Well I was planning on taking the boat out for a nice peaceful sunset cruise & maybe toss a line or two during after dinner Saturday, due to the fact I finally got around to cleaning out the gutters,(wife's been after me for awhile) **guess you can see where this story's going** Well, I was just finishing the last clump of junk & noticed the stand pipe was also blocked. Figured I had to drill out the cheap rivets real quick, take her down & snake them out. I had to lower the ladder to just under the gutter, right on the siding, really,really stupid, esp. without a holder. I went up the ladder drilled the rivets & next thing the feet of the ladder kick out & me & the ladder go straight down 25'. Landed on the ladder on all fours,-knees & hands, never let go of the ladder, way to quick. Broke my right leg just below the knee & have 2 pretty good holes- not cuts- holes,in the lower shin area on both legs. Took about 20 stitches in each to close them. They wanted me to stay in the hospital for a few days due to blood clot's forming with this type of fracture (I gotta give myself 2 shots a day in my stomach for 2 weeks to prevent the clots, nasty, I'm not a needle guy). Anyway, can't put any weight on the right leg for 8-10 weeks. The only way I can even move around is with a 4-leg walker @ about 2' in 20 min.'s. I guess the best thing to come out of this is that I'll have all the time I need to read all the Deck repair/replacement threads on iboats, so when I can get to work on the boat I'll know what I'm doing... Do me a favor if your a seasonal boater, If you kicking the idea around to take your boat out for one more good run before you pack it away, please do it. I wish I could & can't.. Well sorry to bend you ear/(eye's as it were), but just wanted to babble about how stupid I can be. Have a Great Day
