Things I learned at AOTH IV

[Digger]

1. If you hear a whining sound coming from under your tow vehicle, stop and check it out. Immediately. The mech who fixed my rear end, after taking it apart when the truck arrived at the shop, asked me about the details of where I was and what I was towing when this happened, and he thought about it for a moment, then tilted his head to one side and asked in a classic Tennessee drawl, "do you go to church?"

2. If you spend about 48 hrs hanging around a highway rest area the people who work there will begin to look at you funny.

3. Coors Light is damn good beer.

4. New record no. 1: between the swim platform, sunpad, and cockpit, I counted 14 people in my boat. (76 Falls) :shades:

5. New record no. 2: After a pleasant Sunday afternoon at Beaver Falls (err I mean Otter Creek. or something like that) I pulled three full tall kitchen garbage bags full of emptys out of my boat :beer:

6. That Saturday chow was AWESOME. Thank you to all that put it together!!

7. I still fear the Jamestown ramp.

8. Brad Lyon is my hero for allowing me to use his truck to launch. see no. 7.

9. I really like that hotties in bikinis get a kick out of riding a boat that has a "smooth" ride. :biggrin:

10. Hearing Lenny describing finding alcohol and directions in KY was damn funny. Lenny it was great to finally meet you!

11. I still get goosebumps every time I bring my boat on plane, but even more so when surrounded by other Donzi's.

12. Running to 76 Falls is JUST LIKE the boat chase scene from Live and Let Die. without the Glastrons.

13. Seeing 3 Crits in front of the falls was very cool.

14. whether you are stone sober, slightly buzzed, or three sheets over if you muster up your best Chinese accent and yell "Foooo SHANG" at the top of your lungs it will be funny.

15. Patriotism is alive and well in this country no matter what the press spins out about world events. THANK YOU to Jim Haas and everyone else that bid on the Presidential seal coin.

16. I am in love with Ol Red's boat... beautiful!

17. The Winni Bandits were SORELY MISSED. However we talked about them alot and raised our glasses/cans/bottles. I think we got a few good pics with some Donzi girls and winni bandits baseball shirts.

18. Scott Boldts deserves our thanks and gratitude for yet again another fantastic event. thx Scott!!

[CFD5]

It was great meeting you Digger, and the whole Donzi crew. We had a blast! Wish we could have stayed longer. Thanks for being so nice to a non-Donzi owner, I will definately be back next year. It's very cool too see so many people really love thier boats and the history behind them. Also a big thanks to Scott Boldts, Great Job!! Hope you enjoyed the ride back from Otter Creek.

[TuxedoPk]

It was great meeting you and a big downer when you left Jamestown and I there were no other AOTH folk around.

Great lake, nice resort, and fun place to run my Donzi but without our crowd, it just didn't feel the same on Monday.

[ToonaFish]

It's kinda frightening the things that mysteriously show up on one's camera at these events!

Bunches,

Celene "no, I'm not posting those pictures"

[boldts]

Tim,

Can't thank-you enough for the ride in your Apache. Like I said, I got to see where they are or were built along with Fort Apache a number of years ago. They were launching a brand new Apache with the full Indians head and headdress flowing down the hull side of the boat. It was a beautiful site for sure! At the time, the pink Little Ceasars Pizza Pizza offshore Apache race boat was at Fort Apache having new engines installed. One of my all time favorite offshore race boats.

I've also got a friend who used to work with me who is now a Columbus, OH fireman. You and other firemen who are often involved in saving our lives, are heros in my book. It was an honor to meet you and your wife!

[Brad Lyon]

I learned that Todd Somerville likes to play “Ring Around the Rosie” when someone is following him.

I learned that I still do not have deep enough pockets to win Diggers coin in the auction. What a look I got from Kim, as I was about to bid again!

I learned that my nine-year-old is good at tossing empty beer cans from the back of Diggers boat into the hatch of Joe’s boat.

I learned that my wife would rather ride in Digger’s boat than with me!

I learned (from my wife) that all guy’s get a grin from ear to ear when they put the hammer down on their Donzi. She caught you Digger.

I learned that Kyle loves to fly with Randy.

I learned that Randy and Jenn need to have some kids of their own, they will make great parents!

I learned that I need performance help, badly!

I learned that you should put sunscreen on your legs not just your face and arms.

I learned that the weather doesn’t matter, rain or shine AOTH is a great time with a lot of great people.

This is just a few things I learned at AOTH IV.

Brad

[Ranman]

Joe can change a flat trailer tire on the side of the highway in under 10 minutes. Under 7 with help from Sea Biscuit.

Just because the rubber looks good on the outside doesn’t mean it’s good on the inside.

We have a knack for happening to stop within walking distance of 3 tire stores.

Jamestown makes it’s yearly profit by not including floaties on their room keys.

I swear, those damn steps at Lee’s Ford get steeper every year.

That GPS thingie on my dash can actually has a use other than telling me how fast I’m really going..

It’s actually possible for an 18 Classic to burn $100 in gas at AOTH in one day. (I don’t even want to think about Digger’s bill. Probably cheaper to just stay at the rest stop).

Joe’s Crownline can hang with a pack o’ Donzi’s, no problem.

Bringing three times the beer I thought I needed was barely enough.

76 Falls never gets old.

Kyle can handle a Donzi at 70MPH like a pro. (You can drive my boat anytime) (Don’t worry Kim, I had the throttle in my hand)

Always make sure the boat is not in gear before jumping the solenoid with a screwdriver while hanging halfway in the bilge.

It IS possible to crash a boat that is already tied to the docks… twice.

Apache owners quite possibly may be goofier than Donzi owners.

I miss Stevie Marr (Waleyetwo). “Aye Diggah. This doesn’t suck as much as yestahday. I gotta go lay some pipe!”

The owner of the Foo Shaaang is famous and he doesn’t even know it.

Any chick capable of naming HERSELFToonaFish is AOK in my book, no matter what everyone says about her.

They don’t call him Madpoodle for nothing. (Where did you get that crane?).

Criterion owners aren’t as snobby as I had predicted, they’re actually just like the rest of us, except they get to give autographs. J

That friggin coin is a moneymaker!

Lenny sports good wood. (For a canuck, your pretty damn cool. I like Deneen too.)

We all know what “dehkels” are now.

Freedom II is a sweet lady who likes it rough on the sticks.

AOTH is a super event as usual. See you there next year!

[Hotspare]

Digger, Great to finally meet you, sorry to hear about the issues getting down here though ....... I have to say by the looks of things It was worth the trip ..... That 33's a chic mag .........Oh, yea .... I'd have to say that I had a better time than expected, being boatless and stuff .... Thank's to Byron Scholle & Family for allowing me to indulge In a great Family experience ...... I kinda feel like one of the kid's now :wavey: Also Jerry & Elizabeth Eisele (thank's) for that great ride up to Lee's Ford for lunch .... I know now that Elizabeth can drive the classic and dodge wood at the same time ..... (something I can't seem to do very well)..... And the trip back to Jamestown on a hair rasing BLACK HAWK ride of a lifetime, a great thanks to Bill Bateman for keeping things under control :eek: ...... And if all that wasn't enough, topping things off ,,,,,,,, a wild ride to and from 76 Falls provided by Bill & Debbie Floyd, You guy's are tooooo Cooool ....... :biggrin.: All this and lot's more made this the best AOTH ever ....... Hope everyone had a safe trip home ............... Pictures to follow ...... Till next time..... Bruce.

[slambram]

Hi everybody - this is Randy's friend Joe in the Crownline at AOTH IV. Now that we're finally caught up, Renee and I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the hospitality at AOTH IV (we're still taking about the food on Saturday!). We felt very much a part of the group even though we didn't have the main prerequisite - a Donzi. I get the feeling that even more important to this group is a love of boats, the water, the Aronow history, and most importantly the people. Thanks again for all the support on the caravan down (it was all part of the Crownline Master Plan - the non-Donzi owner shows up, costs everybody a good half hour, then ditches the caravan anyway :)) I apparently now roll with Nankang (sound suspiciously like Foo-Shang?), so won't be participating further in the Marathon vs. Carlisle debate. It was great meeting and hanging out with everybody and hopefully I'll see some of you at the MADCOW gathering on our home lake!

[boldts]

Hey Joe. Glad you had a good time! Your right, it's not just the boats, it's the owners of those boats that makes AOTH and all the other Donzi gatherings such fun.

While I have ya, have you ever been to the Crownline owners gathering? I heard that it too was held at Cumberland on occassion. Just wondering about their activity plan and how they did their gathering. I wouldn't want to be accused of copying another gathering, but if they did something that really worked for the attendees, I'd like to know what it was. Always looking to make AOTH bigger and better for everyone attending. :yes: ;)

[Bandit]

Bolts,

I was as 76 one day a couple yrs ago and a Crownline group had a houseboat tied up in there for the weekend. It was during prime partying time at the falls so lots of things going on.

They were a real nice group of people from all over. They invited my group over and bent over backwards in hospitality.

While I've got you, did you get a chance to post those pics of that Donzi I took for Ms. Murphy?

[Digger]

Bandit I would say that I was sorry not to be tied up at the state docks this year... but to be honest it probably saved my liver from becoming beyond repair!! :spit: was great to see you again anyway, your boat looked and sounded awesome... and that dash rocks! :shades:

[boldts]

David,

Thanks for the reminder. I forgot about that already. :banghead: I also second Digger's comments! You want to see a beautiful 30' Donzi Black Widow, stop by and visit David Hicks nexy time your at Lake Cumberland :yes: :D

[ToonaFish]

Did anyone get a photo of Bandit's dash? Really incredible - the detail is just lovely.

Oh yeah, and meeting he and his party party wasn't so awful either!

[slambram]

While I have ya, have you ever been to the Crownline owners gathering? I heard that it too was held at Cumberland on occassion. Just wondering about their activity plan and how they did their gathering. I wouldn't want to be accused of copying another gathering, but if they did something that really worked for the attendees, I'd like to know what it was. Always looking to make AOTH bigger and better for everyone attending. :yes: ;)
No, but I found a little bit of info on a 2002 gathering on Cumberland. Doesn't look like they're near as well organized as you guys, but i'll keep my ears open for ideas.

Later, -JZ

[Bandit]

It was good seeing you also Digger. Ahhh...little shot here and there won't hurt anybody. You did say last time that you weren't afraid of a shot of whiskey and you proved it...after how many? I hope somebody put that 130th KY Derby anniversary Early Times bottle to good use even though Smarty didn't hang.

Talking about good looking boats...your's looks great even without all those good lookin' women...of course they did help out :eek!:

Nice finally to meet you in person Toona even though it was while crawling thru the front hole of Digger's boat. Once I get the last two gauges in I'll take some final pics and post some before and afters of the dash. It came out exactly like I visioned and dressed up that old '89 Donzi.

As Boldts said, anybody hitting Cumberland stop on by and I'll supply the hospitality. I'll be hitting 76 Falls over the 4th and be staying on some houseboats just outside of Jamestown.