Saturday, May 13, 2023

The Dam Meet

Our first antique outboard meet was held today at the East Sidney Lake Dam Recreation Area out towards Binghamton. There was a nice turn out for this event, although most of the displays were on land. We didn't put anything on display or for sale since we didn't know anything about this venue, but Jim Ryan went with us, so it made for a fun day. Here are a few of our favorites:

A couple of brothers brought their late father's remaining collection of pre-war Evinrude and Johnsons. At one time Dad had over 100 motors. 



#460 last raced 50 years ago. It runs on a mixture of methanol and castor oil, and shoots three foot flames out the exhaust.


An impeccably restored pair of Mercurys that looked like new. The black one is model 110 from the early 1970s, 9.8 HP. The silver one was a late 1950s Mercury mark 20.




This vendor had a great collection of vintage restored gas cans amongst other items.



Here is an identical pair of orphaned Mark 20s waiting for adoption.



A 1928 Penn Yan. These boats are double planked cedar with a layer of asphalt impregnated canvas between the layers, making them watertight.



The Penn Yan had a matching 1928 Johnson opposed twin kicker.



The crates were almost as nice as the antique outboards. The original cardboard box still had its motor and gas tank in it. Ironically it was originally being shipped to an owner in Schenectady.



The owner attempted to run this hydroplane, but it kept stalling and had to be towed back.



I like pink but have never seen a pink outboard before. It is a West Bend brand and ran fantastic.


We also stopped to check out the top of the dam. Looking lakeside, we heard that in 2006 the water rose so high that some of the trailers up on the hill in the campground floated across the top of the dam.



Looking down at Ouleout Creek:



This was a great way to start the season, and if the weather allows, next weekend we will have our Wagemaker Wolverine at its first show.

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