Lesa and I were gone for almost two weeks. We went up to Tennessee and stayed with friends on Friday 8/2 then got up and we took two trucks and trailers up to Tomahawk Wisconsin for the annual Tomahawk Nationals.
This is for antique outboard lovers and enthusiasts. It is the Holy Grail of Swap meets and also a show for the show quality exhibits and boats as well as engines. This was Lesa's first time and believe me she needed a break!!
Weather was phenomenal!! Tomahawk actually set a record low temp in the morning while we were up there at 39F!! Every day was low humidity and mid to high 70s and nice!
We took the Honda Monkeys up there and rode them all over the place! Had a ball on them.
We rode them to what once was a Moose Lodge for a late lunch on Sunday I think. Had probably the best hamburger and the best fried chicken we have ever had in a restaurant there. The gal that runs the place has won state-wide awards for her hamburgers two years running.
The downtown area of Tomahawk is old. If you changed out the automobiles you could shoot a 1950s movie there on any given day. Clean, simple and well maintained. Flowers all over the place up there.
Here is a pic of the first set up day of the meet. Meet did not start until the next day!
Swap meet is held on the entire length of a retired airport runway! Plus perpendicular roads!
Vendors were already lining both sides of the runway. Much more behind me as well.
So many vendors were coming in over the next three days that you had to make your rounds every couple of hours to make sure you had not missed any "gem" you might have been looking for.
The runway runs right at the edge of the Wisconsin River. Gorgeous for boating and beautiful lakes all over the place up there.
One of Lesa's finds was this tiny little British Seagull engine, called a "Featherweight". Single cylinder and a whopping output of 1.25hp! I brought tools and a 10' canopy to work under. We had it running in about 30 minutes!
Here is the first run.....note the total confidence in that we pushed away from the dock without starting it! Oh well....
But not without first discovering that we forgot to put the plug in the boat! Truck and trailer were already gone.....
Look hard and you will see the end of my finger sticking out the back of the boat just below the surface of the water. Dohhh!
Here is Lesa running her British Seagull. Cool little engine!
Gorgeous engines were all over the place along the runway. To me this was one of the stand-outs! A Waterwitch with the "Mae West" tank set-ups. Mae west for obvious reasons!
This one was restored and highly polished by one of the more accomplished guys and was well out of our price range!!
A trailer load of 1957 and 1958 Johnson outboards brought in to sell !
Lesa got accused of being a "Trailer Queen"! She was out from under the canopy and getting warm and some sun.
Lake Nokomis, just North of Tomahawk. We had gone to a cool restaurant called "Bootleggers" for dinner. After dinner we stopped off at the "Windmill" for some killer ice cream and walked out on the old bridge and shot this picture.
One of Lesa's prized purchases is this absolutely gorgeous 1957 Johnson 3hp. To date I have never seen an original so well preserved (The engine boys...the engine!). The engine was so nice in fact that we decided to enter it in the show in the "Original Unrestored" category.
.......It won First Place !!! Lesa was one proud gal ! Plaque was presented to her at the Awards Banquet.
I was looking for a good example of the very early "RowBoat Motors. They were built by several manufacturers. Evinrude being the prominent builder.
It was not to be....at Tomahawk.
While talking to a fellow that had RBM (rowboat motor) parts I asked where the rest of the engine was? Not expecting much I was surprised when he replied that his was at home and was for sale. Again not expecting much I was floored when he showed me photos of his restoration, documented his process, and gave me his price! Also the engine has a very rare "Tilt Mechanism" on it which was a dealer add on and is a super rare find. The engine is a 1919-1920 model !
We made a several hour detour through miles and miles of cornfields to get this engine in Southern Illinois on the way home. Lesa was apprehensive but all smiles when he unboxed it!
On the flywheel note the knob.....
These engines are routinely referred to as "Knucklebusters". If you have the timing a bit too far advanced while starting you will know why in short order!
Here is a short video of an engine I brought up there to run on the "Ice Cream Run". This is a run for Row Boat Motors only.
This particular engine is a bit later that that era but still a knucklebuster.
The engine is a ELTO (Evinrude Light Twin Outboard) and is laid out in the typical opposed twin cylinder design It puts out 4.1hp.
We had it on a 16' deep and wide aluminum boat with 6 adults on board!
Note the guy in the Evinrude hat. That is Dennis Evinrude! Have known him for a long time. Another friend running the engine while I shot video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UA-AfXwdDALesa did purchase another two engines. I have not had time to unwrap them after the trip yet.
One of the engines is also a 1931 Elto. This one is signed off by none other than Ole Evinrude. Pretty darned rare and the engine is in close to perfect unrestored condition. Pics later.
On the way home .... darn it!
