People talk about hotted up cars in the suburbs of Melbourne. Like people get their subwoofers and get the suspension rigged for the bounce effect. They get sleek paint jobs and put novelty dice in the windows. But where I come from, people get their boats “hotted up”.
This is basically the same culture just transferred to the rural areas where fishing is a bigger thing. It’s still a show of pride and often times a kind of a hobby that people spend hours on. It’s much more than just getting marine fabrications like snapper racks, which are useful but not necessarily aesthetic. People really go all-out up here, in the small towns outside of Melbourne.
I’m giving my boat a sweet paint job, with pearly white and silver stripes. She’s a beauty. I’ve got my marine fabrication made out of aluminium which looks great against the white and silver paint. I’m also going to paint over the bow rail so that it matches the hull of the boat. Don’t even get me started, talking about my boat is a fetish.
My mate Blair, she’s got the sweetest boat in our town. I’m secretly trying to rival her to be honest but I know I’ll never live up to it. She thinks outside the square when it comes to these things. I mean, she’s even got a slide out fitted to pack full of stubbies. Now that’s a boat to go fishing on! Nothing like cracking open a cold one with your rod in hand, or cruising along looking for a good spot to throw the lines out. But although fishing is a joy, it still doesn’t compare to the work that we out into our boats to get them looking nice.