Man, the rain hasn’t seemed to stop this summer!  The Mayor says we’ve had 21 inches of rain since he moved out to the lake in late April!  That’s a lot of rain!  Early September proved to be a ball buster with 4+ inches of rain in 20 hours.  Long Lake rose quickly.  In fact, in an hour and a half we lost about 15 feet of shoreline.  Part of the deluge was the Earl flooding (see photos) and losing a couple of sections of the dock.  It was tough to see our most prized possession SUNK!  Emotions ran the gambit.  What will happen to my grandfathers boat?  Will it float again?  Will the motor fire again?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After consulting with Big H, John Q Callahan, and by proxy, Forrest Hutchinson, I made my way to the Lodge with a bag of tools.  The water was evacuated from the Earl, the cowling on the ’96 Nissan was removed and the gas drained from the tank, the oil was pumped out, the filters were drained, carbs drained, all 3 cylinders were dried out (along with the carbs).  I added fresh gas and oil, then crossed my fingers.  I turned the key and she didn’t fire.  Again with the key, nothing.  Hope drained my mind!  I looked down and the kill switch was disconnected.  I attached it and hit the key again.  SUCCESS!  The Earl was, once again, sea (or fresh water) worthy!  Ran like a champ!  I let him idle for a few minutes and decided to take a run across the lake!  Again, SUCCESS.  The Earl didn’t miss a step, he topped out at 34 MPH on the inaugural jaunt across the lake!

Here’s a link to what it feels like to be back on the Earl!

Thanks to my advisors;  Callahan, Big H, Forrest, and F.E Leathers (the namesake of the Earl)!