 Yankee Chapter: Making Waves With Old Outboards |
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Rocky Hill CT Dry Meet, Saturday March 24th 2007 A
Beautiful Day Once again Frank P’s swap meet at the Rocky Hill VFW exceeded everyone’s expectations. The day dawned with a clear blue sky and temperatures soared well into the sixties as the day went on – many people received their first sunburn of the year! This was a welcome change from the 6-12" of snow and ice in the form of a Nor’easter that visited us the previous weekend. And as was the case the previous year, this meet reigns supreme in our chapter for the shear number of things that were swapped, sold or given away! Every meet seems to have one make or model that stands out, for this writer it was the 1920’s Evinrudes. Of note were several Model N’s that found new homes and I believe a Model U was picked up early on - and there were lots of 1930’s ‘rudes. The usual mix of 1920’s-40’s Johnsons was also available, I counted two opposed A’s, a couple of J’s, and F-70 and at least 3 model K’s. At least one Bendix, a couple of Champions and several Neptunes were spied being moved from one vehicle to another by smiling individuals. The ever-popular classics from the 1950’s were everywhere. Lots of Green Mercurys were exchanged as well as plenty of Evinrudes, Johnsons and a good number of Gale built motors. Things you don’t see everyday were the restored ’53 Scott Gold Pennant 10hp, an Oliver J-2 of 5 1/2hp, a number Martin 40’s, 60’s and 75’s, and also a few of the 12hp fiberglass hooded Elgins. A relatively late model Gale 35 that was positively mint found a new home in Massachusetts. And there is always some "new" stuff available, plenty of 3hp Johnson & Evinrude motors, a few of the low profile Scotts, OMCs and even a Chrysler or two. There were also at least two jet motors at the meet but I believe only one was for sale. Even some motors from the 1970’s showed up, plenty of 6hp OMCs and a couple of the Mercury 3.9 and 4hp singles. By the end of the day anything that hadn’t sold many people were giving away. It was the consensus last year that everybody left with more stuff than they brought – there was the same feeling this year as well! Also part of the festivities was a fun raffle where winners got their choice of a nice 1950 Elgin, a customized "Arnold Palmer" edition HD-15 Johnson and a very unique stealth version of the West Bend Shrimp! Thanks to Jim M, Frank P. and Dan T who contributed the motors. Also, congratulations to Dave B., Dave S. and Doug P. who were the big winners! Also enjoyable was the live music provided by members Norm D., Jim M., and Dan T., who played requests during lunch. Those who stayed long enough got to see a demonstration of Bob T’s 1930’s Johnson Utilimotor. In addition to being educational and making music to the ears, it was wonderful to breathe some blue smoke on such a fine early spring afternoon! A very special tanks to Frank P. and his mom, step-dad, Uncle Walt and Aunt Maureen for putting on such a fantastic meet. And thanks to the folks at the Rocky Hill VFW who rent us their fine facility to hold the meet – I think they actually enjoy having us come each year! And thanks to all who contributed the photos below!
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