Hiya folks,

I want to talk today about carrying spares.

We’d never jump in the truck or our tow vehicle, pull the boat, and do that without knowing we’ve got a spare tire. Well, don’t jump in your boat without a bunch of spare items as well.

It’s sunny here today. I’ve got my sunglasses. But had I left those in the truck and then got down to the lake and discovered I’d left them behind, I’ve got three more pairs of spare sunglasses in the boat here with me.

Another thing: I’m on Lake of the Woods. There are 14,000 Islands and 65,000 miles of shoreline. I’ve
got three GPS units on the boat, yet I still carry spare maps. If the power goes out on the boat and I’ve got to come home on the kicker, I’m going to get my way home because I know I’ve got a spare map.

The other thing I always make sure I’ve got is a spare boat key. I keep it on my truck key set, that way if I jump in the boat after I’ve driven three, four, maybe five hours to get to the destination and I realize, Jeez, I left the keys at home, it doesn’t matter—I’ve got a spare!

So be like a Boy Scout: Be prepared, carry spares.

Happy Fish’n,Gord “The Doc” Pyzer