question for huk.....

[aleshanee]

we talked about the jeep in your previous avatar... .. but i;m curous... is that your boat in the avatar you have now?...... ... i worked on a 53 foot sportfisher several years ago... it looked a lttle like that one only longer..... ... . i was the combination cook... drink server... cigar lighter... sunburn and seasickness medic.... it was a fun job but i didn;t make much more than what the tips paid.... got to spend a few days in the engine compartment though as a tool grabber - gofer fetchit... when the stuffing boxes had to be repaired and they did an engine overhaul at the same time..... . i got picked for that above the other members of the crew because i as small enough to fit in the engine room and not get in the mechanics way......... .

 

[Dr. Huk-N-Duck]

we talked about the jeep in your previous avatar... .. but i;m curous... is that your boat in the avatar you have now?...... ... i worked on a 53 foot sportfisher several years ago... it looked a lttle like that one only longer..... ... . i was the combination cook... drink server... cigar lighter... sunburn and seasickness medic.... it was a fun job but i didn;t make much more than what the tips paid.... got to spend a few days in the engine compartment though as a tool grabber - gofer fetchit... when the stuffing boxes had to be repaired and they did an engine overhaul at the same time..... . i got picked for that above the other members of the crew because i as small enough to fit in the engine room and not get in the mechanics way......... .

No, I can afford a Jeep, but not that boat. I took that picture on vacation in the Florida Keys when the sun was coming up and just liked it.

 

[aleshanee]

No, I can afford a Jeep, but not that boat. I took that picture on vacation in the Florida Keys when the sun was coming up and just liked it.

have you ever been out fishing on one?..... the guys that own the boat i worked on ended up not being able to afford it either.... . it was really old .... wood hulled.... and continued mainetnence problems made it too expensive to run for charters.... so they pulled the fighting chair and went back to commercial fishing for tuna for a while.... but since then they have salvaged the engines and other useful parts and broke the rest of the boat up for scrap...

but while it was running the customers that booked charters on it loved it... we always went after the big 4 when further out.. .(marlin -tuna - ono and mahimahi).... .. but on the way back hand fished the weather bouys for shibi... (juvenile tuna)..... and that;s where i did most of the cooking.... searing the ahi we caught and serving it with wasabi... ...i kinda miss that job sometimes....

 

[Dr. Huk-N-Duck]

No, I’ve always done inshore salt fishing and bass fishing on lakes. I’ve only been deep sea fishing a couple times in my life. I have a small boat, but nothing to really brag about. It’s fun for inshore fishing and tubing, but not designed for the big waters without risking life and limb. It sounds like you had a fun job, too bad it didn’t pay more. If I didn’t have bills to pay, I’d probably love to learn the ropes on a charter boat.
Was the boat you were on considered a “party boat” or was it strictly fishing? I ask because I’ve never heard of cigars and suck being passed out on any I’ve been on. Do you recall how much it cost per person?

 

[aleshanee]

No, I’ve always done inshore salt fishing and bass fishing on lakes. I’ve only been deep sea fishing a couple times in my life. I have a small boat, but nothing to really brag about. It’s fun for inshore fishing and tubing, but not designed for the big waters without risking life and limb. It sounds like you had a fun job, too bad it didn’t pay more. If I didn’t have bills to pay, I’d probably love to learn the ropes on a charter boat.
Was the boat you were on considered a “party boat” or was it strictly fishing? I ask because I’ve never heard of cigars and suck being passed out on any I’ve been on. Do you recall how much it cost per person?

it was not a party boat... .strictly fishing... and old school as fishing charters go..... it was serious excursions for people who wanted to go for the biggest fish... .they would book a maximum of 6 people if they were all in one group.... but most often it was a group of 4 or less... . it was rare to have people on board that didn;t already know each other... but they would do that for fishermen that were not with anyone else.... they would book them with another solitary fisherman or 2..... . .the price was variable depending on the trip planned... but generally very expensive... .. i don;t know where the prices started but i know some customers paid well over a thousand dollars for it.. ... some even more.... ... the trips all left the harbor at 5am... and return time depended on how successul the trip was.... we didn;t get back until just before sunset a few times.... .... ....

small meals and snacks kinda depended on how long the trip ended up being and were complimentary.... i always prepared something small on the way out..... . drinks and cigars were extra and also reserved for late in the day.... when the boat was on the way back to port and the outriggers stowed.... we didn;t always fish the bouys on the way back in... that kinda depended on what the customers wanted to do.... but if they did want to fish them we had several 10 to 12 foot rods and reels they could cast out and fish with at the transom just before we finished the trip back into port... (those were stored in a rod and reel rack in the ceiling of the salon)... .. not everybody liked seared ahi with wasabi... and some wanted it cooked through more than seared... .only a few tried eating it raw cut from the shibi while it was still kicking... . but that is the best way to eat fresh shibi.... with or without wasabi....

the boat had a fairly large and comfortable salon complete with comfortable chairs and table... and a sofa on each side... . the galley just forward and starboard of that was my domain and was very well equipped and well stocked.... but only one state room was still intact just forward and to port... which was next to the only bathroom... .... the other staterooms had all been gutted and converted into cold storage so they could pack them full of ice for times they went commercial fishing.... i never went on those trips.... they would be out for days at a time and going only for yellowfin tuna.... they even pulled the fighting chair off the boat for those trips and ran it like a sampan.... hooking up from the outriggers but bringing the fish in quickly from rod and reel mounted on the rails....

it was a fun job.... even in spite of low pay.... the regular crew got paid more but then they knew what they were doing with regards to the fishing and boat operations.. ..still i don;t think any of them were getting rich.... the overhead expenses on a boat like are astromical.... and that was back when fuel prices were a lot lower... . .. i left the job when a new captain was hired that wanted to run the boat differently... and wanted to micromange my job as well.... he told me from the start he didn;t see a need for someone being on the boat to do only what i was doing... even if wasn;t being paid much..... but as it turned out the boat made even less money after he took over than it had before... so the owner took it over again as captain and they started commercial fishing full time... ....

 

[Dr. Huk-N-Duck]

Very cool. I’m used to East Coast prices. I thought recreation in the Florida Keys was expensive, I’m sure Hawaii is probably double or triple the cost. It’s on my bucket list, but so is Alaska. I think I’m leaning toward an Alaska trip first and reserving Hawaii for a little later in life. However…my dream trip is a fishing cruise down the Amazon River in Brazil.

 

[aleshanee]

Very cool. I’m used to East Coast prices. I thought recreation in the Florida Keys was expensive, I’m sure Hawaii is probably double or triple the cost. It’s on my bucket list, but so is Alaska. I think I’m leaning toward an Alaska trip first and reserving Hawaii for a little later in life. However…my dream trip is a fishing cruise down the Amazon River in Brazil.

.
i rmember the crew and captain talking about alaska fishing.... it was usually during times the swells were big and water conditions rough... ... (which ironically also makes for the best fishing).... but when a customer would complain about the tossing of waves they would say something like... "oh this is nothing... you should see what it;s like fishing in alaska..".... .. . there were a few trips where i passed out more dramamine than snacks or drinks....

i meant to mention before that i only got offered that job because the owner and my dad were really close friends... . we all went out on a fishing trip on that boat once with other friends and coworkers of both of them... and the owner/captain said i seemed able to handle myself well even in rough water... never appeared seasick or off balance.... but then offered me the chance to work on board after my sister and i took over the galley and prepared the shibi we had caught just moments after they reeled them in.... ... he said he wouldn;t mind having one of us do that for customers on every trip.... .... ..but i had no experience or training on fishing boats or any other kind of boat out at sea before that... had no idea how to do what the crew members were doing... and still don;t for the most part.... .. ... i did have experience working at starbucks as a barista though... .....