Good day of boating, but not great....

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,585]

So my son Brennan and I met up with Kenb and his son Cole for a little boating with our small vintage runabouts. I finally got the recently purchased 1960 Lark 40hp tuned up and running pretty good. This motor has probably not run in over 30 years so I figured there would be some "kinks" to work out. She fired up on the second pull (still have to hook up the electric start). After messing with the carb adjustment she ran pretty good. We then put the two kids on a towable tube and it did fine there as well. Some point shortly after tubing a screw fell out of a portion of the throttle plate which I was unable to fix on the water. 

Ken pulled me back to an island close to where we launched and we then went tubing on his boat. Like Ken and I were talking this afternoon, you cannot even get mad about little things like this as they need to be worked out. Here is a pic of my final ride back to the boat ramp.... (thanks Ken for the tow!)

[Digger 66 3,488]

That's pretty cool ! 

Sure don't make 'em like they used to .

[SALTYWRIGHT 861]

STEVE, DO NOT SAY HE TOWED YOU HOME. YOU PUSHED HIM HOME AT THE END OF A STIFF  LINE.  ANY DAY ON THE WATER IS A GOOD DAY. RUSS

[Sparky-(Admin) 23,715]

Breakdowns are all part of boating Steve (I'm sure you know that). One time I had the whole family out in my 1964 16' Crestiner with a 1964 Evinrude Big Twin 40 on it and the shifter mechanism went bad and I was stuck in reverse. We were not with another boater so it was a slow ride in reverse all the way to the boat launch, probabaly 3/4's of a mile.

   Mike................

[Ken B 3,202]

We had a great day today. I know my son Cole is totally worn out! I won't forget anytime soon paddling my race boat almost ten miles back to the ramp when I blew the lower unit on it.

[VinsRJ 723]

You have to laugh about how a 10 cent part can change everything...

Edited August 26, 2013 by VinsRJ

[nylyon-(Admin) 8,230]

I would take a day like that on the lake anyway!  Haven't been boating in years....  certainly have the itch too....

[SALTYWRIGHT 861]

I HAVE BEEN BOATING FOR 84 YEARS AND STILL DO NOT GET TIRED OF IT. EVERY DAY OUT THERE IS GOOD.  RUSS

[Coadster32 793]

Being towed back by a good friend is a good day in my book.  

[AMC RULES 37,225]

...and rowing ten miles back to the ramp is not.    

[squonk 44,503]

This is even better! You're launching your boat and one of the trailer wheels falls off! The bearings are burnt up and now it's stuck on the ramp and there's a big line of boaters waiting to use it. You can't even go boating until it's fixed. This scenario happened 3 years in a row on a holiday weekend when I worked at a Napa store

[wh500special 2,338]

This is even better! You're launching your boat and one of the trailer wheels falls off! The bearings are burnt up and now it's stuck on the ramp and there's a big line of boaters waiting to use it. You can't even go boating until it's fixed. This scenario happened 3 years in a row on a holiday weekend when I worked at a Napa store

That happened to me (sort of) once.

 

My cousin and I went goose hunting one morning.  We got to the ramp and launched the boat through the ice into the river.  Hunted all day.  Didn't shoot anything that day, but ate a lot of snacks and had a good time anyway.

 

Came back to the ramp in the daylight and I noticed the trailer wheel on the driver's side listing heavily to one side.  No dust cap.  No grease.  No bearings.  And the castle nut on the end of the axle shaft had rounded corners from the wheel hub using it as a bearing surface.

 

Figured what the heck, we towed it who knows how far like that so it would probably make it to a buddy's house a couple of miles away down a gravel road.  It did.  A couple days later I drove back up there to fix it and spent a long time and a lot of elbow grease patching things back together.

 

Now, I try to carry an entire extra hub with me when I go for a ride with the boat in tow.

 

Good times.

 

As an postscript, plastic taillight lenses aren't really made for launching thru ice either....

 

Steve

[Hodge71 690]

Break

Out

Another

Thousand

 

 

Thats what boat really means...I know...this year my 1995 Chaparral cost me close to 2 grand in little things here and there. Drive water pump, new cover, new prop, 6 fuel water seprator filters because the marina had bad gas with water in if from the damn corn alcohol thats in everything... I cant really complain though, it has been running super since it was new in 1995....this fuel stuff sucks though  

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,585]

Today I was able to pull the coil plate and reinstall the two screws that fell out. I hope to get out on it in the next few days for a test run. This cost me nothing to fix but about a month ago I dumped $2200 into my SeaRay 290 to have the bellows on both engine outdrives replaced ! 

[squonk 44,503]

Break

Out

Another

Thousand

 

 

Thats what boat really means...I know...this year my 1995 Chaparral cost me close to 2 grand in little things here and there. Drive water pump, new cover, new prop, 6 fuel water seprator filters because the marina had bad gas with water in if from the damn corn alcohol thats in everything... I cant really complain though, it has been running super since it was new in 1995....this fuel stuff sucks though  

I'm surprised. Most of the Marinas around me have non ethanol gas. What wouldn't be surprising is the tanks at the Marina are shot letting ground water get in.

[Hodge71 690]

 

Break

Out

Another

Thousand

 

 

Thats what boat really means...I know...this year my 1995 Chaparral cost me close to 2 grand in little things here and there. Drive water pump, new cover, new prop, 6 fuel water seprator filters because the marina had bad gas with water in if from the damn corn alcohol thats in everything... I cant really complain though, it has been running super since it was new in 1995....this fuel stuff sucks though  

I'm surprised. Most of the Marinas around me have non ethanol gas. What wouldn't be surprising is the tanks at the Marina are shot letting ground water get in.

 

 

Its an above ground 750 gallon tank. I thought it was non ethanol gas too Squonk. Thats why I pay over 5 dollars a gallon for it. It gets real expensive with a 40 gallon tank to fill it. They had no explanation as to why it happened and I wasn't the only person it happened too. I use Mercury fuel treatment every tank too and it has a stabilizer in it. 

[Ken B 3,202]

Today I was able to pull the coil plate and reinstall the two screws that fell out. I hope to get out on it in the next few days for a test run. This cost me nothing to fix but about a month ago I dumped $2200 into my SeaRay 290 to have the bellows on both engine outdrives replaced ! 

That is the beauty of owning one of these classic outboard runabouts! Parts are cheap and the labor is free! I always tell people, if you are going to own an older classic rig you need to know how to work on them. You are doing very well getting these going now Steve.

[fireman 1,022]

Now that you got the little boat going, you need to sell the big one (money pit). Like someone posted above:

 

 

BOAT= Bust Out Another Thousand !!!

 

I sold mine because I was tired of putting it in the water and it only going out a few times a year. Not worth the effort or the money. Now I just need to find one of those nice little runabouts and put it in the lake only when I want to use it. Come on Ken you have to find me something like yours (No basket cases!). 

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,585]

The big boat has been good to me. I hardly call it a money pit. When you own a boat like that one you have to expect to to PM on it. The name of it is "Makin' Memories"... The family really loves it and so do I. The other reason not to sell it is that I will NEVER be able to replace it on the local lake I boat. This year they created a law that no boat over 25 feet is allowed unless it is "grandfathered" in. Mine is now grandfathered on this lake and if I ever do sell it the new owner can use it on this lake so..... the value just went up the way I see it !

Ken you are right on the vintage runabouts, they give a much different perspective on the water and I really do like it as much as the big boat , just in a different way. 

 

@Jeff- MAYBE if you have that Feathercraft in your driveway and dangle it in front of Ken as a trade for his MAYBE he just might go for it.... lol