New Bellboy Project

[vwbusboy1]

Hello Everyone!

My name is Aaron and I live in Edmonds, WA. I recently purchased a 1957 Bellboy 16' runabout. The boat is usable but in mediocre shape. We're doing what we can to get it going this season and then really seeing what we can do to bring it back over the off season. Looking around these forums have been great for ideas on how to restore and improve many things. I have always wanted a classic watercraft and I'm seeing a lot of potential for this one. Hope to get to know everyone and have pics and project plans up soon!

[ChuckB]

Hey Aaron:
You're surrounded by boat freaks! I'm in Lynnwood, there are a few old codgers in the Mill Creek outskirts as well. Post pic's, we like pic's.
ChuckB

[Mark_Denis]

Welcome Aaron! Nice to see another BB being brought back to life. Let's see some pics soon! :TakePicture1:

[vwbusboy1]

First Day Pics

Hi All,

Here are some pics from when we brought the BB home last week. I'm hoping to get some more pics today now that I've delved into it more and have a good idea of what needs improvement.

[Helmar]

Bell Boy

Some of us have restored boats.
Most of us have Restoration In Progress.
Yours looks like a Restoration in Progress.

If she is a runner, fits right in with this group.

[John Berg]

Fits in

If shes "not" a runner, fits in with this group John

[Tim McCrain]

If she is a runner, but won't start at the dock at the first event you bring her to, she fits right in with this group.

If she is a runner, but makes it to the middle of the lake and dies, she fits right in with this group.

If she runs great all the time someone in the group will try to trade you something for her, probably something that they swear "ran great last time she was out ... "

[Lootas1]

Great Tim. Think you got it right!

Welcome Aaron!! Tim said it best. Any condition, any shape, running or not, thats us. Hope we can see you and your new old boat at an event soon.

[Tim McCrain]

Did ya'll notice the second picture Aaron posted? The one of him sitting in the boat in the garage with a big grin on his face? I'll bet he was making Vrroommm noises, too. He's one of us, alright!

:cool1:

[vwbusboy1]

Hahaha, Vrrooomm was right, being behind the wheel of the BB made me think back to when I was five or six playing around on my dad's old Chrysler Conqueror.
And funny it was mentioned, the guy who sold me the BB said exactly what Tim was talking about. "Ran great the last time she was out..." I get her home and the starter solenoids gone out, the spark plug threads were were stripped, and there was water in the lower end. As of yet, she is not a runner. I lucked out though and found another Evinrude identical to the one I already have only in much better shape. Swapped em' out and I'm hoping to have her up and running tomorrow.
It would be so nice to participate in an event. Have to find out what all is coming up.
Hoping to have some more picks up tomorrow if I can figure out how to create an album.

Till next time...Hope everyone had a Happy 4th! VeryBigSmile

[Tim McCrain]

Aaron,

"Ran great the last time it was out" is a classic! The rest of the story usually goes something like " ... but it hasn't been out in ten years because it wouldn't start and then I screwed it up good." Other perennial favorites are "Should start right up" (it ain't never gonna run), "Just needs a tuneup" (starts but runs really bad 'cause I never replaced the impeller and it has scored cylinders from overheating), "Just needs a starter" (I burned up the starter trying to get it running), "Should have the impeller replaced" (I fried that sucker good, guess you really do need water to run it), "Just needs a battery" (I gave up on it and took the battery out to use for something else), and of course, our all-time favorite, "Just needs a little TLC" (Tender Loving Complete Restoration).

Prior to being infected with FLU (Fanatical Lust for Unmaintained boats) I had a similar affection (affliction?) for old motorcyles. You could often trace the cause of ten or more years of sitting disassembled to something simple that snowballed when someone who didn't know what they were doing started messing with it. "It just needs a starter" usually meant that something very simple, usually a dirty or loose connection, prompted the owner to begin to rip apart the electrical system, with no clue how to put it back together. Always amazed me to carefully reassemble a bike to find some minor, easily corrected problem that resulted in the bike being unused for years and eventually sold cheap to clear garage space. I once bought a bike that had a "blown engine" because it had parts that could be ebay'd for a profit, turns out the "blown engine" was an improperly installed clutch cover gasket that was leaking oil. A few dollars and a couple of hours later it was on the road.

Mayfield Lake in a couple of weekends looks like it will be a great event, weather should be good and the lake is beautiful. Folks are always welcome to come to events without a boat, others are always happy to give rides and show off their babies.

Other events are listed on the events calendar, too.

Tim

[BruceDrake]

vroom

In addition to smiley face icons, there should be vroom noise effect buttons on the website.