The Tacklebox Syndrome and Other Wisdom

I have a boat.  More specifically, I own a 20’ (19.0298’) Stingray 186CC.  It is powered by a 90 HP Yamaha 4 stroke and is, in my opinion, quite a lovely boat.  It’s not very large, but it is fast and is more than adequate to meet my needs.  Not only that, I had a custom break-away tongue trailer manufactured just so it would fit in my garage.  I’m fortunate to have a third garage so it makes it very convenient having the boat right there and it is also protected from the weather.  Now, the garage is a little tight, but that is a story for another chapter.

I really like many features of the boat and it is designed quite nicely to meet both fishing and family fun needs.  It has two live wells, rod holders everywhere, and casting platforms on both the front and back. At the same time, it has fold down seats in the back, the live wells can be used as cooler space, there’s storage space everywhere, and it has a swimming platform and a sturdy rear swim ladder.  Also, every rod holder has a cup holder next to it (a “must” according to a friend).  The front casting platform also has cushions that cover the whole front area, so the kids usually ride up there.

As you can see, I like my boat.  One of my favorite aspects of the boat is that there is a space under the rear bench seat that you can fit a cooler into.  I don’t mean just fit.  It’s designed to have a cooler inserted there and I think the boat may have come new with a custom cooler for that location.  I bought the boat when it was about two years old.  Being the genius that I am, I didn’t realize the cooler thing for a long time and used to keep a first aid kit, some flares, and a toolbox in there.  Moron.

I have had an RTIC hard cooler for some time and only recently realized it could go under there.  In case you are a novice, RTIC is a straight-up knock off of Yeti.  I mean they look and work exactly like a Yeti.  I don’t know how that’s legal.

I digress.  While a very nice cooler, my RTIC is only 20 gallons.  As soon as I knew a cooler could go under there, I have wanted something bigger.  Not only should you always go bigger (please see my post on the Tacklebox Syndrome), but I have wanted to get something larger for under there that maximizes the space and provides enough room for friends to not have to bring their own coolers.  I can also have plenty of room when the whole family decides to go out.

While recently at Lowes, I noticed that they had a large selection of RTIC coolers and thought that it would be good to get one there because I could personally check the measurements.  I mean the worst thing would be to buy a cooler that was too big, right? Wrong.

That day at Lowes I was in a hurry, and I didn’t know the dimensions for the cooler slot.  I didn’t purchase one then. Shortly thereafter, and after getting the dimensions for the cooler slot and storing them on my phone, I decided while running some errands that I was going to go to Lowes and get that cooler.  Guess what? I forgot.

Important fact: here are the dimensions of the cooler slot – 15” D x 28” L x 16” H

As I was getting close to home, I realized that I had forgotten the cooler.  Like any American, I now had the need to get that cooler.  I didn’t have enough time to run my last errand and get home in time for dinner, but it suddenly occurred to me that Ace Hardware near my house had Yeti coolers.  I couldn’t buy a Yeti.  Those things are darn expensive, and I really could just go with the RTIC.  I also had always promised myself I wouldn’t be one of “those” guys with a Yeti cooler. 

Like I said, I’m an American and I must be immediately gratified. I suddenly found myself at Ace looking at the Yeti coolers.  Yes, they are very nice.  I was already rationalizing the purchase.  I mean, how much more could a Yeti be than an RTIC for the larger size.  I acted like I was deliberating, but the decision had already been made. 

Conveniently I was approached by a sales associate who inquired if I needed any assistance.  I replied that I would and, also asked for a measuring tape.  She told me that even better, she had a print-out with the dimensions of all the Yeti coolers.  We headed to the counter.

She and I quickly reviewed the dimensions sheet and I picked out the Tundra 45.  Here are the outside dimensions of the Tundra 45: 15.9” D x 25.6” L x 15.5” H.  Here’s where my moron really kicks in.  I hadn’t noted on my phone whether the measurement was for depth, length, or height.  I just dumbly thought that well, those are all pretty close to being right and on a glance appear under.  I didn’t even look at the price and just requested one in Navy Blue.  It was beautiful and several of the associates were quick to advise me that Yeti products are NON-RETUNABLE as I left the store.  Why should I care, I measured right?  Still, I had the nagging feeling that something was off or I had made a big mistake.  I attributed this to the fact that I was experiencing guilt over purchasing the Yeti but told myself I would probably have it forever and just think how useful it would be.  My mind’s playing tricks on me.

I got the cooler home and immediately attempted to place it in the cooler slot. It slid almost all the way in and then, SOB!  The little clasps that stick out where the locking straps go hung on the edge of the cooler slot.  I struggled with it, but you can’t fit a square peg in a round hole.  There was only one conclusion, the spec sheet that the associate had at Ace was wrong.

I spent a day preparing myself for the attempted return of the cooler and practicing what I would say.  I mean, it was still in the box, untouched, I just wanted to exchange for a smaller size, and really it was their fault for giving me the wrong measurements.  Not to my surprise they were very understanding. I explained that the spec sheet must be off and they explained how it came from the Yeti website.  We measured again and to my consternation it was clear that I had the depth and width backward.  I was trying to put 15.9” into a 15” hole.  Sounds kind of dirty when you say it like that.

After some conference with the Manager, it was decided that they would take the larger cooler back in exchange for the next size smaller, the Tundra 35.  They would refund the balance, which I can’t state here because my wife would be unhappy, and I could be on my way.  This guy, I’ll call myself, didn’t think to check the measurements on the Tundra 35.  I mean it, it’s smaller right? Wrong.

I got home with the Tundra 35.  I quickly discovered that the Yeti Tundra 35 & 45 coolers are a standard depth.  This includes a depth of 15.9”.  For those of you at home that makes the dimensions of the Tundra 35: 15.9” D x 21.1” L x 15.4” H.  Looks like daddy will be doing some cutting to make a smaller cooler than I wanted fit in a space that the larger RETURNED cooler that I really wanted could have just as easily have fit with the same required cutting.

I’m tempted to see if they would re-exchange the cooler at Ace and give me back the big one.  I couldn’t do that though.  That would make me seem like a moron.