I was told a tale this morning of a sunken pleasure craft. In this case, a fishing boat complete with a 90 hp engine is languishing under the Wolf River and it’s owner will attempt to “raise” the boat.
Back in Spring of 1978, we had just purchased our first cottage. I decided we should own a boat that we could use to cruise Crystal Lake and possibly use for water skiing. An ad appeared in the local newspaper for a used “little red boat” (14 feet long) complete with trailer. It had a 60 hp Mercury outboard. $1400. Grasshopper No.3 went along to “look at it”. We bought it on the spot.
The boat was all fiberglass and did not have the flotation specifications in boats today. We found out later that the transom had been torn up (probably from the engine torquing the back of the boat when it hit bottom). The transom had been patched but it never was quite strong enough. The engine turned out to be worth the money. In hindsight, it probably was the perfect “starter boat”.
Which brings me to my “sunken” tale. We had the boat anchored to our pier and covered with a tarp. There was a severe thunderstorm in which the tarp blew off. Lapping water and rain filled the inside. The boat went to the bottom of Crystal Lake. Fortunately, the water along the pier was only 6-7 feet deep. The ropes holding the boat were still lashed to the pier. The motor was a black shadow beneath the water. I needed to get that boat out of the water. I needed to get the 60 hp engine out of the water. Who do I call? I called Grandpa George. Who else would I call? He knew how to fix things.
Grandpa George showed up with several long wood 2×4’s and a submersible water pump. We used the wood 2×4’s to pry the boat up (using the dock as a lever). Once the boat moved up several feet, the top of the boat was slightly out of the water. Grandpa put the pump into the boat and water began to pour out. Several hours later our boat was floating again and I was wiping key components of the engine. I reset the spark plug. Two pulls of the starter cord and the engine was running. All was right with the world.
There is a learning curve that goes with boats. We actually needed a year to do all the “stupid things” that go with ownership. The next year we upgraded to a classy Glastron ski boat that had a gold flecked hull. We actually transferred the 60 hp Mercury from the “little red boat”. It would skim over the water at over 50 mph. We were now seasoned veterans of lake country.
Good memories. Life!
Love,
Dad