Memories….

Last week a situation came up where I thought that I might not have a boat for the first time in 35yrs..
But thanks to the fishing gods(and my kid), that never happened ,but it did open up memories that had been kind of in the back of my mind for awhile …….(I don’t have much room ya know.)…….

It was early 1979….my oldest was not even one year old yet…and buddy of mine asked me if I wanted to buy a boat that he inherited from his step-dad…..
It was a 14ft Semi-V small lake boat with a 50’s model 6hp,Green hood,Kiekhaefer Merc- no trailer- for $150…talked him down to $115 and it was mine!
At that time I had a 60 Ford pick-up so the no trailer was no biggie….with 2 guys it was a piece of cake to load it…but even 1 guy could do it if he was determined…..
Throw the motor and the gas tank in and off you went…..

The Ford died that summer(died of old age)and it’s replacement was a 68 Chevelle station wagon…While you could still fit the boat in the back with a little work…but there was little room for the extras….
The Merc died too, so a 57 10hp Johnson replaced it..

Seeing is, at the time ,I worked at a steel fabrication plant, I consulted the very best “custom cobblers” and came up with a (removable) boat rack for the Chevelle……with the ball off the hitch, I bolted on a 2 pipe system (one inside the other )support, with a 4″ angle iron welded to the top……..you put the transom in the angle iron,then picked up the bow and walked it to a roof rack on the front and tied everything down and off you went.
One guy could easily load and unload the boat from the car top……no landing needed……unload the motors and such from the back of the wagon…… be fishing in 15 mins..
That boat was on the top of my car from mid-april to late october for the next 8 years… from up north to Hayward-Vilas CO,to the WI river,to any small lake or small river,or even the Milwaukee River during the snagging season….

Had a lot of fun in that old boat..Like the time I lassoed a Seagull…or the time we thought we were gonna die by being sucked into the rollers of the Castlerock dam, or the time we…ummm……..I regress……

But anyway……..

That boat is long gone (Like most of the guys that fished in it with me) and was kind of lost in time until now…

I’m sure some here may be asking…Why is this old guy boring us with this?…Well… 3 reasons

1) Because I can…
2) Because it has been great therapy for me remembering and writing this out….I had a big smile,and even chuckled a time or 2,and it seems like I have not doing either enough lately…….
3) To remind everyone, that while the days when everything just clicks and the fishing is hot are great…but…..to me the best memories are the everyday ones….

thanks, I enjoyed reading that
kinda reminded me of a Patrick McManus story

Well said.

Mud,

Thanks for stirring up the old memory bank, I remembers the old days fishing with my dad in his old Grumman Canoe, it was a beast and I still have it. We used to take it up to the BWCA for years. Damn heavy it was, over 100 lbs with the paddles, an axe, and a few poles taped into it.

Us young guys got the job of carrying it as soon as we were old enough, those 1/2 mile plus portages were tough but worth every step.

Dad past away a year ago and I want to go back up there this summer but I won’t be carrying the old Grumman, it’s too heavy any more for this guy.

I remember my first watercraft. Not long after moving to Minnesota I bought a canoe because wade fishing just wasn’t doing it for me as the only alternative. I hauled that around myself. It was a chore loading/unloading off my vehicle but it sure was fun at the time. A few years later I got a boat.

1st boat is like that first serious girlfriend. A lot of learning, a lot of trial and error. … A lot of errors. ..and a bit of a money pit. But looking back sure is grand at this time in life.

But Randy, I have absolutely no regrets marrying that first serious girlfriend. 38 years ago tomorrow at 1:00 PM. Man did it pour rain!!

Congrats Denny on the 38 years. We are on 40 great years

Thanks, 4-24-1976 a Saturday. Tornado warning out all over as I drove through them heading to the rehearsal. (We had no clue other than the nasty looking skies!

Mud,
Sorry for the side track.

I remember the first boat my dad brought home. Mom and us 4 kids were sitting at the dinner table and Dad comes in the back door grinning from ear to ear. A 14ft Span-America boat(late 50’s) with a 40 hp Scott-At-Water late 40’s/early 50’s (excuse spelling please). I remember the motor having that forward flat face on it.. Here is a similar pic of the first boat that our family of 6 (mom, dad and 4 chillins)was in.

I like hearing stories like these.

My first boat was a 12 foot Jon that came with oars and an anchor. No trailer or motor because I couldn’t afford fancy stuff like that at the time. LOL I hauled that thing around on top of my 72 Gan Torino for a couple years before I bought my first brand new boat, a 14 foot Jon. Had to wait a year so I could save up enough money to buy a motor for it. Until I was able to buy myself a motor, a friend let me use one of his old motors. A 20hp Johnson that would only start in gear. Talk about a steep learning curve. LOL As Randy said, LOTS of trial and error but looking back, I wouldn’t trade those days for anything.

My first boat was a 10ft.Holiday flat bottom.Dad gave it to me on my 11th birthday along with a used Remington 1148 20 gauge.
That was 1969 when you could still shoot lead and a kid with a gun was not cause for alarm,just a grin and a wave and good luck wished to you by the neighbors.
Many a duck shot,catfish caught and traps run out of that boat.Had it till my early 20’s when my oldest nephew and I discovered a thirst for beer and didn’t secure it to the roof properly and off she flew and crumpled the bow on the highway.

Love this post!

My first boat I coaxed out of the backyard of my then girlfriend’s father, 14ft Alumacraft, no motor, trailer with no winch, bare bones. Found a 73 Merc 7.5 hp in classifieds, borrowed my dads old green box Fish-Lo-K-tor and we set off for the MN opener.

About halfway through the day my buddy looks at me and says, this is sure a sweet boat!!

My first test run was to Lake Independence, and I backed her in and could not get it to start for anything. I pulled and pulled and pulled, nothing. I was “that guy” at the landing that day, backing everything up.

Not sure what I did cause I got it to run fine as soon as I got it back home and ran it in a can.

yep, memories.

This is a truly amazing thread you’ve started here, I’ve often thought that we should create a group on IDO of some sort where guys could share great old memories like these. I think I can speak for most on here in saying that the stories bring a smile to your face. Although I cannot speak to the great and simpler times back before I was born, I’ve still heard many a story from those days from my dad and other relatives. I enjoy looking back on the good bad and ugly times on the water, its what makes fishing is so fun.

As it relates to the thread and boats, I have never owned a boat yet it my life but it is on the top of my list once I graduate from college and get a job. I do have the luxury of being able to use a hand me down boat. My grandpa bought it gave it to my dad who will one day give it to me. It’s an ‘old’ (to me it’s old) aluminum 14′ star craft with a 15 HP SeaKing motor, lots of great memories in that boat as a kid/teenager. Like falling over the side of the boat more than a few times straining to net or grab a fish. Getting hung up on some rocks and having to jump in to push it off, and being stuck in many a rain storm but still catching fish and having a great time with family, still shivering most of the way home. Looking back every second was well worth it, wish I could do it again. Great post

Great post. My first boat was my Dads, a 1960 14′ Lone Star fiberglass runabout with a 1957 35hp Johnson motor. Had a lot of great times in that boat. Learned to fish out of that boat.