This blog entry will have everything, fall color, pontoon humor, power tools, Craig stealing things, 3 guys laying on the ground together…. and did I mention fall color…

Ya know there is a reason this boat is named Titanic..  It has been running lower in the water all summer.  The boat has been in dock all summer, ya think  it will make it over to Hilltop….  Bring a paddle

Enjoying the color while the guys talk about the boat and put life preservers on board.. did I mention the boat is named Titanic

Well if it quits you have a cell phone you can call me before it sinks.   Want to drag a lifeboat along?

I asked Troy when the motor started right up, if he would go down the shore line for a few pics.  The boat seemed to be running well…

Putter… putter…..

Motor coughs and gasps….. restarts….. coughs and gasps…. time for a lot of fall pictures while floating in the lake.  Craig is shouting advice from shore and Troy is saying a few choice words to the motor…. cough gasp…. snap more pictures

At this point we are enjoying out slow cruise with the motor not running more than a minute on slow idle before gasping out…  Troy grabs the paddle to get us moving a little faster and I sit down in the captains chair give it one more crank.. and vrooooommmmm the motor kicks in and Troy is in shock… what did you do…. I would love to say I did something but for some reason the god of motors showed pity on us puttering in the shoreline and off we went.  Troy put the paddle down and neither of us was going to slow the boat down til we made it to Hilltop

As the motor putters out just short of Hilltop, we put 2 plus 2 together and come up with the fact that the boat has not been out much all summer due to leaky pontoons and we probably have water in the gas tank

Craig once again struggling to get the trailer in straight

Fishermen from Hilltop trying their luck in the bay.  The scenery couldn’t be beat.  The loon was also not far away.

What do you do with a pontoon boat not working well and you think it is a bad tank of gas and do not want to take it down to get it fixed……  Where could be find a good tank of gas without running back to the resort

Craig caught red handed “borrowing” Tom’s gas tank off one of his boats…  BUSTED!

With out confiscated tank of gas we headed back out on the lake to run the motor to make sure that is the problem so we would not have to take the boat into the shop.  Of course Craig stayed on shore, to distract Tom if he came down to take a ride in his boat with minus a tank of gas

Motor running well… boat running lower than usual in the water… time to get it out of the lake and see what is wrong

While the guys loaded the boat up and puttered with the motor and returning Tom’s gas tank, I took a walk down to the Hilltop Creek.  I have never seen the river this low.  THere were pools of water but nothing moving

I headed a little farther down to the fill across the river and there is no water going through the pipes

At this point I ran into a place that had no water at all you could walk right across what is usually a creek.  Any folks that read this from Hilltop will recognize the fish house on the hill as to where I am standing

Pontoon out and in one piece..   Hey is that a swishing sound Troy is hearing when the pontoon goes up the hill…. water in the pontoons?

Back at the ranch the heads are in consulation and the power tools are coming out.  How to get the water out in pontoons that do not have plugs

3 guys on the ground looking for leaks

Loving having a reason to pull out this tool from the shed

Water being seen coming out

You think they will remember to put a plug in, in the spring?