MOB News

Lake Webster Fall Meet

September 15, 2007

 

Saturday, September 15th was the MOB North Webster meet held on beautiful Lake Webster.  It to be a gorgeous day and the pavilion was packed with MOB’sters and motors.  This year’s event was so crowded; some of the boats were left on the trailers or on display out in a parking lot.  The motors that were displayed under the pavilion were overflowing and space was at a premium. 

 

The meet started around 8:00am with members coming from as far away as Canada, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana.  It was, in my opinion, the largest MOB meet outside of the Constantine Super Meet. I don’t think there was a head count but I would have to guess that between 100 and 125 people attended the meet.  Each year our meets get bigger and better with more “on the water” action and plenty of interesting people, outboards, and items for sale.  I had arrived about 8:30am and the action was going fast and furious.  It was reported that people had to park many blocks away and walk back to the City Park, where the action was taking place. 

 

You could just about find anything you wanted in the “swap and sell” area which was located anywhere from the parking spots in front of the pavilion to the large parking lot across the street.  There were antique and classic motors for sale, parts galore and many boating items for sale.  There were even some boats for sale.  Dave Tranter had his display of literature for sale so you could pick up reproduction owners manuals, parts manuals, or advertisements at a very reasonable cost.  You could find just about anything you needed to complete or start that winter project.

 

The outboards on display ran the gauntlet from an original early Evinrude Detachable to late model classic outboards.  An interesting development happened this year during the awards presentation, there were not enough plaques on hand for everyone who displayed a motor.  It was the first time this has ever happened and it showed us how our meets are growing.  Another tradition that is growing by leaps and bounds is the pitch in luncheon that the MOB started some years ago.  That idea has grown and has developed into a great tradition.  Plenty of food was on the table, everything from a superb pulled beef BBQ to hot dogs, salads, chips, corn salad, cookies, pies and you couldn’t walk away hungry!  After the luncheon, Chapter President Jay Walls held the business meeting, electing the officers, setting up the schedule for next years events and passing out the awards and plaques.  This year’s winners, voted by the members, were “Favorite Antique Outboard”-Dean Chapman for a Neptune A-38.  Next was the “Favorite Classic Outboard”-Greg Clark for a restored Mercury MK20.  The “Favorite Boat and Motor” award went to Dick Fontaine for a 1957 Lone Star Admiral.

 

One thing the MOB is getting noted for is family participation and at the Fall Meet, there were plenty of families sharing special moments.  There were lots of husbands and wives, fathers and sons, father and daughters, brothers, and grandson and granddaughters enjoying the afternoon together.  One special exhibit was Kirk Butler and his daughter, Jessi.  They provided us with a racing demonstration, both on the water and in the water.  Jessi Butler took to the water in their “B” class runabout with a Merc MK25 powerhead on an “H” tower.  Jessi proved fearless, even when the water got a little rough and tossed her in the drink!  She is alright and so was the boat.  She got a good soaking and a change of clothes fixed all of that.  It has been reported that Jessi has that “need for speed” and may soon be on the competition circuit. 

 

The rest of the afternoon saw plenty of “on the water” action with a rare running of a 1908 Waterman Porto.  Jay Walls brought his restored Waterman and Star Tank boat to the meet.  He was taking people rides all afternoon as the Waterman got some running time.  It was quite a site to see one of the earliest outboards being used again, after many years of languishing, forgotten in some basement.  Chris Scratch brought the next three oldest outboards, a 1910, 1911 and a 1912 Evinrude, all on the same boat, running at the same time.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures of him running his rig, but check out the Constantine Photo’s, that same outfit was seeing running on the St. Joe River.  There were plenty of other RBM’s out on the water and lots of classic outboards made plenty of blue smoke.  Doc Fontaine had that great restored Lone Star Admiral, colored red, white and blue to match the motor. 

 

Well, things started to wind down, as they usually do.  The afternoon wore on, little by little, the members slowly started to thin out.  By late afternoon, only a couple of diehards were left, not wanting to let the water calm down.  By 5:00pm, the event was history and the last antique diehards had left, exhausted, tired, but with many great memories.

 

See Ya on the Water,

Rick Eichrodt