I have many fond memories of my childhood and most all of them revolve around spending time with one or more members of my family. I can remember many Saturdays riding up to the hardware store, listening to Paul Harvey on the am radio with my dad, to purchase items required to either repair or build something. To this day my father still owns more tools than any man I know and more importantly he comprehends how to use those tools! I am sure there were many times that dad wished I would quit asking him questions or would move out of the way so he could complete a project; instead, he patiently answered thousands of questions and taught me how to be a do it yourselfer.
These days dad and I both consider ourselves to be jacks of all trades and masters of none. Perhaps our strongest skill set lies in the fact that we typically know when a project may be over our heads and call in the experts for advice or for assistance to complete a project.
As most of you know any master tradesman or armature like me gathers information before diving in and attempting any type of repair or project. Over the last several years I have found myself utilizing the internet heavily to find anything from wiring diagrams, to parts manuals, to asking advice from others on trouble shooting and making repairs. When it comes to boats, motors, trailers, or any other related items the Boats and Motors Page under the CharlestonFishing.Com Forums has been an extremely valuable resource for me. Just the other day I posted a question in regards to a problem I was having with my power trim and tilt and in less than 1-hour the posting was read close to 20 times and I had three responses on how to trouble shoot. That evening I pulled down a parts diagram from iboats.com and then utilized You Tube to watch a video and was able to see how to remove the assembly.
Weather it is boat repairs, home repairs, or auto repairs the costs can add up quickly. While I strongly recommend using qualified repair experts there are times that with some p