Don White wrote:

If I'm paying someone to re-pack my bearings, I want a licensed, experienced
mechanic.
If it's amateur hour...I can fill the bill myself.



That's almost word-for-word what you wife said in her last email.

Amazing!

Rob

"Gene" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:47:44 -0800 (PST), Frogwatch
wrote:

Here is a thought experiment. Start a business on less than $5000.
It has been said that to enjoy your work and be successful, you should
go into a business you enjoy. Well, we are all boaters here,
so............
How often do you go to boat ramps and see 50 boat trailers sitting
empty the whole day while the boats are on the water? How many of
those trailers need to have their hubs re-packed? How many have
malfunctioning lights?
Get an old truck (already have one) and tools and grease and such and
go to the ramp at first light. As people get in line to launch offer
to repack their hubs while the trailer sits there. Offer to repair
trailer lights while it sits there. You would have to do this by
credit card cuz most people will not have $50 on them but that is ok.
You might be able to fix trailer brakes while you are there.

I know where there was a large panel van set up to do just this. Owner
couldn't make it and the unit was put up for sale. That was in
Wilmington, NC.... it might make some beer money, but don't quit your
day job....

If it were to be done RIGHT, one would have to comply with so many laws that
it would be cost prohibitive. You would need to carry several million in
liability alone. And then, either Fish and Game or Coast Guard would come
into the picture. It is a microcosm of what's wrong with this country.
There's a need. There's a guy that wants to work. But there's all these
agencies and laws in the middle. It's so discouraging. So, what does a guy
do? He goes black market, working from a van, and doing things for cash.
Then the unthinkable happens, and someone gets hurt or worse. Well, the guy
probably doesn't have much to sue for, but even a poor schmuck can be raked
over the coals by a bottomfeeding lawyer.

Steve

On Nov 20, 8:57*pm, Rob wrote:
Don White wrote:
If I'm paying someone to re-pack my bearings, I want a licensed, experienced
mechanic.
If it's amateur hour...I can fill the bill myself.

That's almost word-for-word what you wife said in her last email.

Amazing!

Rob

Well, we like it "rustic" here. Believe it or not, I am unable to get
my sailboat bottom painted for lack a any facilities to haul her. Am
going to sail to St Petersburg (about 200 miles) to get it done.
However, I know that there are a few public landings where it is very
crowded on nice days and I figured that more civilized areas would
have even more. All those trailers in one spot sure seems like some
kinda opportunity. I hear about long lines to launch and that sounds
like a great place to approach those waiting. Repacking bearings is
not hard and does not require anything but grease and maybe some
cotter pins.
Around here, I know you'd get away with it but you'd run out of
trailers quickly.

"John H" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:06:44 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:58:16 -0700, "SteveB"
wrote:


"Gene" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:47:44 -0800 (PST), Frogwatch
wrote:

Here is a thought experiment. Start a business on less than $5000.
It has been said that to enjoy your work and be successful, you should
go into a business you enjoy. Well, we are all boaters here,
so............
How often do you go to boat ramps and see 50 boat trailers sitting
empty the whole day while the boats are on the water? How many of
those trailers need to have their hubs re-packed? How many have
malfunctioning lights?
Get an old truck (already have one) and tools and grease and such and
go to the ramp at first light. As people get in line to launch offer
to repack their hubs while the trailer sits there. Offer to repair
trailer lights while it sits there. You would have to do this by
credit card cuz most people will not have $50 on them but that is ok.
You might be able to fix trailer brakes while you are there.

I know where there was a large panel van set up to do just this. Owner
couldn't make it and the unit was put up for sale. That was in
Wilmington, NC.... it might make some beer money, but don't quit your
day job....

If it were to be done RIGHT, one would have to comply with so many laws
that
it would be cost prohibitive. You would need to carry several million in
liability alone. And then, either Fish and Game or Coast Guard would
come
into the picture. It is a microcosm of what's wrong with this country.
There's a need. There's a guy that wants to work. But there's all these
agencies and laws in the middle. It's so discouraging. So, what does a
guy
do? He goes black market, working from a van, and doing things for cash.
Then the unthinkable happens, and someone gets hurt or worse. Well, the
guy
probably doesn't have much to sue for, but even a poor schmuck can be
raked
over the coals by a bottomfeeding lawyer.

Steve


Actually, you are headed in the wrong direction.... most people won't
fix a trailer until it breaks. In fact I've seen one actually break in
the middle and dump the boat on the ground between the two halves.

There actually would be more work to do if the laws were strictly
enforced.... but then the laws are kinda stupid to begin with.

It ain't that simple...

Virginia mandates an annual trailer inspection and display of a
sticker indicating such. The only things inspected on mine are the
tires and the lights. Still costs $12 for three minutes work.
--

John H


Oh MY GOD!! It's a gov't take-over and it's OBAMA'S fault! Shocking!

--
Nom=de=Plume

wrote in message
...
On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:01:15 -0800, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

This isn't some 3rd World
country.

Have you ever been to the big bend of Florida ;-)

Just kidding Ohara, but it may be a little "rustic" for a California
girl.


Never, but I'm pretty used to rednecks if that's what's around.

--
Nom=de=Plume

"SteveB" wrote in message
...

"Gene" wrote

I know where there was a large panel van set up to do just this. Owner
couldn't make it and the unit was put up for sale. That was in
Wilmington, NC.... it might make some beer money, but don't quit your
day job....

A sign of the times. A need. A worker. Red tape.

Steve



A need. A worker. Some rules. Fear of a gov't take-over.

--
Nom=de=Plume

"Gene" wrote

I know where there was a large panel van set up to do just this. Owner
couldn't make it and the unit was put up for sale. That was in
Wilmington, NC.... it might make some beer money, but don't quit your
day job....

A sign of the times. A need. A worker. Red tape.

Steve

On Nov 20, 10:19*pm, wrote:
On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:12:43 -0800, "nom=de=plume"



wrote:
wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:01:15 -0800, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

This isn't some 3rd World
country.

Have you ever been to the big bend of Florida *;-)

Just kidding Ohara, but it may be a little "rustic" for a California
girl.

Never, but I'm pretty used to rednecks if that's what's around.

The South is a bit different than the west. There is a subtle
difference in the type of innovation, lifestyle and a whole lot of "we
don't care what you think". I am very much at home here but it drives
a lot of people from the rest of the country crazy.

The metaphor would be the difference between tangling with a grizzly
bear and wrasslin an alligator.
In both cases you are talking about an apex predator but the bear is a
sentient mammal you might be able to reason with, the gator is 400
pounds of *prehistoric muscle and teeth that just wants to eat you.
Toss in the biggest snakes, bugs and lizards in the country and you
get a tough bunch of people who choose to live here. Don't confuse
this with the east coast that Harry likes or Orlando. That is just
where the transplanted New Yorkers go.
Much like the Seminoles 100 years ago, the real Floridians have been
pushed back into the swamps by northerners but their time is running
out.

Dang, thats quite a compliment to us crackers.
Nom, yeah, it is SORTA rednecky here. Disrespectin the Stars 'n
Bars'll gitcha in a heapa trouble. In spite of running out of places
to grow oysters, the oyster shuckers never run out of oysters cuz the
oysters is smarter than they are.
As far as spilling a bit of grease goes, the last place that hauled my
boat did it with a travel liftthat used a beer keg as a reservoir for
hydraulic fluid and an old garbage can to catch what was dripping offa
it. They built berms of sand on the ground to catch what spilled
over.
The shrimp boat across the river has a 4' X 8' piece of plywood nailed
across a huge hole and it has been going to sea like that since
Katrina. It has old truck axles welded to make an anchor.
Dog Island is an anarchist paradise where it is considered bad manners
to pay attention to what goes on at the grass airstrip. The only dump
truck on the island has an old evinrude motor gas tank with a squeeze
bulb instead of a fuel pump. Very few vehicles can be identified as
to their original make. When rust overcomes one, they just allow the
vines to grow over em and the drifting sand does the rest.
You Yankees think you got us on the run but we have a plan. I have
invented the ultimate weapon of mass destruction against Yankees, a
bug that eats freon in air conditioners.

"H the K" wrote in message
...
On 11/20/09 5:06 PM, Gene wrote:
On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:58:16 -0700, "SteveB"
wrote:


wrote in message
...
On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:47:44 -0800 (PST), Frogwatch
wrote:

Here is a thought experiment. Start a business on less than $5000.
It has been said that to enjoy your work and be successful, you should
go into a business you enjoy. Well, we are all boaters here,
so............
How often do you go to boat ramps and see 50 boat trailers sitting
empty the whole day while the boats are on the water? How many of
those trailers need to have their hubs re-packed? How many have
malfunctioning lights?
Get an old truck (already have one) and tools and grease and such and
go to the ramp at first light. As people get in line to launch offer
to repack their hubs while the trailer sits there. Offer to repair
trailer lights while it sits there. You would have to do this by
credit card cuz most people will not have $50 on them but that is ok.
You might be able to fix trailer brakes while you are there.

I know where there was a large panel van set up to do just this. Owner
couldn't make it and the unit was put up for sale. That was in
Wilmington, NC.... it might make some beer money, but don't quit your
day job....

If it were to be done RIGHT, one would have to comply with so many laws
that
it would be cost prohibitive. You would need to carry several million
in
liability alone. And then, either Fish and Game or Coast Guard would
come
into the picture. It is a microcosm of what's wrong with this country.
There's a need. There's a guy that wants to work. But there's all
these
agencies and laws in the middle. It's so discouraging. So, what does a
guy
do? He goes black market, working from a van, and doing things for
cash.
Then the unthinkable happens, and someone gets hurt or worse. Well, the
guy
probably doesn't have much to sue for, but even a poor schmuck can be
raked
over the coals by a bottomfeeding lawyer.

Steve


Actually, you are headed in the wrong direction.... most people won't
fix a trailer until it breaks. In fact I've seen one actually break in
the middle and dump the boat on the ground between the two halves.

There actually would be more work to do if the laws were strictly
enforced.... but then the laws are kinda stupid to begin with.

It ain't that simple...


Just what we need at boat ramps...some redneck who thinks "pristine" is
his neighbor's do-able teen-aged daughter flushing and cleaning boat
trailer hubs, and then repacking them. And all that old grease being
dumped onto the ground and then finding its way onto the ramp and into the
water.





--
If you are flajim, herring, loogy, GC boater, johnson, topbassdog, rob,
achmed the sock puppet, or one of a half dozen others, you're wasting your
time by trying to *communicate* with me through rec.boats, because, well,
you are among the permanent members of my dumbfoch dumpster, and I don't
read the vomit you post, except by accident on occasion. As always, have a
nice, simple-minded day.



Hell, there are mobile car washes, mobile truck repair that will fix the
diesel on the side of the road, mobile detailers, mobile oil changers. Come
to your place of work and set up to change a lot of the cars oils. Probably
not that hard to get permits, and make sure the grease does not pollute.
Seeing requests on boating groups about who does trailer bearings and
brakes, there is probably a large market in an area with boaters. Maybe the
city would require a minimum liability insurance, but that is most likely
needed anyway. A lot of boaters would love to be able to get their trailer
serviced while out boating for the day. Charge $65 an hour and you will
make a decent living if not living in Seattle or San Francisco. I can hire
a bass fishing guide for $180 at Lake Fork, TX. He supplies the boat, the
rods and the lures. He is making more and enjoying life more than saying
You want fries with that. He is not making an upper middle class living,
but he is supporting himself. But there are a lot on this newsgroup, who
distain the working class. Unless they are paying union dues, etc.

On Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:58:07 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:25:27 -0500, John H
wrote:

On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:06:44 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:58:16 -0700, "SteveB"
wrote:


"Gene" wrote in message
m...
On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:47:44 -0800 (PST), Frogwatch
wrote:

Here is a thought experiment. Start a business on less than $5000.
It has been said that to enjoy your work and be successful, you should
go into a business you enjoy. Well, we are all boaters here,
so............
How often do you go to boat ramps and see 50 boat trailers sitting
empty the whole day while the boats are on the water? How many of
those trailers need to have their hubs re-packed? How many have
malfunctioning lights?
Get an old truck (already have one) and tools and grease and such and
go to the ramp at first light. As people get in line to launch offer
to repack their hubs while the trailer sits there. Offer to repair
trailer lights while it sits there. You would have to do this by
credit card cuz most people will not have $50 on them but that is ok.
You might be able to fix trailer brakes while you are there.

I know where there was a large panel van set up to do just this. Owner
couldn't make it and the unit was put up for sale. That was in
Wilmington, NC.... it might make some beer money, but don't quit your
day job....

If it were to be done RIGHT, one would have to comply with so many laws that
it would be cost prohibitive. You would need to carry several million in
liability alone. And then, either Fish and Game or Coast Guard would come
into the picture. It is a microcosm of what's wrong with this country.
There's a need. There's a guy that wants to work. But there's all these
agencies and laws in the middle. It's so discouraging. So, what does a guy
do? He goes black market, working from a van, and doing things for cash.
Then the unthinkable happens, and someone gets hurt or worse. Well, the guy
probably doesn't have much to sue for, but even a poor schmuck can be raked
over the coals by a bottomfeeding lawyer.

Steve


Actually, you are headed in the wrong direction.... most people won't
fix a trailer until it breaks. In fact I've seen one actually break in
the middle and dump the boat on the ground between the two halves.

There actually would be more work to do if the laws were strictly
enforced.... but then the laws are kinda stupid to begin with.

It ain't that simple...

Virginia mandates an annual trailer inspection and display of a
sticker indicating such. The only things inspected on mine are the
tires and the lights. Still costs $12 for three minutes work.

In NC, that would be the case for a trailer rated at 4,000# or less.
Over 4,000# and they have to check the brake system. I think at
10,001# the law reverts to a required Federal DOT inspection... just
like it was an 18-wheeler trailer.

Add to this all of the ever changing requirements for reflectors and
lights. Just like your boat, it may not have come from the factory
lighted in accordance with existing or future laws.

Here this law is not enforced because they don't have a way to mandate
the existence of inspection stations. Locally, I haven't been able to
locate ANY inspection station that will inspect a trailer, regardless
of published materials to the contrary. It is difficult enough to find
somebody to do a motorcycle....

Here the brake system must be checked if the trailer is so equipped.
The same stations that inspect autos will inspect trailers, and
motorcycles. Although I was once told they couldn't inspect my
motorcycle because they didn't have any motorcycle stickers, which are
a smaller version of the auto sticker. Unless the inspector is a
motorcyclist, he usually does a ****ty job of inspection.
--

John H