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The boat was in rough condition, having been neglected for a few years and
invaded by mice. The engine and out-drive were suspect. The fiberglass, though,
was in good shape and the cushions and canvas were OK. So we called the number
listed on the sign and after a couple of days of negotiations agreed on a
price.
Dragging her to the marina on tires probably as old as the boat was a
little un-nerving, but we made it all right. We let her sit at the mechanic's
for a couple of weeks while we were off doing the Governor's Cup. He was
supposed to get her ready during that time, but things just didn't work out
so we decided to take matters into our own hands.
We dropped her in the water and had her towed to our slip so we could work
on her. The first thing was to clean her up. Of course, there's a water
shortage in Maryland so we have yet to wash the outside, but a bucket,
Lysol and some other strong chemicals brought the interior back to almost
new condition. While Janyce scrubbed I started on the engine.
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About $5.00 in
parts and a can of ether got her running again. The power tilt was just as
easy. Four 20 cent O'rings had the power tilt working, but there was no reverse.
As I've never torn down an out drive I decided to call in an expert.
We asked Conestoga Marine, Inc. in Lancaster, Pa. to take a look at it.
They send a mechanic down to the Chesapeake Bay once a week to service their
boats and fill in the rest of his hours with other work. In less
than two hours Andy and Tony had it working. Thanks guys!
So for less than $4000 we have a great little cruiser to carry us on new
adventures. There are still plenty of projects left, lots of little problems
that we will be writing about and we are looking at upgrading the canvas
and cushions, but the boat is running fine. We are planning several trips
for next year, cruising to new places and fishing in between racing events.
So we'll have lots of new stories for you in the coming months.
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