Hardy Dam---excellent turnout...
 

Well, I hooked up with Wette Vette and 29Scarab as planned and headed north to Hardy. Craig and Shawn---nice meeting you guys you're good people and I was glad to show you the way to Hardy. I wished I had my boat running for it, but it was worth the drive, and see all the hardware and watch them drive by. We arrived by 10AM and it's a good thing we did cuz it was begining to get awefully busy! Many boat were already there before we got there, but boy did they ever keep coming AFTER we got there!Just seemed like the launch ramp line for boats was endless. It finally slowed down right around 1:30PM or so. I saw "Crackin' Up" (30' Ocean Express Cat--gorgeous boat!), WaterFoul, Wise Guy, It's Only Money, Midnight Rider, Whitey and coutless others. People I really expected to see but were NOT there were: Todd Hartigh, Mr.Gadgets, Dale Korhorne with his big 38' Cougar. I did leave right around 2PM so I may have missed seeing them on the Hwy coming.

We had a great time!! The WETTE VETTE burned all 40 gallons of the $3.00 gas that I brought and we found a lot of nice calm water to run in. I really enjoyed meeting some of the OSOers and those of you that were boating all have very nice looking rides. To bad there wasn't more time to chat, but my buddies Checkmate had some problems and I helped him out to try to get him going.(with no luck) KAAMA, next year you'll have the boat running strong i'm sure.;) I heard there was a wreck out there somewhere. Did anyone else hear this? Something about a twin engine vee hull losing a drive and spinning out. Hope nobody got hurt!!! Hey Eliminator 219, what happened? Hopefully it is only minor damage. Your boat looked great!! What kind of speeds were you getting? Anyway it was a good time and next year I will bring more fuel.:)

WOW what a lot of boats- best turnout ever. Lots of fast boats. And there is still tomarrow. Lots of very fast boats up at the sand bar also. STV's , Alisons Hydrostreams and even a few 1/4 mi drag boats. Even saw 75 gps on My tank today. Cant wait till next year. OH what to do over the winter.

This was my first visit to this lake and I was impressed. The scenic lake, and of course the large number of great boats, made it a very enjoyable day. Even though I stopped to help a stranded older Hydrostream with a jump, and ended up towing him for an HOUR back to his ramp! Other than that, my boat ran well, and my son got an eyeful during our lunch break at the sandbar. I might even go back tomorrow with the better half!

Hey Tinkeboater, when did you show up? I left around 2PM or so.

Mr.Gadgets;
Thanks for the ride. Its was nice meeting you and your wife. Wow,There were some serious hardware. We rode up to consumers beach and it was packed. Saw some pretty nice boats. Was Hot Boat Mag there to get some pics?

KAM,
give me a call....i may have something your interested in:rolleyes:

email me your #, i forgot it...i'm working right now:(

Wette Vette,
Sorry I missed you up there. I saw you boat by Brower right after we got on the water. (I take it from your post that you were on the Checkmate trying to get it going?)
How was the run up river? If I would have been thinking, we would have turned around and ran with ya!!
I think we just missed meeting just about everyone!! Oh well, we had fun anyway!!

Missed Conections
 

Guys,
Really enjoyed your lake and the fun times. Meetting other hot boat people was really great above all enjoyed meeting oso members that I have only heard about from their posts was great. I wanted to give some of you a ride on my Cat that wanted too and Im sorry that it just didnt happen. I delvolped a major oil leak on my starboard engine and had to load up. Sorry!!
seen a lot of great looking and running boats, Hope to meet up with you once again this year somewhere where the time can be spent just enjoying the good times. Thanks again for the great time!!
eliminator219

Kaama,

The wife and I made it to the launch about 1:30- 2:00pm.. Sorry I missed you. Had that darn denist appt..
We had a good day running, went to Consummers and it was too packed to get back by Waterfoul.. sorry man. Tunning EFI, changed some valve lash..etc. But it looked a bit wild in there anyway. I wanted to play out on the water.

I guess I missed Wette Vette at the launch later when it was time to turn the boat into a camper for the night.

Not sure if anyone heard about the accident later that night. My friend had his new boat on the water with four other friends and were by the side of the river, when another boat drove over the top of them. Everyone went to the hospital, but none were seriously hurt. One lady is still in with internal bleeding. If any one saw the news on Channel 13 today you can see what a mess his new boat is and how lucky they were to be alive. Of course 13 reported mostly wrong facts, but that is how they keep things interesting..
I was at the hospital a good portion of the night and helped on Sunday pick up pieces, so we headed home early.. just didnt feel like boating..

I did see a lot of great hardware there! I hope everyone had a safe day on Sunday..

Dick

Mr.Gadjets
I saw the footage on WZZM tonight I hope everyone recovers. What did the boat look like that caused the accident? By the way I saw you leaving the beach in GH last sunday, Sharp boat. Jay

Yea Red Stripe, I was helping my buddy who was frustrated with the way his Check was running. After trying for a couple of hours to get some of his kinks worked out I decided to head up river and see what was happening. I managed to hit 93 MPH a few times on GPS and at some point the recall said we did 93.6. The boat ran very well and those speeds are pretty good for 85 plus degree heat and having a passenger and gear on board. Your boat looks nice and if my friend gets serious I will send you an e-mail and maybe we'll take another ride up there. I hope the people in the accident are going to be OK. I saw numerous other close calls, but most just involved boats getting out of shape trying to run in to rough of conditions. I know it is hard to hold back sometimes. Mr. Gadgets, nice boat!!!!

New to OSO last week, I was hoping to meet some of you at Hardy. Unfortunately, it just didn't work out.

Wette Vette, you launched right in front of me on Sat. but I didn't realize it until later. I was in the purple Outlaw. You're ride must be a blast at 90+. WaterFoul saw your boat anchored off Brower but it was gone on my way back (nice taste in boats).


Spent most of Friday night supervising (drinking) while our group installed a Port drive on the '38 Fountain Sport Cruiser. All the effort was in vane as it only made it in the water for 15 minutes or so when it returned to the trailer with two sick motors.

Saw the rescue chopper over the campground Sat. night, and the reckage of the victimized boat this morning. YIKES! Thank God everyone is going to be alright!

KAAMA--- Sorry I missed you. I was down at the cove untill later in the afternoon. When I made the run up to Browers you had already left. I have NEVER run my boat so hard as this weekend.

Would you believe that I burnt out both thermocouples for my EGT. Lost the Port engine one on saturday and the starbord one on sunday. Ran from Parkers landing all the way to the dam at WFO. WOW. Raced a SUPERCHARGED 31+ ft Fountain for a large portion of that distance and SMOKED him. WOW his boat is fast.

Not sure is I would be faster than him on flat water. With my HEAVY boat I never have to let off the throttle at hardy no mater how bad it gets.

So Tinkerboater, both of your engines are toast then???

Well, we made it to Hardy Dam! Thanks to everyone who posted with info before we left Indiana. What a gorgeous lake you have up there. And the boats! Wow!

So sorry to hear about the accident Sat Night :( Hope everyone will be ok. What a bummer ending to a great day.

We cruised up river to the sand bar and were surprised to actually know a few people there - some old old friends and some recent friends. We stopped for a while and chatted with the Indiana Rapid Craft owners -- great people! Hope to see them again sometime.

The homemade wooden tunnel was awesome too.

On our way back toward the dam later that afternoon, out of the corner of my eye.... I spotted a boat with the word "WATERFOUL" painted on the side....

We cruised up in our red 23' Mirage Mod-VP, and I shouted to the guy walking behind the "WATERFOUL". He shouted back:

"I'm not him"

.....but then said he was WETTE VETTE! :D

It was really cool to meet you, Craig. Just wish we had more time to hang out. Sorry we missed WATERFOUL. Maybe next time? :(

We saw a white Scarab with geometric designs in pastel colors on the way back -- is that an OSO boat?

We certainly had a great time at Hardy Lake --- hopefully we can make a few more trips that way in the near future!

Thanks again to everyone for their help getting there!

BK

KAAMA, I think you mis-read. As I understand it from Steve, he simply burned up his EGT senders.

Yeah, that was my boat....had some minor trouble early in the day and thought it better to just hang with some other OSO'ers. Thanks a lot Whitey for the ride. I owe you big!!

And that Miami Vice colored 34 Scarab is in fact our own Tinkerboater!!!!! Man is that thing loud!!!!

What a day!!!


Really enjoyed finally meeting you KAAMA!! Thanks for showing us the way! Hope you get the boat running!

Wette Vette, nice meeting you and your friends. Sorry we had to leave so early. Glad to hear your boat ran so well. At 3.00$ a gallon I think I would have parked it for awhile also! You've got a BAD A** boat! Did Mark get your ice-chest to you?? Thanks for offering us a ride!!

Waterfoul, very nice to meet you. Sorry about your boat problems.



Have a good one!!:D :D

BTW, I did not spell "exelent" correctly as it should be "excellent". I tried to edit it originally, but I guess it won't let you edit the heading.

Anyway, Craig/Wette Vette, I hope you got your cooler back. It was around 2PM and I had to leave so I just left it under that tree and didn't really think anyone was going to mess with it----hope that was the case.

Mike/Waterfoul, yeah I think you're right---it was Tinkerboater's EGT sensors that he was speaking of.

Wished I could have hung around a little longer. Anyway, I should have my boat running by this coming weekend---I think :rolleyes:

KAAMA,

If you might need a little help on the boat,give me a shout!

I'm sure we can work something out!!! (hint,hint!!):D

Wow what an awesome showing at Hardy. It was nice meeting a large number of OSO people. Waterfoul you are welcome along anytime. I found a beach towel onboard that is not ours let me know if you are missing one. We were unable to make it on sunday because, my wife caught a cold and did not want to be out in the heat. Tink when are you going to be done for the year?
Hopefully we can make it out again. Dwight

That was pretty fun. It was my first time there(for the get together). Thanks to Dale Korhorn "Cougar Dale" for loaning me his 3/4 Monster to haul midnght there and back (he had his kids so he decided not to go). Saw allot of people I knew, was able to race a few people, I think we saw maybe 84mph up there, the water is way to flat. But we did get to party and have a good time. Sorry to Mr. Gadgets friends in that Maxum. It was pulled right up on shore by us after the accident, its a miracle no one was killed. Midnight:cool:

PS- Next year I think we will bring our own girls!!:D :D

Midnight Rider,

Dude, your boats a MONSTER!!

I was leaving when you were backing your boat down the ramp!!

Sure would like a ride in the rough stuff one day to see how she rides!

:D :D

Wow it was a good time Sunday, saw a lot of boats but didn't see any names on boats that I've seen on the board.I think I saw hotboat but no one around. Sorry to hear about Mr. Gadgits freinds, wow what a bummer, was that the freinds that were at G.H races last weekend? If you boat does'nt run at least 90mph there was no reason to run anybody,and hey I thought you're to pass boats on the left, gezzzzzzzz,Got mine to run 75mph on the gps and I was sloooowwww.man gotta raise that x-dim. wish I could have been there sat. to meet some members,maybe next time.did anyone see me? 24' aero offshore lowdeck ,red sides and white top, with an aero style scoop ,howed it sound? can you hear the whipple? and come on no jokes please!

Sun. only
 

We only made it up there for Sun.'s festivities ,sounds like we missed alot of you.Still an awful lot of cool rides to watch Sunday.Sorry to hear about your flood Waterfoul,and very very sorry to hear about the accident.Wish a quick recovery to those involved!!!!!!To those who weren't there Sun. ,you missed the airshow...Tinkerboater-nice talking to ya and compliments on your Scarab!:D :D

Whitey--
as long as the weather holds up I'm not done yet.
I don't know why the Egt quit ( it isn't the display so it must be the thermocouples or the interconnecting wires ) Oh well -This late in the season if they blow they blow. They are both coming out this fall to do a little more TINKERING. See if I can get the tank to do 85 GPS.:D

Hi Tinkerboater ~

Was your boat the white Scarab with the pastel triangles and cube designs on the side?

If so, Nice boat!

We messed up by making plans at the last minute -- I would have loved to meet more of you. Maybe next time!

Yeah Whitey, that American Flag towel is mine. Realized I left it on your boat about half way home. Give me a call next time you're around this way and we'll work something out.

616-540-1224

I am sure bummed out that I didnt get to meet all the OSO family present up there at Hardy!!! I was hoping that the evening would bring out some meetings, but after dinner we turned down the boat ride and went to bed for a good nite's sleep.. But as things turned out we were thankful that no one was killed from campfire dinner.. I have not heard an update as to how everyone is doing, but I will try and find out and let everyone know.

On Sunday I cleaned out the damaged boat and after that was just not in the mood to boat. It is ironic that seven years ago the couple that owned the boat from this weekend's accident were going to ride with me and passed on the invitation. That was the ride when my outdrive fell off at 80+mph and I took the ride to the hospital. But as fate would have it, we are all still here and breathing, thank God!

Well I guess all I can say is "Next time"!! I hope to meet OSO people. That was the main reason I headed for Hardy, cause I dont usually have very good luck up there.. On a good note, my boat ran all day Saturday and I leaned on it every chance I could. So I guess my luck has turned!! Finally..

A big welcome to all the visitors from OSO that made it to the Hardy Party.. Hope to see you all there next year!!

Dick

Shawn/29Scarab,

I'll get you fixed up with a ride on my AT here pretty quick. Really enjoyed hangin' out with you at Hardy. Just talked to my mechanic, engines will be going in tomorrow night----we'll see if they're going to fit anyway. And if they fit, we'll get the hook up goin' on 'em and get that hog in the water for a test run. Send me an email with your phone number Shawn!

Mark

Hi Mark, I am dropping a line to say it was nice to meet you at
Hardy and I wanted to wish you good luck for the weekend. Later Dwight. Where is the maiden voyage to be?

Hey Dwight,

It was a pleasure meeting you as well. Nice boat you have there. Not exactly sure where the maiden voyage will be---perhaps Holland or St. Joseph----maybe even South Haven. Is the marine patrol done by Labor Day at Holland and South Haven?

Mark Ottawa county patrols out of Holland through september and I've seen them later than that when the weather is nice!

Dyno is right Mark. I even got pulled over for the infamous "safety inspection" last year in the last week of September. I'm sure they were just bored and looking for something to do as I'm not too loud and was doing nothing wrong. They were pretty cool about it. Just wanted to see my safety stuff. No sweat....took all of about 4 minutes. BUT, you will be a LITTLE louder than I am!!!!

Mark run out of Muskegon they tend to be a little more forgiving the further north you go! Wade and I are going to be pulling our boats out this weekend if you want a chase boat!!!
Don

For the record - Tinkerboater's boat is VERY loud!! Scared Brody when he started it next to us at the ramp!!:eek: :D

Latest up date on the accident - talked to my girlfriend tonight who was in the cabin of the boat when it was hit (she said the prop of the other boat came within an inch of her head!!) - everyone is doing okay - her husband went back to the hospital because of problems with his legs. It is my understanding from her - correct me if I'm wrong Mr. Gadgets - her husband was standing between the driver's and passenger's seat when the other boat went over their's. The other boat ACTUALLY HIT HIM IN THE BACK!! Everyone is doing okay - very bruised and sore. One lady is still in the hospital. Please keep them in your prayers and remember how short life can be!!

These kids that hit them were underage AND drunk!! *******s!

:mad: :mad:

BK---

Yes that boat is mine.

And for the record it is VERY loud except when the silent choice is closed ( then it is about as loud as a stock 502 with the exaust open ) Haven't been pulled over for noise YET because they probably think my exhaust is open. I have to start it with the exhaust open or it blows the silent choice baffles out the back.
The boat erupts when it fires. Tends to startle people...:D :D :D

Hardy Run,
 

Craig, we had a great time and it was good to see you again,I came in around the loading ramp 3 different times looking for you, wanted to take you on the ride that I promised, but I couldnt find you. Poped a front seal on my starboard engine slung oil every where. On the last outboard cat that I ran had to take it up to 6100 rpm to get by him 121mph, next time I will bring my big props.. I really liked that lake, just need a place to eat and drink!!Got awful hot!! talk to you later,
eliminator219

Les,
I knew you were getting some good speeds. I was out in the WETTE VETTE playin and I expected to hook up with you guys later in the day after we all had a chance to run for a while. Thanks for looking for us and I hope your leak is an easy fix. Maybe we can get out on Lake Mich some calm weekend this fall. There is still a lot of good boating weather coming and there will be less traffic to deal with. Talk to ya soon!!
Craig