While I wait for all your responses I will end the first season of this boat story since I am out of pics. So the work continued on the put back right up until the final hour before we were leaving for the lake. And then it went on for a few more hours, and then a couple more for good measure. There were so many little last minute things to do...like put the engine on, oh and paint and install the engine plate/outer transom piece. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel though. We wound up leaving that night at about 11 pm. It is a four hour ride so no one was real happy about the impending trip but we made it and even had an adult beverage or two before passing out. We (i) got up early to go through the boat and make sure things were where they should be and did a saftey check. Put the plug in with the Teflon tape of course and waited for everyone else to awake. It was like lying in bed Christmas day waiting for my parents to get up. My stomach was also turning because I was sure she would float, but that was the only thing I knew. I tried briefly to get the engine running with no success, that was the one last small thing I planned on doing at home but never got to it. I had got it to fire but not stay running. As I mentioned earlier, my buddy who came up with his family is a machinist and a real smart guy. He has a mind for most anything mechanical and electrical so I figured we would figure the engine out between the two of us. It might involve more parts but before the weekend, one way or another, she will run.
So everyone gets up and gets ready, my brother takes his pontoon with the wives and our kids to the launch and my buddy(Scott) and I trailer my boat down to the launch. We put her in, I park the van, come back and turn the key....wait for it....she fires off and runs better than when she was new. Scott looks at me, I look at Scott, Mike (bro) looks at me, I look at him, you get the point.. I swear, it was the funniest moment of my life. We all just doubled over laughing. Scott was sure he was going to have to tinker with this thing all weekend. I would have bet my life savings, both dollars, that she wouldn't start first time.
I warmed her up, and took her for a blast. She went as fast as 26 with me alone in the boat after Scott recommended I richer the fuel mixture. The fastest she had ever gone was 21. SUCCESS!!!
Here she is that weekend, first time in the water in 4 years I think.