Miss Judy Charters
Captain Judy Helmey
"Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956!"
124 Palmetto Drive
Savannah, Georgia 31410
912 897 4921 or 912 897 3460 fax
www.missjudycharters.com
June 4, 2007
"Little Miss Judy's Believe It or Not!"
It wasn't a wardrobe malfunction!
Back in the old days things especially in the mechanics department things were quite a bit different. The first thing was you needed to know was a lot about your engine, because you just couldn't just call up a mechanic every time something went wrong. There reason being is there weren't that many in the first place. After all it was a boat not a car that you were dealing with. You couldn't just drive it up to the shop!
So therefore we devised several ways to make things work in the case of "morning failure before going fishing!" One of the most common occurrence or should I say, "engine part malfunctions" was in regards to our starters. The first thing that normally happened was the fact that the solenoid on the starter wouldn't engage. This wasn't something to be concerned about, because normally a quick blow with the old hammer would jolt it loose. If that didn't do it more hits would follow. Then the screaming as well as the others trying to tell you what to do we would then bring out the old scared up screwdriver. All boats during this era had large screwdrivers that were hardly ever used
for removing or installing any sort of screws. They were used mostly for making a good solid contact between the starter and cylindroids. This was preformed by holding the screwdriver between the two bolts sticking out the back of the starter. This normally caused the starter to engage the flywheel causing the engine to start. As soon as this happened all watchers, soon to be fishermen, and captains clapped their hands while hollowing. It truly was an accomplishment worth applauding. The reason being is that the arch of sparks that flew out of the engine compartment was quite amusing for those on the outside, but not for the one holding the screwdriver. By the way I was the one usually holding the driver. With all of this being said, "all of our large screwdriver had "a deep nick" where the current had melted the metal. Where the melting took place it made it real easy to hold the screwdriver in place.
The moral of the story is a simple one. Back in the old days, bait and tackle wasn't all you needed to get your best shot at having a successful day of fishing. You needed more than just the regular fishing tools of the trade. In my tackle box I always had the addition of a hammer and large screwdriver along with a serious strong will to go fishing. After all the way I looked at it back then was in some cases "sparks had to fly" before I got to see any sort of fish catching action! It was worth it then and still is now!
Captain Judy
"Fish Whisperer!"