I’m pretty sure of it, actually.  He really is trying to kill me.

A few years ago, while on one of our bow fishing excursions, his boat actually sank.  Luckily for us though, we managed to make it to a canal that was only a few feet deep; the boat was actually sitting on the bottom………..until the bilge pump finally caught up and managed to drain the boat enough to allow us to head to shore.

That little mishap, at first, I blamed on operator error.  It was a new boat, and trying to drive one at 1am is an experience in itself.  I moved on from that little encounter, and thanked my lucky stars that I didn’t have to tread water in the dark.

Fast forward to last Sunday.

Jeff, Tyler D. (Jeff’s son), and I are heading out on a Sunday morning fishing trip.  The sun was just coming up, and it was absolutely beautiful.  We had just reached our first spot, and I had managed to take about three casts, when Jeff asked Tyler and I what we had spilled in the boat, because water was all along the carpet in front of the seats.

Has anyone seen a life jacket around here?

I told Jeff we hadn’t spilled anything, and promptly asked where the life jackets where.  With those distributed, I headed to the front of the boat and pulled up the trolling motor; we were headed for the dock, and we’re hopeful we didn’t have to use the life jackets before we got there.

After safely and quickly arriving at the dock – which happened very quickly, because we were well trained from the time before – we started to assess the situation.  I had witnessed Jeff put the plug in the boat, but a thousand other thoughts went through my head.  What could have possibly caused this?

We removed and replaced the plug, but it still leaked?  We bought a new plug – it still leaked.  And then, in true brotherly fashion, I jumped ship to my cousin’s boat, so that I could at least get some fishing in, and let Jeff head home to further evaluate the issue.

It didn’t take long before he texted me and let me know the culprit – there was a hole in the hull of the boat.

Yeah!  A hole! in the boat.

He really is trying to make me tread water.

Unfortunately, the boat he just purchased has a crack in the hull that will need to be replaced.  Apparently, he knew the boat had been patched at some point, and, unfortunately, one of those patches only held during our first few fishing trips.

After this, I may never get in a boat with him again.  But I do have to wonder – is it him, or is it me?

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