Darkbob
Member
So yesterday I had a super gross experience. Like a lot of us, my front compartment slams shut - because the gas strut has lost it's umph.
Yadda yadda... and there I am inside a garbage can late at night holding a flashlight while squeezing a bag of dead rats.
Oh wait... I guess according to Seinfeld rules I am not allowed to Yadda Yadda over all the middle stuff.
So let me back up a week or so. My daughter and her boyfriend were down visiting. We were sitting around the fire table and we heard some squeaking in the bushes. Looking around with cell phone lights we saw a bit of movement. The security cameras using infrared could clearly pick up rats. I come from Alberta Canada which is 100% rat free. Zero rats. But here? There are quite a few of them. They are called Roof Rats or Fruit Rats but they are really Norway Rats. And they have to be a bit bold to come so close to humans and fire.
I ordered a dozen rat traps. And also a replacement gas strut (not rat related) to fix the boat. When the traps arrived I baited them and set them out. We got 2 big ugly nasty rats. Horrifyingly enough, one of them was only caught by the nose and I had to mash his head in the morning. So disgusting. I bagged them and tossed them in our garbage can.
Next I set to work on the boat. The Seadoo gas strut (as you know) is rated at 110lbs of force and I had the exact replacement so I was back to factory spec. I tossed the dead strut in the trash. Done. Oh and tomorrow is trash pick-up day so I hauled the gigantic black bin out to the curb.
But wait... that's not quite the end of my repair story. I found out that the lid will stay up when opened but, wouldn't you know it, the darn thing still falls down hard when you tip it! It's a very short strut and a very long hatch so lots of leverage. A bit dangerous if you get your fingers caught! Unsatisfactory!!
That night I checked this forum and others. Turns out there is a replacement strut from Zoro Tools rated at 130lbs which works much better. But it doesn't have the right eyelet ends. You need to unscrew the ends off the old strut and screw them on the new strut. But not if your old strut is out in the garbage can.
And here, you may imagine, comes the gross part.
I went out to the curb, flashlight in hand, and pulled out bag after bag, opening up bags with all sorts of nasty organics (no curb side composting here yet!). Discarded chicken carcasses, watermelon rinds, coffee grounds... but the most promising bags were at the bottom and out of reach. So I laid the can on the ground and crawled inside. I went through more bags and finally one about the right size and weight to hold a strut. Even a bit stiff.
There I was, late at night, flashlight in hand squeezing a bag OF DEAD RATS inside a garbage can and screaming like a little girl.
I can't be 100% certain but I believe this is the exact moment I found myself squeezing dead rats. I'm seen on the security camera jumping back and out of the garbage can which is laying on it's side.
Seriously time to rethink the life choices that led me to this point.
I gave up, repacked the can, went inside and tackled again the next morning. Truly disgusting. But I did recover my tossed strut after a morning crawl through the trash..
Now time to order a better strut and try this again. Minus the trip into the garbage can at night.
Yadda yadda... and there I am inside a garbage can late at night holding a flashlight while squeezing a bag of dead rats.
Oh wait... I guess according to Seinfeld rules I am not allowed to Yadda Yadda over all the middle stuff.
So let me back up a week or so. My daughter and her boyfriend were down visiting. We were sitting around the fire table and we heard some squeaking in the bushes. Looking around with cell phone lights we saw a bit of movement. The security cameras using infrared could clearly pick up rats. I come from Alberta Canada which is 100% rat free. Zero rats. But here? There are quite a few of them. They are called Roof Rats or Fruit Rats but they are really Norway Rats. And they have to be a bit bold to come so close to humans and fire.
I ordered a dozen rat traps. And also a replacement gas strut (not rat related) to fix the boat. When the traps arrived I baited them and set them out. We got 2 big ugly nasty rats. Horrifyingly enough, one of them was only caught by the nose and I had to mash his head in the morning. So disgusting. I bagged them and tossed them in our garbage can.
Next I set to work on the boat. The Seadoo gas strut (as you know) is rated at 110lbs of force and I had the exact replacement so I was back to factory spec. I tossed the dead strut in the trash. Done. Oh and tomorrow is trash pick-up day so I hauled the gigantic black bin out to the curb.
But wait... that's not quite the end of my repair story. I found out that the lid will stay up when opened but, wouldn't you know it, the darn thing still falls down hard when you tip it! It's a very short strut and a very long hatch so lots of leverage. A bit dangerous if you get your fingers caught! Unsatisfactory!!
That night I checked this forum and others. Turns out there is a replacement strut from Zoro Tools rated at 130lbs which works much better. But it doesn't have the right eyelet ends. You need to unscrew the ends off the old strut and screw them on the new strut. But not if your old strut is out in the garbage can.
And here, you may imagine, comes the gross part.
I went out to the curb, flashlight in hand, and pulled out bag after bag, opening up bags with all sorts of nasty organics (no curb side composting here yet!). Discarded chicken carcasses, watermelon rinds, coffee grounds... but the most promising bags were at the bottom and out of reach. So I laid the can on the ground and crawled inside. I went through more bags and finally one about the right size and weight to hold a strut. Even a bit stiff.
There I was, late at night, flashlight in hand squeezing a bag OF DEAD RATS inside a garbage can and screaming like a little girl.
I can't be 100% certain but I believe this is the exact moment I found myself squeezing dead rats. I'm seen on the security camera jumping back and out of the garbage can which is laying on it's side.
Seriously time to rethink the life choices that led me to this point.
I gave up, repacked the can, went inside and tackled again the next morning. Truly disgusting. But I did recover my tossed strut after a morning crawl through the trash..
Now time to order a better strut and try this again. Minus the trip into the garbage can at night.
