For the last 26 years, since we bought our Cal 46 we have carried a 12' aluminum skiff on the aft deck. We are on our second one, as they are the light weight riveted type and pounding from choppy water and a 15HP will open them up after a while. I carry spare rivets, a backing hammer and a ball pein for repairs. They serve us well, as they fit on our aft deck, are lightweight, easy to maintain, and so ugly even _________, will not steal them.

In 1993 we had roamed down to Venezuela,(before AH Chavez), and enjoyed a year around Puerta La Cruz. Wonderful people, cheap, below the hurricane zone and diesel fuel was $0.12 a gallon - that's right 12 cents US a gallon and the Polar beer truck would deliver to the marina at alittle over $2.00 USD a case.
This is where I learned what a "Tinnie" is, an aluminum skiff. There were a lot international cruisers in VZ in those days and we met a lot of great folks. One Brit had approached me about buying my "Tinnie". I said WTF is a "Tinnie" and he replied your al-u-minie-yum skiff. I said it is not for sale for the reasons above, but he was insistent and kept upping the ante.. When he reached the price I had paid for the skiff and 15HP Johnson in 1987, I sold it. In 1993 you could buy the very good Caribe NON ALLOY hull,in flat ables directly from the factory in VZ, so we tried three of them. The 10' was too short and the 15HP Yammy would pop it up if the Admiral sat on the bow. So we sold it right away, and bought a 12' Caribe, which was very good with the 15HP, but soon another cruiser had to have it so paid me more than I had in it so...
We ended up with a new 13' Caribe, with a console, padded seats and a 40HP Yammy. It was good looking, stable, could handle bigger seas than the Admiirante and Capitan, was heavier and a PITA to get on and off our deck. When we got up to St. Maartens, another European had to have it, so we sold it for more than we had paid, plus got a 12'RIB w/20HP Yammy, which we used until we got back to Pensacola and could get a right and proper "Tinnie" for our skiff, which we had on our last trip, winter in the Bahamas and summer in the Chesapeake in 2001.
Hurricanes and some health problems have kept us tied to the dock, but we have recovered from "Ivan" and I am learning to walk again, so we will be back out there.
If any of you "Tinnie" folks out there ever come to Pensacola, we wil always make room at our dock for your boat and you have our small guest house, like Cousin Lester and Wayne and Dee do on their annual pilgramage to Bayou Chico.
BTW, my name "OldFlatHead" is from the antique Graymarine and Universal boat engines that are "L" heads or Flat Heads, that I rebuild and sell.

Y'all come see us.

Tom and Bobbie Vandiver, Bayou Chico, FL
Cal Cruising 46' motor sailer
Cal 25, racing sailboat
Correct Craft Ski boat 20' (for the Grandkids)
25' pontoon boat w/50HP Johnrude,(the "Chico Limo")
20' work boat w/A frame
12' aluminum Jon boat
12' Tinnie

http://www.youtube.com/user/BLM26CC · #2

any fellow floridians with or without a aluminum boat are okay in my book!

WELCOME

-You'll come around and want bigger than 12' after cruising around here!
I know I do, and I have one already and now want a whole stable.

Daddy'O · #3

Welcome aboard Tom!

Good to hear from you. Me, Dee, & the boyz hope to make it to Pensacola in mid July. Plan on watching the Blue Angel's performance this year. I will update you on our final plans later. I sure hope we can come vistit. The boyz want to see their Uncle "Pirate" Tom. :)

Again, Welcome to the site!

Wayne

#4

Welcome...nice fleet!

#5

Hey cuz , nice to see'ya here , jump on in .

Ya missed the , Whitehull in your list of boats .

Guys and gals all I can tell ya is that going to Tom and Bobbies house is a major Boat fix if your a Boat junkie.

I'll see ya soon Tom , the Bill Hargraves Tourny this year should be a blast .

Are we up to 4 boats and Captians now , I hope more Volenteer to take the kids and disabled out.

farmerjane · #6

Hey thar, Cuzzin' Tom ~!!!! Great to see a familiar face around here.

MAN ~ I hope we get to come down your way again this summer! I LOVE Pensacola in the summertime ~ 8) :D

Hope you're a feelin' better everyday!!

Take care ~!
Dee

#7

A warm AABers welcome to you Oldflathead. I am glad that you are on the mend. Cool thing taking kids and the disabled out to fish. We all must follow your lead.

I agree thats quite a fleet you have going.

bluffman2 · #8

Lester if i can make it you can count on my boat being number 5 for taking some kids or disables out!!

#9

Just talked to CGRAND and he gave me a maybe , He will know more later as his work load has gone thru the roof.

He runs a Pacific 19 with a suk 175

Daddy'O · #10

welder wrote:Just talked to CGRAND and he gave me a maybe , He will know more later as his work load has gone thru the roof.

He runs a Pacific 19 with a suk 175

I guess that explains why we've not seen more of him on here.

Wayne

oldflathead · #11

It looks like five boats have signed up and it's almost 4 months away. It is worth sharing the reason one Skipper wanted to be included with his 32' sport fisher. He told me that he was a problemchild/deliquent growing up and the "Sea had saved him". He is a diver on the oil rigs offshore and is successful and a good citizen. He WANTS to take four juvenile deliquents and an adult supervisor on the tournament and pick all the expenses.

We have a local kids rehab group, Escambia Bay Maritime Institute, that I am contacting.

We have two sets of parents who want to take their kids, so we have two boats left to fill up. I am particularly looking for disabled veterans of the Iraqi Freedom War. We can figure how to get them and/or their kids on board someones boat. Who deserves it more?

I guess either only good folks become anglers or is it anglers/boaters are just all good folks?

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Tom Vandiver, Bayou Chico Bubba