Shelton CT - September 7th, 2013

The Yankee Chapter formal meet was on September 7th and held once again at Indian Well State Park in Shelton CT. This year the theme was motors of 3hp, (3.0hp to 3.9hp if you want to be exact), it was a very popular event!

The oldest motor in attendance was Bob G’s 1913 Waterman, next was Brook N’s 1915 Koban, Art R.had a fantastic 1923 Ruddertwin that was almost 100% original and even in the original shipping crate. Several Evinrude Commercial row boat motors and Johnson OAs, 300s and other pre-war 3hp models were seen out on the river. Very cool was Bill A's vintage runabout zipping around with a Hartford Sturditwin - definitely not something you see every day!

Post war motors were popular with almost every year and model Johnson JW, JH and Evinrude Lightwin, Yachtwin, Ducktwin and folding motor on display or being run on boats. Bruce B. displayed his Johnson JW-16 that was “new in the box”, having never been run since it was manufactured in 1960 - it was stunning and won the President’s Award for best-in-show.

On the unusual side was Rich Gs’ mystery Lauson stationary engine mounted on leg of undetermined origin – not sure if it is 3hp but it was nifty to see. Dick S’s homemade Liberty Drive Champion was also a unique sight and ran very well. Other motors that are not commonly seen were this writer’s 1967 Yamaha P-35 (One of Yamaha’s first motors in the USA) and Hurricane Harry’s Swedish extra-long shaft Volvo Penta Sail 3.9 “den fula ankungen” (the ugly duckling) and display.

After lunch about 15 boats went on a cruise with JW/Lightwins in memory of member Rick Wilson who passed away earlier this year. Rick loved the little OMC 3hp motors and I have no doubt the exceptional weather (best anyone can remember ever having at this meet) was his doing!

There was a lot of swap & sell activity, too much to go into detail. One neighbor was clearing out his boathouse and brought over motors and boats galore when he saw we were having an event.

One black cloud on the day was the Housatonic River Patrol officer mistakenly telling us that boaters from out of state should have a Connecticut recognized Safe Boating Certificate. (Note: nobody was prevented from boating or tickets issued) Further research into this issue after the meet discovered the officer was wrong, all boaters from every state are welcome in CT for up to 60 days without a CT issued boating license/certificate. Thanks to the help of member Bob Zs' who is on the State DEEP committee, we now have a note from the State DEEP office to back this up for next year. (Registration, safety equipment and obeying posted laws are still required though!)

It was a super day and came to an end all too soon. There was a request to have the 2014 theme be Rowboat Motors and Ruddertwins, the Chapter President would appreciate your input on this. If the group feels this is too restrictive possibly “Oldest Motor” in your collection would be an alternative.

Thanks to RC H. and Gary M. for helping with the formal judging and for the photos by Phil T., Ray S. and the meet host.

Early AM saw the Yale Crew out practicing and "smoke on the water"	Ken B. out running his vintage Crestliner and 1953 Johnson RD
Ken B. invited a friend with a late 50's Duratech and 1960 Lark	Some of the display motors for the 3hp theme and formal judging
A few more display motors	Bob G. brought his 1913 3hp Waterman for the formal display
Brook N challenged Bob's Waterman with his 1915 3hp Koban	Bruce B. displayed his "new in the box" Johnson JW-16 - it took the President's Award for best in show
Bill A. spent all day running motors on his vintage race-boat. Here I think he is running a Lockwood Ace
Bill's home-made boat-a-tote made motor changes easy. Looks like the boat didn't have time to swell since it needed pumping!	Phil T. and Dave B. examine Rich G's cool Lauson. The verdict is not in if this was actually sold by the Lauson company or if it was home-made
Gary M. leaves Bob T. in a cloud of smoke from his JW-10	Bob's Evinrude was being a bit reluctant - a new battery solved the problem!
Brook N. takes his 3hp Elto for a spin
Brook also ran his 1920 3 ½ HP Evinrude commercial RBM	Another shot of Ken's beautiful Crestliner. Looking at this beach, the photo could have been taken in 2013 or 1959!
Ken also ran a Johnson A-35	Ray S. going backwards with his 1950 Sportwin (No doubt to keep the leaky carb that all those motors have overboard!)
Ray K. gives the "thumbs up" for his PO!	Great shot of the beach and Ken H's Feathercraft with 1958 Johnson V-4 50hp
Bill A's going to try out the Hartford Sturditwin on his vintage runabout	We received a lecture from the River Patrol regarding CT Safe Boating Certificates. It turns out the officer was in error - we now have a note from the CT DEEP office informing us that all boaters can run their craft in CT for 60 days without the certificate.
Cruise to honor member Rick Wilson who passed away earlier this year. We had about 15 boats participating, all running Johnson JWs or Evinrude Lightwins (We had one of each on our boat!)	Tom C. and his Ducktwin
Rich and RC have twin 1958 Evinrude Lightwins	Gary M. and his JW-10
Maureen & Walt L. and Maureen's 1957 JW - Bob G. and 1952 Evinrude Lightwin	A great way to spend the day: a '57 Lightwin and canoe
Team Maffei takes to the seas with their 1960 Lightwin - Gary credits this motor for getting him into old outboards	Looks like Ray borrowed one of brother Dick's Champions!
Another shot of the cruise	Tom C. flies a kite on the way home!
A great shot of Bill A. at speed with the Hartford Sturditwin! He's got the largest collection of Hartfords known, all of them run and he has a blast with them. This photo is what the AOMCI is all about!
This guy was not part of our group but was seen out on the river during the meet. I think that 83 Evinrude does qualify as a classic - too bad we ran out of membership forms...

Yankee Chapter: Making Waves With Old Outboards