Windsor/Hartford CT Meet - June 24th

By correspondent C. Hampion

The weather forecast for June 24th advised New England residents to "build an ark" - I don't ever recall such a doom and gloom forecast without a hurricane on the way. And the rains were coming down when we arrived at Ray and Barbara's meet at 8:00 AM but immediately began to moderate. By 9:30-10:00 it had stopped and remained dry for the next 4 hours, plenty of time for a great cruise on the scenic Connecticut River.

About 35 members ignored the weather and showed up, 15 or so with boats and motors ready to go regardless. The river was about 6 feet above normal and flowing at about 4kts at the ramp. With the exception of some triathlon kayaks, we had the entire river to ourselves! Many folks took the chance to get out in their boats and enjoy the miles of beautiful cruising up and down the Connecticut.

This was the perfect place for plenty of quiet horsepower and lots of fuel to go off and explore. The mainstay of outboards that saw sea-time were OMC products from the 1950's but a '53 Scott Gold Pennant 10 was also in the mix. Dan T was seen actually moving on a plane with a 20's Johnson and Bill A. was buzzing around with a positively mint late model British Seagull. Gary M brought an incredible find, an Elto quad with original twist grip throttle, accessory bag, tools and even the Elto grease tube!

All the recent rain gave all of us time to clean up our shops. This cleaning binge resulted in a buyers market and due to the reduced turnout, many sellers were desperate. Of note was the '58 Johnson 7.5 parts motor that the seller was willing to PAY someone to take so he would not have to bring it home!

Thanks to Ray S. and family for sponsoring this great meet.

And thanks to Frank P, Ray S. and others for the photos!

8:00 AM and Ray (left) is smiling despite the rain!	Hmmm, wet....	Spirits are not dampened by the weather!
Ready to go, hoping it will clear	Tinkering is a spectator sport in the AOMCI	Lineup on the beach
Barbara (standing) with all these donuts left, there goes my diet!	Hey, it stopped raining....	...get the motors ready to go!
Dave and Koban having a walkie	Bob P (right) doing his best Mr. T: "I pity the fools that missed this"	Getting ready to go
And away we go!	Harry at the helm	Bill A doing a spot of yachting with a Seagull. Jolly good show, what!
River sports	Michael S cruising with Johnson 20 (This motor was a dump find!)	At the ramp
Scott power - NICE! 22 mph on GPS but louder than a WHO concert!	Great scenery	Dan T on a plane!
Evinrude ready to go	'53 Scott Gold Pennant 10 and it's brother the '54 Firestone 10	Why they were nicknamed "pumpkin seeds"
Gary and prize Elto Quad	Closeup of the Quad - what a beauty!	Everyone enjoyed seeing it
Said the Firestone to the Gold Pennant: Psst.... sooner or later THEY will own a Scott!!!	Norm visualizing the potential in the QD

Yankee Chapter: Making Waves With Old Outboards