should be good to go.”
“Steve, you have been too good to me, and I appreciate what Chubby has done as well, at least let me pay you for the propeller and the gas.”
Shrugging him off, Steve joked that he could not afford the labor rate they charged their customers to replace broken propellers. As they continued to talk, Chubby took the keys to Paul’s truck and backed it up so he could hitch the trailer to the truck. After doing so, Chubby secured the trailer’s safety chains to the truck’s hitch and then plugged in the lights so the trailer’s brake lights could be tested before Paul left. They worked fine. Then Chubby went and fetched the new cooler he had picked up at Costco.
As they talked some more in the parking lot, Steve recommended to Paul that he should consider buying a marine radio and a compass; both of which he suggested could easily be mounted on the boat’s dashboard. “Storms sometimes come up quick out on the river. Not knowing the river too well, you will be glad you have them if you get in a jam. With all of the bends and turns in the river it is easy to get lost, especially when the weather is lousy.” Steve’s recommendations were well taken and Paul thanked him for his good ideas. “We also called the Department of Natural Resources about the sale of the boat and gave them all of your information. They will mail you your new registration when they send you your two tax bills, one each for the boat and for the motor. You should have them in the next couple of weeks.
Wrapping up the sale of the boat, Paul and Steve agreed to meet the following Friday night with Donna at The Grumpy Sailor for dinner. Waving a quick goodbye to Chubby, Paul shook hands with Steve and then drove out of the marina with his pontoon boat safely secured to the rear of his pick-up truck. He was in his glory. As he turned onto the local section of Highway 17 in Murrells Inlet, Paul started thinking perhaps he should play it safe and buy the lottery tickets he had joked about. He stopped at the first Kangaroo Express gas station he came to and purchased four South Carolina Education lottery tickets. He felt foolish doing so, but deciding he should not close the door on Lady Luck, he purchased the tickets, along with a Coke, just in case his good fortune continued.
After leaving the Kangaroo Express, Paul’s next stop was at The King’s Highway Car Wash, in Murrells Inlet. Almost fanatical about his cars always being kept clean and running well; his pontoon boat would be no different. He spent the better part of the next hour feeding quarters into the meter at the self-service car wash so he could use the high pressure water hose to wash off the combination of salt, algae, and mud stains which had accumulated primarily on the boat’s transoms. He also took the time to do the same across the entire boat, even taking the time to unfold the boat’s canopy to get rid of some mold which was starting to grow on the canvass top. Between the high pressure hose, some soap and bleach, and some elbow grease which he applied with a steel brush and with a large sponge, the boat soon looked far better than it had two hours ago.
Not planning on mooring the boat immediately at any of the nearby marinas along the Waccamaw River, Paul wanted to first explore the numerous inlets and rivers around Georgetown and Horry counties before he gave any thought of keeping it at one location. With the driveway of his house already crowded with their two cars, and with his recent addition of a pickup truck, he rented space for the boat at a nearby storage facility. The storage facility sat between Highway 17 and McDowell Shortcut Road in the Inlet. Shapiro’s Indoor and Outdoor Storage had space available for the boat and trailer underneath their covered canopy. The large open air storage space, which had a heavy duty corrugated metal canopy, had been built for people who wanted their boats and recreational vehicles stored there. The
“Steve, you have been too good to me, and I appreciate what Chubby has done as well, at least let me pay you for the propeller and the gas.”
Shrugging him off, Steve joked that he could not afford the labor rate they charged their customers to replace broken propellers. As they continued to talk, Chubby took the keys to Paul’s truck and backed it up so he could hitch the trailer to the truck. After doing so, Chubby secured the trailer’s safety chains to the truck’s hitch and then plugged in the lights so the trailer’s brake lights could be tested before Paul left. They worked fine. Then Chubby went and fetched the new cooler he had picked up at Costco.
As they talked some more in the parking lot, Steve recommended to Paul that he should consider buying a marine radio and a compass; both of which he suggested could easily be mounted on the boat’s dashboard. “Storms sometimes come up quick out on the river. Not knowing the river too well, you will be glad you have them if you get in a jam. With all of the bends and turns in the river it is easy to get lost, especially when the weather is lousy.” Steve’s recommendations were well taken and Paul thanked him for his good ideas. “We also called the Department of Natural Resources about the sale of the boat and gave them all of your information. They will mail you your new registration when they send you your two tax bills, one each for the boat and for the motor. You should have them in the next couple of weeks.
Wrapping up the sale of the boat, Paul and Steve agreed to meet the following Friday night with Donna at The Grumpy Sailor for dinner. Waving a quick goodbye to Chubby, Paul shook hands with Steve and then drove out of the marina with his pontoon boat safely secured to the rear of his pick-up truck. He was in his glory. As he turned onto the local section of Highway 17 in Murrells Inlet, Paul started thinking perhaps he should play it safe and buy the lottery tickets he had joked about. He stopped at the first Kangaroo Express gas station he came to and purchased four South Carolina Education lottery tickets. He felt foolish doing so, but deciding he should not close the door on Lady Luck, he purchased the tickets, along with a Coke, just in case his good fortune continued.
After leaving the Kangaroo Express, Paul’s next stop was at The King’s Highway Car Wash, in Murrells Inlet. Almost fanatical about his cars always being kept clean and running well; his pontoon boat would be no different. He spent the better part of the next hour feeding quarters into the meter at the self-service car wash so he could use the high pressure water hose to wash off the combination of salt, algae, and mud stains which had accumulated primarily on the boat’s transoms. He also took the time to do the same across the entire boat, even taking the time to unfold the boat’s canopy to get rid of some mold which was starting to grow on the canvass top. Between the high pressure hose, some soap and bleach, and some elbow grease which he applied with a steel brush and with a large sponge, the boat soon looked far better than it had two hours ago.
Not planning on mooring the boat immediately at any of the nearby marinas along the Waccamaw River, Paul wanted to first explore the numerous inlets and rivers around Georgetown and Horry counties before he gave any thought of keeping it at one location. With the driveway of his house already crowded with their two cars, and with his recent addition of a pickup truck, he rented space for the boat at a nearby storage facility. The storage facility sat between Highway 17 and McDowell Shortcut Road in the Inlet. Shapiro’s Indoor and Outdoor Storage had space available for the boat and trailer underneath their covered canopy. The large open air storage space, which had a heavy duty corrugated metal canopy, had been built for people who wanted their boats and recreational vehicles stored there. The
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