On Sat, 12 May 2018 07:41:08 -0400, Keyser Soze wrote:

On 5/11/18 11:47 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 11 May 2018 22:48:45 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Fri, 11 May 2018 20:45:19 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 11 May 2018 17:58:06 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Fri, 11 May 2018 16:57:31 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

In many ways those days with little boats and little outboards were just
as much fun and have just as fond memories in my mind as the big, diesel
powered boats that came later.

===

I agree. For pure joy of boating and just being on the water it's
hard to beat a small boat. Frequently the high point of our boating
trips on the trawler is launching the inflatable dinghy and going
exploring with it - reminds me of being a kid again.

I really liked buzzing around in the river and the bay in my 12' Jon
boat. It was my first boat when I moved here. There just wasn't a way
to bring Judy along so I had to get a bigger boat.
I had an old office chair with missing wheels that I got for free and
it was tied to the stringers in the boat with a PVC pipe extending the
tiller of my 7.5 Merc. (50% over powered)
It ran out around 17-18 MPH according to the guys I ran with and that
is flying in a Jon boat.

===

We've got a 20 horse Honda on our 12 ft inflatable. It's propped for
power not speed but it will still hit 20 kts if you're brave enough.
That's scary fast in a little rubber boat but 15 or 16 is comfortable
and stable in reasonably flat water.

This is a 12 Jon boat, still pretty squirrely going fast but I liked
it. Most of the time I was going 12-15 about 3/4 throttle that sounds
better to me.
You don't get much better for finding your way around the mangroves
tho. If you really get stuck, jump out and drag it back into deeper
water.


I had a 3 hp Evinrude on a 12' "Skimmar" one summer when I was a little
kid. Seemed fast enough to me, especially since the other kids my age
were still powering their little boats with oars. About halfway through
the summer, my dad took the outboard to his shop for service but brought
back a 7-1/2 hp Evinrude he took in on trade. Boat really flew with that
motor.

The 3 hp motors were very reliable. Our summer neighbor, a retired
printer, had one on a 12' dory for many years, and he'd go way out into
the Sound fishing a few times a week. After every use, he'd carry the
motor up to a 55 gallon drum in his yard and run it in fresh water until
the gas in the tank ran out...then he'd wash the outside of the motor
and wipe it down with an oily rag.

Well of course your stuff was much better than that of the other kids your age!