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Well guys, I made it home (on a wing and a prayer I should add).

My 6 year old son and I left the New Orleans area around 10am on Monday and got to eastern Florida around 8pm that night. The guy checked out my Striper and I checked out the Montauk he had. We both agreed that we liked what we saw.

Let me say that it was a new adventure in darkness at this guy's shop. None the less, he was quite the professional and was nice to talk with. He had bought the boat from a guy in Georgia and brought it to his shop in Florida.

I commented that I was less than thrilled about the 12 inch tires on the "shady" looking trailer. He had said that it made it from Georgia and the tires were brand new with a spare. Did I mention that it was DARK? Did I mention that it was freezing cold?

Anyway, my son and I hooked up our proud Montauk and headed for Tallahasee. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive. We grabbed a bite at the Waffle House and got a hotel room.

This morning, while leaving the hotel, I noticed grease all over the driver side rim and tire. The bearing buddy was gone. I remember seeing them on the night before. We stopped at an Auto Zone and bought a pair of bearing buddies, grease gun and a 3 pack of grease. I put the new buddy on and pumped it full of grease. We were then on our way.

We stopped in Pensacola, Florida for gas. The passenger side bearing buddy was now missing. I put my other buddy on and pumped it full of grease. I'm a contractor so I had tools and such in my truck. We then continued the journey home.

When were about 30 miles from home, I heard this terrible noise coming from the trailer and was feeling a vibration that was just as terrible. I pulled over to find that the bearing buddy on the passenger side had once again taken a detour from my trailer. It all looked pretty bad and their were no auto parts stores around that area. I put the hazzards on and finished the trip at 50mph on the interstate.

The day and night before, along with this morning, my son and I talked about school, his friends, sports, Christmas and of course, the fun the Montauk is going to bring us. I had a great road trip with my son and thoroughly enjoyed his company. The great conversations we had been having, however, quickly turned to "God, please let us make it home." And of course, like any 6 year old, at that most terrible moment of the drive, he decided he had to go to the bathroom. Let me just say, he "held it" until we made it home.

The Montauk is sitting proudly in the driveway. I have already removed the teak for sanding and finishing. Immediately after Christmas, I'm going hunting for bigger rims and tires, and a spare. Maybe Santa will leave some bearing buddies in my stocking.

Merry Christmas everyone.

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That's a good account of a memorable road trip. Your son will remember it forever too! Please post some photos so we can see before and after............Merry Christmas

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Thank You for sharing of your eventful story.
I think that your trailer will be getting it's share of attention soon.
Cheers!

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It's really nice that your son was able to participate and enjoy the adventure.

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Excellent story, can't beat memories and time spent together like that! Looking forward to seeing some pic's.

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Great story! I have a 6 year old son too and reading your story makes me want to go on a road trip with him....one on one (with the Whaler of course).

You seem like a good dad.....keep up the great work with your son and also with your new Whaler. Post pictures soon......we'd love to see them.

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Absolutly nothing beats time shared with children and boats. On the water or on the road even in the yard. My son was about 5 when we finished our project 15. He is now 12 as we work on our new project. These are the things that will be with both of you forever.

Congrats on the montauk as well.

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Great story ! My kids are 5 and 8 they have more time on the water than most. The memories made are lifelong,your adventure with the Montauk has just begun! You'll soon learn the keen eye of a child spotting fish,birds and other Whalers from a distance.

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Great story, great ending. That's a great beginning to a long relationship with that whaler. (did I say great?) My sons, 36 and 31, helped me redo my whaler and they use it more than I do. My daughter, 3, loves being out in the boat and fishing. She's a wonderful companion on boating trips. I take her every chance I get, but when I want to really fish I take the boys. ENJOY!
Mike

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Thanks for all of the attention to my posting. You guys are right about the time spent with children and boats. Some of my best memories as a child, and as an adult, have been those spent with my father on the water.

He's not a whaler nut, but we'll keep him around anyway. He's got a 19ft. Triton bass boat. It comes complete with crash helmets and a putty knife to remove the bugs from your face after a terrifying 70mph run down a local river.

I'll be posting pics over the weekend (Have to get through Christmas first) of the before shots of the Montauk. I sanded all of the teak, cleaned it and oiled it. It was quite "thirsty" for the oil.

Merry Christmas everyone.

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Glad you made it. Before just swapping rims and hubs, you may want to check the axle. I did the same thing on my 18 two years ago and by the time I got to a shop the axle was bent from the heat.

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Kamie:

I hear what you are saying about the axle. I brought the boat and trailer over to a local trailer depot to get the trailer overhauled.

The axle, besides being rusted beyond recognition, was slightly bent. The owner of the shop said the trailer is a good trailer and is sized correctly for the boat. I'm having a new axle, hubs, rims and tires installed. I'm also having him reconfigure the the winch setup. The current configuration was having the cable retrieved on a diagonal, but rubbing the bow roller. I'm also having the bunks redone and adding two more for extra support.

I got sick right at Christmas and now am back up to par. I've been doing all my Whaler shopping. I have all kinds of goodies in the garage. I just need to get the boat home. I should have it back from the trailer depot on New Year's Eve. I have a pretty good idea as to what I'll be doing on New Year's day.

Happy New Year Whaler Nuts!

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If your doing a new axle, see if they will put a spindle-lube axle from Champion Trailers on the boat. Better than bearing buddies, easy to change the grease. The only issues I have had was you need one of the larger manual grease guns since the smaller ones don't build the pressure to push out the old grease. Once I figured that out, I change the grease every year in the spring, even though I only trailer about 500 miles total a year.

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We'll do. Thanks for the advice.