MOB and Great Lakes Chapter

By Rick Eichrodt and Tom Miscovich

The Constantine Super Meet was held on July 15, 16, and 17. The MOB and GLC chapters sponsored it. Heading up this years Super Meet was Ken and Nora Morse. I just want to say that he did an outstanding job and I am sure he has the thanks off all those members who attended the event. This event was busting at the seams and that is no joke. I don’t believe I have ever seen the event spill over so parking would have to be across the street. The Swap and Sell area was packed to the gills with motors, parts, boats, and other items for sale. Friday was the set up day and no events were scheduled. The St. Joseph River saw plenty of boats and motors out running on Friday. On Friday night, Steve Roskowski produced a hog roast and pitch in dinner held at the pavilion. Nobody went away hungry!

Saturday morning started early with Chris Scratch being the first one out on the river, running a boat. The American Legion Post #223 provided breakfast. They opened up their door around 6:00AM and served the best breakfast you could purchase for about $4.00. The Legion also cooked hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch. This was done both on Saturday and Sunday.

The Super Meet started off with an announcement at 8:00AM that welcomed members to the 2005 Constantine Super Meet. A general meeting was held around 10:00AM to announce the rules for the day events. At Constantine, flags indicating who and what can be on the water at certain times govern the activity on the water. In general, the small motors are run in the morning with the faster, louder motors in the afternoon. Sprinkled in between the times are events like the Bob Hatcher Time Trial, Stock and Modified 3 horse Time Trials and the Stock and Modified Zephyr Time trials. There is plenty of water time for everyone.

First on the list was the Bob Hatcher Event in honor of a GLC member who passed away a few years ago. Bob liked the little motors, especially Johnson Outboards. He enjoyed making these little motors perform to the best of their abilities, so the event has a rotating horsepower limit. This year the 4 horse outboard was scheduled which means that any outboard 4 horse or under can run. The Event is a running event that starts off with a cold motor, testing the owner’s ability to start his outboard. Then, after he gets it started, he goes around a marked course until he gets to a certain position, then he must shut off his motor and row his boat. Then after he reaches a certain marker, he must restart his motor and run to the end of the course. After all the contestants had finished that part, they must go through the idling portion of the event, meaning that they have to idle their motors between two sets of markers. The times are recorded and the winners are announced at the banquet. They give plaques for the 2^nd and 3^rd place contestants with a traveling trophy given to the winner along with a plaque. Next year it is back to 2 horsepower motors, with the following year upped to 3 horse outboards.

The rest of the morning and early afternoon was different classes of motors getting their chances on the water. Many different boats and motors made their way out on the river. During the day, the “Oldest Running Outboard” had to be witnessed by the judges and this year a 1910 Evinrude won that award. There was plenty of action for all outboarders, from old putt-putts to the big high performance rigs. The Constantine Tow Boat is constantly out on the water to give assistance to anyone who needs a tow or help back into the pit area. Constantine has a colored flag system to show what kind of motors is allowed on the river at a given time. This prevents putt-putts being out on the water with the high performance rigs capable of speeds from 50 mph on up.

The next event in the afternoon was the Time Trials for the 3 hp and Zephyr motors, both stock and modified. The course was laid out and each boat and motor races against the clock around the course. The clock starts when the outboard has started. Each time is recorded and awards are given for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd.

In between the different scheduled events and allotted motor times, members cruised down to the Swap and Sell area. This area was packed and overflowing with vendors and sellers. I have never seen the area as crowded as it was this year. I am sure many parts and motors found new homes this year. There was everything from rowboat motors to high performance outboards for sale this year. Some fellows found bargains and some of the items went for high prices.

The Super Meet also has a judging tent to display outboards to be judged in different categories or just for show. There are many different ribbons and plaques given away for each category. This year the tent was divided into sections showing each category, like “Restored Antique”, “Original Classic” and such. A panel of judge’s views each motor and then the trophies are given away at the banquet.

Also during the day, the “Cup of Gas” and “How Slow Can You Go” contest is held. Members are given a chance to guess how long a certain outboard can run with just a cup of gas in the tank. The “How Slow Can You Go” contest has members bringing their outboard to a test tank and see how slow it can idle for at least 10 seconds or so.

Towards the end of the day on Saturday, an auction is held under the tree by the grandstands for items donated by members. This year, we had an additional surprise, RAIN!

It stormed about half way through the auction. Some folks got soaked, some packed under the tent until the rain stopped. The auction took some extra time because of the rain.

After the auction, the hors-deserves was held under the pavilion instead of on the patio. After everyone had a chance to dry off and have a snack, the banquet was held inside the hall. The banquet was a sold out dinner and they even auctioned off some tickets incase some members didn’t get a chance to purchase the dinner tickets. After the dinner the awards and trophies were handed out. The rest of the evening is spent viewing the motors on display and stopping by all the campers on the grounds.

Sunday starts off with breakfast again provided by the American Legion. No one is allowed on the water until after 8:00AM and now loud and fast boats until after 12:00PM. This rule is one that the American Legion instills since many of the churches are near the river and they don’t want a lot of noise until after the services. Sunday is kind of a laid back day, with the exception of the River Cruise scheduled at 11:00AM. This year many boats took to the cruise, which runs up the St. Joe River almost to Three Rivers. This year’s cruise almost did not get off to a start because of the threatening skies. But as luck would have it, the sun came out right before the event and the skies turned to a beautiful shade of blue during the cruise. After the Cruise, the river was open to high performance and go fast boats. By this time the Swap and Sell area had dwindled down and most of the members have started to make their way back home. This year, we had many members from as far away, including Arizona, Oregon, Colorado, Florida, North and South Carolina, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Nebraska, and Connecticut. Next year will make the 10^th anniversary of the event and Dan Jones is the lead member with Steve Roskowski, again, being the lead member in 2007.

See Ya On The Water!