Back at Rock Lane

Long run back from Eureka Springs. Stopped at Campbell Point for fuel and potty break for the kids. Just before that we had a good scare. Engine RPMs suddenly went up and thrust was lost. Thought the prop pin had sheared or the clutch had gone out in the lower unit. I shut her down and raised the out drive. All looked ok. Suddenly a large plastic bag floated out from under the boat. Not sure how long that had been there. With it gone things returned to normal.

The rest of the trip was uneventful.

Tied her up in a slip at Rock Lane marina. Discovered I needed more lines to properly center her in the slip. Purchased additional lines and secured her for the night.

After dinner went back and checked on her. Water in the hull was high enough for the bilge pump to engage. Pumped out a coupl of gallons.

Eureka Springs

Spent the morning in Eureka Springs. Breakfat at the cafe followed by walking the streets. No need for a car here. Shops open around 10am. Check out the sock shop for a unique souvenier. Lunch at the Balcony and time to load up to go back to the boats.

Cruis'n Table Rock 6-9-2010

Got up this morning and put the boat in the water. Engine started right up and all is working well. Joined the Heartland Classics at the Rock Lane Marina. My own private slip for the week. Wow!! We gathered up the group and the lead boat headed for Eureka Springs at about 11:30 am.

New Valve Cover Gasket

Ordered a new valve cover gasket from E-Basic Power (www.ebasicpower.com). Went on faith and just ordered a gasket for a 140 HP GM engine. When it came in everything looked good, however, it had one extra mounting hole. Everything else lined up nice so pulled out the Ultra Gray. Put some on the engine block. Put the gasket in place. A little more Ultra Gray on the valve cover and set it inplace. All the bolt holes lined up. So snugged it up finger tight and waited an hour for the silicon to setup. After it had set, snugged up the bolts and all looks good.

While the cover was off the motor the valves looked good. Everything was really clean and the oil looked nice and clear. Engine appears to be in really good condition on the inside. Will have to see if the leak is cleared up and no more oil coming out the valve cover. If that is fixed, then we may actually degrease the bilge.

First Time out 2010

Took her out to lake Muskogee south of Tulsa, OK for the first time in 2010. Motor and drives ran fine. Ramps were too shallow and ended up banking the prop. Will get to go to the prop shop and have the prop dressed out. Check out this web site for more information on Okmulgee State Park. Boat launch is free, just keep the lower unit tilted up and till you have backed off the ramp. The lake is about 30 feet deep.

http://www.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.5520

Painting

Moved to the hangar for painting. Going to use the topside paint from Interlux, Bright Sides. Cleaned up all the metal on the decks, sanded and taped. Will need to remove the dust and get ready for the paint.

Tried painting the cabin in a couple of spots to see how the paint would work out. Seemed to work out ok. Will try to paint the rest of the cabin in the next few days. Will post pictures after I get some pictures posted once it is all done.

March 28, 2010

Changed the lower unit fluid. Lower gear case fluid looked good. Upper case showed some signs of water getting in to it. Talked to the mechanic at a local shop. He said it is almost impossible to keep water out of the upper case on the older units. Next weekend trying to get the engine oil changed and finish working on the new seat covers.