Weiners on Water Celebrates 30 Years!
That’s Cap’n Butch on the left, and his First Mate Jim.
30 years ago a man named Butch and his wife Laura bought a pontoon boat and started serving hot dogs to the folks on the Connecticut River in East Haddam CT. They were soon joined by another nautical hot dogger named Jim.
You can find these three salty dogs on Saturdays and Sundays motoring up and down the waterway, providing what has become a meal of legendary status to boaters, jet skier, and all manner of water craft.
We have been lucky enough to be the recipient of the wisdom of Butch’s first mate Jim for many years. Jim is a popular commenter on the blog here at HDP. You’ll surely recognize him because he speaks fluent Pirate. Arrrgh!
Check out this short video of Weiners on Water. What a gig, huh?
However it is with a bit of sadness that I share this next bit of news.
Jim will be retiring at the end of this season. He will be relocating to warmer waters, but he assures me that he will continue to drop by HotDogProfits.com to engage in the conversation here from time to time.
We are very glad for that. Jim is not only entertaining but he has a wealth of slingin’ knowledge that he doesn’t mind sharing.
Congrats, Butch, Jim, and Laura on a 30 year tradition of fun and tasty treats on the water!
Let’s hear it for the crew of Weiners on Water in the comments below!
-Steve
P.S. If you want to outfit a boat from which to sling your own weiners, I can help. Shoot me an email at steve@hotdogprofits.com and I’ll get you pointed in the right direction.
Congrats, Jim
I will be makin’ that transition to warmer waters…er…weather myself in about 2
years.
But I’ll be keepin’ in touch with my mateys as well.
Swab the deck…hoist the yard arm and all
that stuff !
‘Bob Dog’
Aye mateys !!
It be the best gig in the world !!
1St Mate Jim.
Congrats to you, matey! I’m glad I got a chance to try your sea fare before ye be hoisting anchor and setting sail! Please hang around here though. This shop doesn’t go anywhere that it can’t be reached for a bit Of chatter.
Aye lassy,
I’ll stop by your place when I get back to town.
I will still pipe up in the news !!
Jim.
i have a river in my backyard.HELL OF AN IDEA!
Congrats on 30 years, you rock, and roll on the water. charley’s hot dogs, thanks for all your post, hope you stay on board matey !
pretty cool, many happy more years to come
Wow that’s awesome …that may be a good idea here in Hawaii we have summer all year long.:)
Jim
May the wind always be at your back and the sun upon your face. And may the wings of destiny carry you aloft to dance with the stars.
Hi Jim,
This inspires me to check out the possibilities of running a hot dog business off of a boat. I’ve actually found a pair of 16′ pontoons on Craigslist for $250. Before I invest my time and resource in such a project, there are some questions I need answered. Having been at it for 30 years, I’m sure you can help me. One major advantage I see is that you don’t have to go hunting for a place to park your hot dog stand or haggle with a land lord for the privilege of parking. Aside from business licensing and health department authorization, what other governmental agencies will I have to deal with in order to get a floating restaurant into the water. What about maintenance and upkeep? What kind of budget do I need to keep the barnacles scraped off the hull and such? Once in the water, what kind of challenges are there in customer turn over? In other words, what’s the maximum number of customers you can serve given the logistics of the situation? If you can help me figure out the feasibility of pursuing this, I would appreciate it. One more thing I should mention is that I have very little boating experience , except for being a passenger. What do I need to learn before I think about engaging in this?
Thanks,
Dale
Congrats on your successes and your retirement.
Hi Dale.
Catch me @ twistedlime@yahoo.com
Jim.
Oops, that’s twistedlime999@yahoo.com.
My thanks to everyone & especially to Steve.
He is the hot dog king with lots of insight.
I’ll be on deck for this season.
Regards from Captain Butch ! Arrrrr !!
1St Mate Jim.
I love that idea Jim. I will be in touch as soon as I find a pontoon boat.
Barb