My 'to-do' list

The last small patches of snow have finally melted in my yard. Winter is over and spring has really begun. We’ve had temperatures in the 50’s on sunny days and occasional light snow overnight. Luckily, if there was a dusting of snow overnight, it melted off by noon the next day. I can live with that!

Since my shoulder surgery has been delayed, I need to start getting stuff ready for use later this summer (hopefully) when I can do things again. One quick and easy (famous last words!) project involves getting my custom-made surf rod holders mounted on my custom rod holder designed to fit on the back of my six-wheeler. I need to dip the rod holder ends in a liquid rubber compound and then let them dry. The rubber coating will protect the rods and reels from abrasion in the aluminum holders.

My next project is to get a small aluminum trailer hauled over to Greatland Welding to get broken welds repaired and lights mounted. I bought the trailer from a neighbor late last fall with the idea of setting it up to haul my inflatable raft for fishing on our local lakes. I’ve gone the assembly-disassembly route with the raft before and if I can just drive the inflated, assembled raft up to the water line to launch, I can spend more time fishing and less time messing with the raft. The trailer will also work hauling my four-wheeler if that’s what I need for a trip.

I need to call Cache Camper to find out when they can get my small motor home in and replace the broken awning over the house door. They did major repairs to it over the 1923-1924 winter, and I got it back last spring. I used it sparingly last summer and when the RV season was over, I discovered that one of the awning mounting brackets was broken. Of course, they don’t make that bracket anymore, so I had to order a new awning and mounting system.

There was a chance the replacement awning system would arrive last fall before the winter set in. My luck didn’t hold, however, so the project was put off until this spring. Now I need to get the work scheduled while I can still drive the unit back and forth for the repairs.

My next task is to take my six-wheeler up to Hatcher Pass Polaris in Willow and get the annual service work performed. I haven’t used it a lot since the last service, but I want to make sure everything is running properly when I finally get a chance to go surf fishing along the west side of the Kenai Peninsula. My plans involve driving down with the motor home while towing the six-wheeler on a flatbed trailer. I would stay in the motor home and use the six-wheeler to access the water. No way will the RV or my pickup truck be on the beaches there. The six-wheeler was made for soft ground and tough conditions.

One thing I plan to talk with the Polaris folks about is whether a digital compass can be mounted in the cab of the six-wheeler. I tried mounting a “regular” boat/car compass in the cab, but the steel cabin messes up the compass’ magnetic bearing because it won’t work properly.

I also need to sell my riverboat and a Dodge pickup truck too. I hate to admit it, but the riverboat is just “too much” for me to handle anymore. I’d like to sell it to somebody who would appreciate a Thunderjet inboard boat for running on our rivers. It would also help if they had the money or ability to finance buying the boat. Thunderjets are not cheap!

The truck is extra to our needs now that we’ve gotten the SUV running properly and my big truck is working fine as well. If you’re interested in either the boat or the truck, send me an email at: HYPERLINK "mailto:hodelo@mtaonline.net"hodelo@mtaonline.net. I don’t mind talking about the specifics of either vehicle, but I’ll only answer serious inquiries. I need to get with Gary Feaster at Greatland Welding for possible help in selling the boat. Gary has done all the work, including a cabin customization, over the life of the boat for me.

Meanwhile, I keep seeing different doctors to get everything in shape for the left shoulder replacement surgery. I thought things would go like when the first shoulder was replaced. Times have sure changed!