Sea Horse comes alive

After a long sleep the Johnson 25 woke right up.
We cleaned out one of the steel tanks by putting in a couple pounds of nuts and bolts and shaking it up.  This scoured the rusty bits and sludge.  We then emptied it out, rinsed it out with some kerosene, then heated it up with a gas torch to burn out the nasty residue.
A couple pin holes turned up so we brazed them then repainted the bottom.
New fuel line fittings (Johnson fittings, filter and bulb) were added with a new hose.
Next we filled up a trash can with water and crossed our fingers.
Five pulls and it fires right up.  I was worried it might be a $50 lemon.  But even then, old 2 cycles are really easy to repair.
Fortunately, no repairs needed.  We will replace the impeller soon, but it is pumping water now.

Stump Lake

Nice weather and weekends rarely coincide around here, but they did yesterday.  So we flipped the skiff, dropped it on the trailer and headed up river to Stump lake.  It is an old slough off the Illinois river surrounded by low flood plain and forests.  The corps of Engineers  has small dykes in places that you can portage over to get to other sloughs and eventually the Illinois.
To see a map, click on this link: Google Map of Stump Lake
Duncan Eifel and I improved our rowing and covered some distance.  We pulled into an elaborate duck blind with a tin roof, a couple rooms and a dog kennel.  We also found a rollover portage put in by the Illinois DNR.  It was fun.
See the video below.

Rolling down the river!

River skiff view

Here is a view of the skiff from the roof .
Today we are re-sanding and re-fairing the hull.  The plan is to get as perfect a finish as we can possibly achieve.  We are weighing epoxy primer then Perfection paint or gelcoat and buffing.
I'm leaning toward gel coat.

Mississippi River Skiff update: Trials

In the rain and fog we launched the skiff at Piasa harbor and rowed out to the sand bars in the Mississippi channel.  The boat is great.  It has great stability and with it's flaired stern sections, hardens up in a heel.  We had 5 eager sailors and we calculated a total weight of 600 pounds.
Rowing was fun but we need practice!  With all the weight the boat had great carry and tracked straight as an arrow with the skeg.
We couldn't wait for the delivery of the epoxy primer so the boat still looks like an ugly duckling.
Beauty shots will follow soon.

Sand bar and duck blind in the Mississippi

Mississippi River Skiff update: Oar leathers

We needed some oar leathers for our new oars.  So I drove to S & T Leather in St. Louis city.  The place is a wholesale supply and has a small city sales area.  We just needed a small bit of tanned leather, some artificial sinew, and a punch for this project.
It was easy work with this punch.  It cuts in 4 perfect holes.
I just drew a straight line 1/4 inch in on each side of the cut leather and punched holes down the line.
The sinew was doubled and was easy sewing in front of the TV.
We watched "Exit through the Gift Shop"
It is a very good documentary about street graffiti artists and a film maker.
It was long enough to finish one leather.
Now I just need three more good movies...