# Woot Woot New Boat



## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

Hey everybody, I am new to Microskiff.com but I feel like I already know everyone. I have been on and off of the website for alittle and decided its time to meet some fellow fishermen. Although I already have a thread started on a different website (Iboats) I thought it wouldn't hurt if I did a little double dipping with fishermen more closer to home. Hopefully my boat qualifies as a micro (It is under 14'). I was on the fence about purchasing it but I felt like it was an opportunity so I pulled the trigger on it. I knew it needed work and was in need of a new project so here it is: 1992 14' Ash-Craft W/ 25HP Suzuki.

(The first night after I bought it)









It was pretty dirtbag when I picked it up.











The boat runs OK but with some work it should be a cherry.
If anyone is interested in the work I have done so far I can post the link up, But anywho -- I should start updating this thread every other day with the current progress. 

Hope to hear from you guys soon enough. Thanks,


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## FSUfisher (Jul 16, 2007)

Looks good! One can definitely see a lot of potential in your little skiff. Keep up the pics and look forward to late nights in the garage. ;D


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

Haha, thanks for the words of encouragement  I will spoil the beans tomorrow and post the current pictures. I've put alot of hours into this thing and I'm hoping to turn out a real eye opener after its done. I have pretty much taken a picture of the rebuild since day one and I am not really familure with the way things are run around here with posting a killing of pictures? Does it hurt to have to many? Or does everyone just want to see before's and afters?


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

Kool, have you run it yet? How fast with the 25hp? Do you think it is enough motor? You are way ahead of me in the "Cherrying it out" dept. I would like to keep up with your progress. Steal, er, borrow any good ideas as you go. MY Osborn looks purty sad compared to yours, but at least I know what "can be". Welcome aboard. I never heard anyone complain about too many pix. Let's see 'em.


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

looks like a cool project


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

That is a good looking hull. Congrats!!!


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## skinnywater3 (Feb 8, 2009)

Please post ALL of your pictures lol ;D


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## DSampiero (Oct 18, 2009)

> - Grinders and paint make welders who aint.


 [smiley=lolwsign.gif]

Hey, neat looking skiff! But I have to say, I'm awful tired of seeing these neat(and they are) micro skiff pictures without seeing a picture of her ass...I mean stern, really now, how am I supposed to fall in love with her without knowing if she's got a flat bottom or not? ;D(obviously in this case, she's got a nice clev..uhh, entry lines, but) really I want a skiff with a perfectly flat stern, and a bit' o V-bow with minor flare, I'm still hunting for my dream boat...So in short, congratulations on the new skiff, welcome aboard www.skinnywateraddicts.com and can you please post some pics of her hindquarters?


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

Yeah it runs great once you get it started. I'd say the engine runs 25MPH-30MPH Tops. Thats my guesstamation without GPS though. No trim on the motor either. For my liking it is plenty of power. The boat is rated for a 40HP so I may upgrade later. It is a little hecktic taking turns wide open throttle (Felt like a teeter totter without a grab handle hahaha).

Haha ask and you shall receive. Alright Alright, Here goes nothing. BTW - Try not to tease me about the little amount of work or the quality of the work I have put into it so far... Gotta start somewhere.

The night I bought the boat:


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

More of the dirtbag


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

The next morning I scrubbed the paint off of this thing.




















The old trailer was way to long so I ended up caddy cornering it that night.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

I got into the swing of things quickly and installed a tank and goodies.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

After the tank I started working on little things around deck. Lots of scuffs, dings, and scratches to fill and sand. I patched 5 holes with some epoxy puddy. It worked like magic on 4 of the holes. I didn't quite mix it well enough on the 5th hole and now I have to redo it again (Lots of mold and such in the conpartments).


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

Mom totally delivered this year with her gift (She gathered a bunch of stuff from her work and made a first aid kit. I added a few things). I ended up buying the dry storage box, and deck lines. I had an old fire extinguisher laying around so I added that in as well.


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## Un-shore (Sep 27, 2007)

That is one nice little skiff, good job.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

I noticed the hole I patched in the front compartment has a pinhole leak of brown water comming out of it so I ended up putting more epoxy puddy over it to stop the leak.




























After I sealed the hole I started to polyurathane the inside.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

To my supprise I took a peek in the compartment the next day and found water again inside... I was like what the heck... Another hole magically appeared.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

I guess thats a sneak peak. I have to go to a meeting at work right now... Haha, I'm late. Anywho -- I'll post more pictures when I get home. Thanks again for the words of encouragement. I'm ready to fish already.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

Well that was an hour of worthless crap of a meeting. Back to the pictures -

I started removing items off of the boat to prep for paint and or to fix. First with the tansom to bow trolling motor mount. Then the pole holders.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

Since perfection is my middle name I home in on things that are poorly slapped together. Here is the refurbished tansom to bow trolling motor mount (New screws included). I sanded the whole thing and found out that is was infact fiberglass so I started icthing. Counter sunk the screw holes and lined everything back up straight as could be. I was happy with the end result.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

It started to get rather chilly around here in Florida so I turned this into winter built (Now it is heating up and I dont have a ice chest to sit on anymore : Not thinking the weather was going to heat up any time soon I started planning for a new seat install. 



















Started sanding after I got the baseplate off.... It was really sealed on there good.



















Got the dremel tool out for the bow of the boat.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

I got really anal and started marking every imperfection I could find on the deck. Every nook and cranny was inspected and marked with a sharpie.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

The fiberglass glob on the front of the boat was making me lose sleep so I cleaned it up and preped it for re-bracing. You could imagine the retarded mess I found underneith. What in the heck was someone thinking putting that sliver of wood in there and expecting it to hold.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

I started slapping puddy on the deck like a mad man after I used the dremel. The next day it was dry and I started to sand the entire deck. It turned out way better then I expected. 



















Desided to put some on here too.



















And what do ya know - A leak again... What the heck is with these mystery leaks.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

I called it a day today and finished up sanding. The sperrys had seen better days. I also started doing a little paint. Results where very nice.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

Recent shots of my progress.

I started with a template for the gussets and walls.



















Simulation 




























Not very bad looking, just need to fiberglass them in and paint. Should be looking premo soon.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

I also did a quicky with the grinder before work (Where poorly painted before). Should re-spray them tomorrow after work. Nice and shinnny.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

I got on the ball cutting the sides of the wood for the bow. I also added an additional gusset in the middle and an end peice for cosmetics (Yet they are all used for stability). After that I wipped up some epoxy and set them in place. I couldn't find anything heavy so I said heck with it and used a battery and car jack. Checked it this morning and the epoxy settled rock hard. Now I am just waiting for the second side to dry.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)




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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

Well two days ago put a halt on my funds for the boat. Took the girlfriend out for the big two years together deal : I have been scraping the bottom of the barrel for stuff to do on the boat before my paycheck comes in. Here are a few recient pictures. 

Got all my rod holders primed and painted.









Piloted out the gussets and countersunk them for screws. Held exceptionally well. 










Added two more support braces up front but was pretty dissapointed with the work ethic. They kept sliding down the backwards so I made a brace with what I had laying around me. It didn't come out perfect but I'll end up fiberglassing them in place for added stability + They will be hatched over so I wont have to be reminded of them.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

Haha, everything has so far held up to the weight test without any flexing at all. Once fiberglassed I should have a pretty stout platform for jumping on/off of. 




















And now all I have is time... Till next paycheck. Then I should have enough money for the fiberglass and real fun.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

Haha, and thats my progress so far. I have been trying to use a minimalist approach with the amount of waste I have been generating (Both money and material)  and since funds are in short supply I may have to resort to desperate measures.... Or just wait it out. :'( 

Thanks again for the comments,


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

Looking good so far, I'm thinking your brown water leak and the one in my Osborn might be related. I cut open the forward flotation chamber to see why it kept having drips of brown water weeping out. I hope yours isn't like mine, but all the foam was saturated with stinky brown swamp water. I don't understand why the supposed "closed cell" foam soaks up so much water, but I figure I easily removed a hundred lbs. of saturated foam out of that "Flotation Chamber". I have seen numerous rebuilds on all these forums, and everyone is always digging out old wet foam...? Seems like there should be something that works better. I saw some of the guys using plain styrofoam and even packing peanuts.  Sorry, getting off track here, but you might want to check further as to why the browm water is there in the first place. The good part is, the space is easy to get to and repair/ replace.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

> > - Grinders and paint make welders who aint.
> 
> 
> [smiley=lolwsign.gif]
> ...


Its not quite a flat-bottom. But the V-bow isn't two steep of an angle. May as well post a few pictures of the new trailer too.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

God I sure hope the foam up front isn't at all wet. I had a feeling it was either just a small amount of water trapped behind the plywood and fiberglass up front. If you really beat on the front peice it will spurt out but then it stops. It hasn't leaked for the last month. I have been trying to keep a small space heater near it. I dont know if this is a dummy approach but we will see. I would hate to rip up everything and start all over.


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## FSUfisher (Jul 16, 2007)

> God I sure hope the foam up front isn't at all wet. I had a feeling it was either just a small amount of water trapped behind the plywood and fiberglass up front. If you really beat on the front peice it will spurt out but then it stops. It hasn't leaked for the last month. I have been trying to keep a small space heater near it. I dont know if this is a dummy approach but we will see. I would hate to rip up everything and start all over.


Why worry? If that's the case, then the real fun begins! More excitement for you, more cool pics for us.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

Hahaha, your shattin' me. The fun is me hooking up on a 40" Red on the flats and horsing that bad boy in. You guys.... Trying to jinx my luck... Dont you put that evil on me FSUFisher.


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## beyondhelp (Nov 6, 2008)

I really like your boat. I saw your thread on Iboats. I did the opposite, started a thread here and then over there. Iboats is great but I feel "at home" here. Lots of great people here. 

You'll most likely have to replace the waterlogged foam at some point but if the boat rides ok and doesn't seem to weigh a ton you should be ok for a while. Keep any holes into the deck etc... sealed and it will help keep it from getting worse. I weighed the wet foam out of my boat and a cubic foot weighed over ten pounds.


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## devinmurray99 (Jan 7, 2010)

Welcome to the website Ben.  Sweet AshCraft!  Nice to see her sitting pretty on the new trailer too.  I have enjoyed reading and watching what you got going on there.

I was posting some info on Capt. Cobb's Osborn project when I saw your post.  It is funny to see how this hull got around for years and years.

I really dig that Ash Craft console. Mine is like a modified version with the seat section chopped off.  If I can put together enough cash I was going to solve the seating and cold beverage issue in 1 by mounting a small Yeti up there. 

Good luck on the fiberglass work.
Cheers!


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

> I really like your boat. I saw your thread on Iboats. I did the opposite, started a thread here and then over there. Iboats is great but I feel "at home" here. Lots of great people here.


I kind of feel the opposite, I felt like a stranger to Iboats and like no one had the slightest interest in my build. It took almost 2 months for 300 viewers to see my thread, when it only took 2 days on this site. I am so happy to have found Microskiff. Everyone had been very friendly and helpful (Even with the bad news of possible foam soaking). Haha.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

> Welcome to the website Ben.  Sweet AshCraft!  Nice to see her sitting pretty on the new trailer too.  I have enjoyed reading and watching what you got going on there.
> 
> I was posting some info on Capt. Cobb's Osborn project when I saw your post.  It is funny to see how this hull got around for years and years.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the comment dev

I hear that. I started googling the boat since day one to try to get as much info as I could. The progress is what it is. The more I get done the happier I am. I am hoping that finish line is in sight soon. After the fiberglass and fresh paint + a few nicknacks I should be posting a few pictures of that monster fish I snag


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## beyondhelp (Nov 6, 2008)

> > I really like your boat. I saw your thread on Iboats. I did the opposite, started a thread here and then over there. Iboats is great but I feel "at home" here. Lots of great people here.
> 
> 
> I felt like a stranger to Iboats and like no one had the slightest interest in my build. It took almost 2 months for 300 viewers to see my thread, when it only took 2 days on this site. I am so happy to have found Microskiff. Everyone had been very friendly and helpful (Even with the bad news of possible foam soaking). Haha.


I saw your thread.... 

I totally agree, I must not have conveyed that well. I also felt lost over at Iboats. Valuable resource just the same. I can't remember all the forums I am a member of until they e-mail me at my birthday. 

;D Again, welcome! I forgot to mention that I used my boat for a couple of years with the wet foam and am here to talk about it so don't freak out until you notice the ill effects. I'm still rebuilding because it wasn't financially possible to do it all at once. Hanging the motor tonight so there's light at the end of the tunnel.


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## FSUfisher (Jul 16, 2007)

> Hahaha, your shattin' me. The fun is me hooking up on a 40" Red on the flats and horsing that bad boy in. You guys.... Trying to jinx my luck... Dont you put that evil on me FSUFisher.


Hey now, I don't do that kind of evil work. [smiley=stirthepot.gif] Just giving you moral support in the event you do have waterlogged foam in your hull. No worries, my CS has water in the hull. It hasn't bugged me much... yet. From the looks of it, the revitalization of your hull shouldn't be too intense if it came to it. We'd all love the pics and stories that accompanied such an endeavor. Maybe Orlando's different, but up here in N. Florida, fishing's been and will be out of the question for a little while anyways, including this weekend from the looks of it.

Nonetheless, great post! Enjoying your work on your boat!  [smiley=popcorn2.gif] [smiley=popcorn2.gif] [smiley=popcorn2.gif]


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

Same here, I have been a pretty busy bee lately. Had to go to gainsville last night, just got back this morning. I haven't had time to fish even if the weather was good. Thanks again guys for the words of encouragement. I am stoked and bummed at the same time


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

Got off my poot and started pacing around thinking about what I can use to fill the gap I have in the deck (Under the soon to be captains seat). The Aha moment came along when I realized we had some extra plex laying around and that I didn't have any money to buy anything else. 

Tell me if this idea is a no no -- The pictures tell show my madness. After I buy the fiberglass and resin I am going to put one coat down, then the plex, another coat of resin, the fiberglass mat and the final coat of resin. 

The work bench ;D









Marked and re-cut the wavy mess that was under the base plate.









Clean cut


















Fit like a glove (with a weecy bit of wiggle room just in case)


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

I don't think you're going to be able to obtain a bond between the
plexiglass and the resin. Plex is basically a non-stick surface.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

Sanded with 60 grit so the resin and fiberglass will stick better.










Waiting to be glassed.









After that final coat of resin and a good sanding it should be premo.


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

I'll be watching to see the final results.
You never learn any thing new unless you try!


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

I'm going to test the waters on this one. It is pretty rough after the sanding. I was sketchy on the plexiglass at first but I think it is going to turn out better then expected.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

Will do chief. Live and learn I guess. I'll keep updates when I get everything rounded up and ready to be lathered.


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## riptide (Dec 31, 2009)

I think that plexiglass might be a bad idea , polyester resin although very strong its not a glue, plexiglass even if you skuff it , is still plastic , and just like your plastic mix pots, the resin will pop off it. If your plexiglass part is the perfect size as you mentioned ,you can lay up fiberglass on top the plexiglass untill your desired thickness , when its hard you grind the edge flush with the plexi then you can pop it off. this way you can fill your gap with solid glass , fiberglass over top and you have a solid fiberglass repair ( this may take longer but will hold a fatsener well )


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

So what you are saying is use 100% Epoxy resin to fill the gap? I have heard that if the hull of the boat has any flection at all it will crack. That or with a seat mounted on top of it that just the weight of myself would crack it.


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## riptide (Dec 31, 2009)

Or just use your plexi as a template cut as many laminates as you need for your desired thicknesss , lay each peice of glass wetting out in between untill its flat. (faster than my previous post)


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

I dont know why, but I have a nack that I want to prove you guys wrong. Bahahahaha..... And 264 holes later. What the heck was I thinking. I'll get it to work even if I have to work miracles and if not then I wont post any more progress of this build  ...... Just Kidding.


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## riptide (Dec 31, 2009)

not 100% resin your right it will crack , especially if you drive a fastener into it , wet out the repair area with epoxy or polyester resin , cut muliple layers of fiberglass , lay each peice in the repair area , saturate that layer of glass with resin , then lay another layer of glass in the repair area , saturate the second layer , keep on doing this untill it is your desired thickness , looks like 1/4 '' then lay a larger peice of glass over top of the repair that will overlap all of them @ 4''. now you have a solid fiberglass repair you can grind flat if its to high in some areas and will hold a fastener!... Cool boat btw


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## FSUfisher (Jul 16, 2007)

> I dont know why, but I have a nack that I want to prove you guys wrong. Bahahahaha..... And 264 holes later. What the heck was I thinking. I'll get it to work even if I have to work miracles and if not then I wont post any more progress of this build  ......  Just Kidding.


LMAO!!! This thread is becoming very fun and entertaining!


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

Hahaha, I'm glad someone is getting a kick out of it. 

Payday was yesterday, a splurg on boat parts should be arriving soon. 

Keep on postin'


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

Alright, so I may have stretched the truth alittle about the boat parts on the way. I dont have any money!AHAHAHAHAHA 

This stinks, I had to sell my jeep to get rid of the insurance payment and now I dont have anything to show. Bills bills bills...  

I cant wait till I have enough money to buy a plot of land and build a house off the grid. They will never be able to touch me and my monies I'll build a moat and a drawbridge -- I'll be a king!


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## Un-shore (Sep 27, 2007)

Just keep in mind, a King is not a King without an army to keep him King.... just sayin'


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## cal1320 (Jun 6, 2007)

In thought it was "in the land of the blind, the man with one eye is king"
Damn. There are so many rules to be king.


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## Amsoil_Man (Feb 2, 2010)

One day..... Ouch my eye


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