Boatnerd Discussion Forum

We just met last weekend for our Toledo port tour (Compliments of Joe Cappel from the Port Authority!) Dave Edwards did not make it this year but we did get a nice Porta-Potty picture for him. Quite a busy layup year for Toledo.

The fiery redheaded Carver mechanic is doing well and anxious to climb down into the engine room of the NQFC Carver to get her ready for the 2017 Trenary Toast smuggling season.

Good thread, Bob..nice to re-visit those memories, and friendships.

We now have a CCL at the unofficial Boatnerd picnic in June..Becky W. brings 2 really good carrot cakes...

I'm glad to see you guys still get together at Toledo..Dave Edwards from Elyria would always send me the picture of MIch Bob and his pick up next to the ships porta-potty..I haven't heard from Dave in awhile..does he still make the Toledo trip?

Best wishes to you and the fiery re-headed mechanic..

Your boatnerd friend in Oshkosh

Great memories Bob, I forgot about some of those.

The "CCL" is the "Carrot Cake Lady" as previously discussed. In addition to wishing to water ski behind the Stinson, we thought she should warm up skiing behind my 32' "Not Quite Fuscia Colored" Carver (a nice way of saying faded red paint). Trenary Toast was a favorite staple of many on the old board but it was in such short supply (or lack of knowledge of preparation) that we took to smuggling it aboard any vessel we could for Boatnerd Gatherings. "Hold The Nuts" became a popular saying not only as a request for the carrot cake, but in a way of saying "no offense to others personal taste". Michigan Bob's story ranged far and wide but the highlight was laying on his back in the Soo Locks park "counting trees" after sampling many of the local bars. Every Christmas we posted poetry appropriate for the lakes and the season. And in April we count up the number of cylinders in all of the internal combustion engines in our families. If that number exceeds your age you have a solid "Cylinder Appreciation Index". If not, you needed to go out immediately and buy a Hummer. We also forgot to mention Lady Pirates penchant for getting lost... everywhere, frequently ending up in the wrong state while on her Boatnerding trips.

Ohio Bob left out the explanation for "Webster." He was-and still is--the big spider that lived on the windows of the lockmaster tower at the Locks and often appeared on the web-cams. He appears to be fierce!!

Ohio Bob wrote:The CCL made it around. Whether it was water-skiing behind the Stinson, or smuggling Trenary Toast with the aid of my NQFC Carver, she always knew where her phone book was, and to "hold the nuts" on the carrot cake. Michigan Bob was counting trees at the Soo visitors center, and Christmas poems from Lady Pirate where the norm. Every spring we paid tribute to the internal combustion engine and posted our CAI and every year we harassed Angie for only having 8. Webster remembers it all very well.

That all sounds interesting but it is hard to figure out since I'm not an insider and don't know the lingo of the lakes. Could you put it into more plain English for me? Thanks. RCRVRP

The CCL made it around. Whether it was water-skiing behind the Stinson, or smuggling Trenary Toast with the aid of my NQFC Carver, she always knew where her phone book was, and to "hold the nuts" on the carrot cake. Michigan Bob was counting trees at the Soo visitors center, and Christmas poems from Lady Pirate where the norm. Every spring we paid tribute to the internal combustion engine and posted our CAI and every year we harassed Angie for only having 8. Webster remembers it all very well.

Life is short. Yes, but that's a heck of a story in Today's Boatnerd News about the "102" year old Great Lake sailor and Ore Puncher. Sounds like hard work kept him going. What happened to Michigan Bob???

That is Hilarious Guest7,I know the Carrot cake Lady skied behind the Stinson!,but I never new that secret,It took a few years before I figured out Lady Pirate and Violet,that changed the circumstance and I started to understand a little better.(I think)
Well I was a Boatnerd baby,but I was 40!,and I checked in everyday.The old format was so much fun.
My goal is to make it to Engineer days,but it don't look good this year either.We have Our Camper stored away but My pickup has 250.000 on it and I don't trust it to go from the twin city's to the soo!,and I may potentially have to pay a tow truck for the truck and the camper.
I'll make it some year!
lot of fun! mn brett

mn brett, since you apparently were quite young when you first visited these boards, I just want to make sure that you are aware of our little Boatnerd "secret". Just in case you didn't know, the Carrot Cake Lady was never a lady at all. "She" was a man who dressed up in drag with a phone book in his knickers to keep from being kicked in a sensitive area. She strolled the docks of Montreal with fresh-baked carrot cake looking for love. She may have been gentrified into a kind grandmotherly persona over the years, but she certainly didn't start out that way.

I never met Kent Malo, who was Boatnerd's official contact with the Carrot Lady, but he told great stories on this board and had a vivid imagination. If I recall correctly he was an over the road trucker for something like 40 years, so I'm sure he met a lot of characters in his time.

When I first learned the Computer in 2003 I would respond to the Bob's,Violet and few more,You Guy;s would give Me a hard time with My spelling,You Guy;s were allot of fun,and the discussions were light, somewhere I made a list to try to identify each one of You Guy's.
I had wondered if I should post the list I made in 2003,or would that be uncooth? spelling? mn brett

Sitting in Packo's with some of my fellow Boatnerds from across Ohio and Michigan before we tour the Toledo docks.... As we talked about the old times on the Regional page and all the friends we have lost over the years, we note that this hobby unites us all, but the shortness of life brings some stories to a close before their time. To all my friends on Boatnerds, thank you for years of fun and education. Now it is time to bury some hatchets and bring Michigan Bob back to these pages!