Framingham 2010

The Yankee Chapter kicked off 2010 with Ron & Lois M's great meet in Framingham MA. As expected, the weather was cold, temperatures in the 20's during the morning but, thankfully, no precipitation. About 80-90 members turned out, the meet was an excellent cure for cabin fever!

Lots of projects and opportunities changed hands. Since it has been almost 3 months since our last official meet, it has provided people with time to reflect on projects and clear them out or to scrounge up new ones from yard sales, newspaper ads or even the dump! Items noted to have changed hands: a partly restored 1922 Evinrude RBM, Frank P. purchased a really beautiful Evinrude Mate, a nice Martin 20 and a '57 Sea King 5hp.

Quite a few green Mercury project motors, most appeared to be KE-4s but at least one KF-5 and a Mark 5 were noted. The 15hp to 40hp OMC motors were in abundance and virtually all of them left with new owners - Art R. offered a pair of '59-60 18s that were very nice. Gary M. had a nice Ducktwin that I was surprised see it go back into his truck at the end of the day.

A motor that attracted a great deal of attention was the 1955 Firestone 16 made by Scott Atwater. (See photos below) This motor was in nice original condition and sported the Firestone unique Knot-O-Meter option; a fun and useful accessory. If you are not familiar with it, the Knot-O-Meter was a gauge on the front of the motor that indicated the speed you were traveling. It worked off a capillary tube down to the leading edge of the lower unit.

Numerous trips were made by all to the church hall to warm up and fortify with coffee and donuts. For lunch Ron & Lois provided a fix-your-own sandwich buffet that was well received and a lot less hassle to prepare and clean up than the full meal served the past few years. By about 2:30 most people had gone home, too bad because, helped by the sun, the temperatures soared into the high thirties. People were obviously excited to get home and start work on all their new projects!

Thanks again to Ron & Lois for hosting the meet - a great time was had by all!

Thanks to Frank P., Ray S., Ron M. and Harry S. who contributed the photos below!

7:30AM and the parking lot is filled!	Lots of good stuff always shows up at this meet
Walt, Joe R. and Tom C. are scoping out the deals	Lenny R. always has excellent deals on tools & supplies
Danny O. and Larry C. debating important issues: the Scott - McCulloch merger, usefulness of the Bail-A-Matic and other heady topics!	Ken H. and Walt L. talking shop
Very nice 1955 Firestone (by Scott Atwater) 16hp	All original with a nice vintage stand
Motor has the very cool Knot-O-Meter option on the front	Many members were interested in the Firestone but Jim M. has reason to smile!
Joe R. is so happy to get to the meet and find some parts for a project, he gave Bob Z. a big hug!	Gary M. always has good stuff for sale at the meets. He has a knack for unearthing old iron and consistently comes up with great finds.
More of Gary's stuff	William G. is eyeing the Lightwin Gary has for sale
Shhhhh - don't tell the Rusty Stone it has competition for Keith's affections!	Koban the Corgi has been trained to sniff out the best deals!
Garry searching for the 1/4-26 tap for those early Johnson rope plate screws......	Dick P. and some old iron he was selling
Hurricane Harry "kicks the tires" on a post-war Champion single	Martin 60 and misc parts all found a new home
Lenny demonstrated his early Maytag - not an outboard but a fun 2-stroke none the less	Sorry Rich G., here's a KE-4 you missed out on!
Several more Mercs waiting for adoption	Wayne B. displayed his restored Merc 200
Garry M was eyeing that auto tranny Merc	Rule E. checks out the Golden Jubilee Evinrude Fisherman
It's not too cold to stop Team Maffei from thinking about wake boarding!	Barb R. and Barb S. are warm & happy inside the hall - a good reason to smile!
Each year Jim M. presents Ron & Lois with a cake - here is 2010!	Good friends, warm coffee and old outboard talk, what better way to spend a Saturday in January?
Make-your-own-sandwich was a big hit and a lot easier on the hosts than a traditional lunch.
Elgin SIG Leader Jim M. was awarded a unique hand-made pennant for all his contributions to the AOMCI and Yankee Chapter.	Ron M. displaying the Neptune pennant given to him as a thank-you by the chapter. Looking forward to seeing it on the bow of his boat with the Master Twin on the stern!
A very special thanks to Ron M. (in hat) and his wonderful wife Lois for hosting the meet. It helped many an antique outboard enthusiasts chase the midwinter blues away !!!

 

Yankee Chapter: Making Waves With Old Outboards