11^th Annual Constantine Super Meet

Co-hosted by the

Great Lakes Chapter & Michiana Outboard Boating Chapter

July 5^th, 6^th, & 7^th, 2007

The 11^th Annual Constantine Super Meet was held on the first weekend of July this year instead of the second weekend because of scheduling conflicts. Hosted by the two chapters, GLC and MOB, the event was on the grounds of the American Legion. We arrived on Thursday night in Three Rivers, just north of Constantine and there were quite a few members who arrived ahead of us. Believe it or not, there was a mini meet out in the parking lot at the motel where we were all staying. There were about 8 to 10 members and their families who were milling about, checking out what they brought and getting the feel of the upcoming meet. At about 11:00pm, everyone headed up to their rooms to get some rest because of the big weekend in front of us.

Friday morning was met with sunshine and blue skies as we headed back down to the American Legion site to set up our displays and launch our boats. Friday is the day for set up and there is no set times for any events other than no open exhaust boats. This year, the featured motor was the Rowboat motor or Detachable outboard. Chris Scratch was the Rowboat Motor Event Coordinator for this call out and there was about 40 RBM’s that were scheduled to appear at this historic event. Chris has written an article describing this event so I will let you read about it in his article. Otherwise, I will try to pen what happened during the rest of the event. After arriving on the grounds and finding a suitable site for our displays, I noticed many boats on the water, tuning up for the next days activities. The Swap and Sell areas were beginning to fill up and the camping sites were being chosen by the fellow members. One of the hardest things to find is a good spot to park your boat along the banks for the weekend. This year, we got a pretty good spot although without any shade of the nice trees down at the end of the Legion grounds. Being from Indianapolis, we decided to car pool with the Walls family and set up our display and tents up by the parking lot. Jay had a unique display trailer packed full of history. He had about 20 RBM’s loaded on his display trailer and gave tours to everyone who asked about the rare and interesting outboards. Next to Jay’s display my family had set up the “MOB Hospitality Tent” which meant shade and a cooler for the gang to watch all the fun going on out on the water. Friday night, Steve Roskowski had assembled another hog roast for everyone at the meet. The dinner was under the pavilion next to the Legion building and the line extended clean up to the door of the next building. There was plenty of food to go around and I am sure everyone went away with a full stomach. This was the 3^rd year for this dinner and the turn out was bigger than last year. Thanks again Steve for providing us with this great dinner and bringing everyone together.

Saturday was the start of the scheduled events with a business meeting heading off the list. The Super Meet opened around 8:00am with a welcome announcement over the PA system. The business or drivers meeting was at 8:30am with the Bob Hatcher Event right after the meeting. The Hatcher Event is a test of an outboard of a certain horsepower, this year being a 2 horse or less outboard. Also this year, the motor had to be in the antique category which meant being manufactured before 1950. The Hatcher contest showcases motors dependability. Ease of starting, high speed, slow speed, restarts is all part of the contest of the machine and the owner who operates it.

After the Bob Hatcher Event are open times for running on the water. The chapters came up with a plan on how to accommodate all the different motors that were planning on taking to the water. Flags are posted on a pole, in perfect view of everyone, on which kinds of outboards are allowed out on the water. Times are set aside for Putt-putts, Loud and Fast, Open Exhaust and Quicksilver motors. The reasoning behind this style of scheduling is that it would be inappropriate for a small putt-putt to be out on the course with a boat going maybe 50 miles an hour. Included in the scheduling of events were the 3 horse and Zephyr motors running in stock and modified time trials. This contest sets each motor an operator against the clock, with the winner having the fastest time on the course.

If your interest was not on the water, then there was plenty of action on land as you could browse the display tent or take a walk around the Swap and Sell area. Quite a few boat and motor combo’s were on display in the grass area next to the display tent. The Swap and Sell area was again packed with everything from motors, boats and just about anything in between. As I walked around the area, I found plenty of interesting items. Shirts, books, toys, parts and other items were for sale. A couple of rare motors also were for sale, an Elto Quad, Merc racing motors and other rowboat motors along with some very nice wooden and aluminum boats had for sale signs hanging on them, looking for new owners. A Red Top and a long shaft Lockwood 72-T found new homes along with many other items which exchanged hands. One could also watch motors being tested or worked on in the test tanks provided by the members. In addition to that, two contests are held there, the Cup of Gas and How Slow Can You Go contests provided plenty of interest. This year, the featured motor for the Cup of Gas Contest was a Johnson OA-65. 8 ounces of gas was put in the tank and the motor was started, set at a certain speed, then the motor was timed until it ran out of gas. Unfortunately, the motor didn’t get set at the right setting and it drank the gas pretty quickly. We still got a winner and it all worked out in the end. After the removal of the OA-65, the tank was opened for the How Slow Can You Go Contest where members bring their motors and try to get their motor down to the slowest idle it can provide and still keep running. This year’s winner was Jay Walls running a rare Wisconsin Commercial RBM.

With all of this action out on the water and on land, there was a flurry of activity going on in the display tent with the judging of all the motors that were up for awards. Each category had many vying contestants and the judges had their hands full, trying to figure out who won. It even got down to one category that the two motors were so close that an outside judge had to be called in for a tie breaker. Everyone who took the time to display a motor was a winner in my opinion.

As Saturday began to wind down, one of the last events is the clubs auction. There is a tree near the parking lot where members bring stuff that they want to donate to the auction at the end of the day. This year there was over 100 different items for sale, including tickets to the sold out dinner. Tee shirts, gas tanks, motors and parts were auctioned off with the proceeds divided between the two chapters. After the auction, the Super Meet ended for the day and the “Happy Hour” with hors d’oeuvres began which lasted about an hour before the sold out dinner banquet. There were about 120 tickets sold for the awards dinner banquet and all the plaques and trophies were handed out after the delicious dinner was served. This year, an added award was a Kid’s Scavenger Hunt with a list of questions given to each contestant and it was their task to find the answers. The kids had to go out and ask what a certain item was, or find an answer to a question with the winner being the one who got the correct answers too all the questions. Kyle Roskowski won first place with a complete tool box his award.

Sunday awoke with a flurry of action out on the water. Sunday morning is reserved for the quiet crowd and no motors are allowed on the water with open exhausts until noon. In terms of history, this was the biggest day! BJ Pawlaczyk had allowed Jay Walls and Stuart Fillinger to work on his 1906 Waterman Porto to see if they could get it running and on Saturday, they did get it to run in the test tank. Sunday morning, Jay Walls, JJ Walls and Richard White took to the water in Jay’s Star Tank boat of the same period and ran this historic outboard. It is suggested that this 1906 is the only surviving motor of only 25 ever made and it ran, out on the waters of the St. Joseph River after what could be almost 100 years of sitting in a barn. The Waterman drew a huge crowd along the banks of the river, waiting to see this motor come back to life and take a few members out on a short cruise. The running of the Waterman was a success and I would like to thank BJ for allowing this event to take place. It took some courage to allow this costly and rare motor to be back on the water and running again and a big “Thank You” goes out to BJ for allowing Jay and others to bring this motor back to life for the enjoyment of the club.

Another spectacular event was going on all weekend. The two chapters got together and had a video company come in and tape all the events all weekend. The DVD is almost ready for production and hopefully, by the time this article comes out; the product will be available for sale. Unfortunately I don’t have the information for the purchase of the DVD at this time. I am sure when the movie is released; information will be sent out either in the Newsletter or in the Antique Outboarder.

In conclusion, a tip of the hat goes out to all the volunteer’s who helped man the registration tents, display judges, and all who helped make this another Super Meet! A big “Thank You” goes out to all the people connected with the American Legion which if it were not for them, there would be no Constantine Super Meet!

See Ya on the Water,

Rick Eichrodt

MOB Correspondent