This story, published in Motor Boating in 1926, is the story of a man, his wife and an Elto Light Twin on a voyage that folks said wasn't especially a good idea.
It may indeed be a long cry from the real estate business to the profession of Master Mariner, but everyone, in order to make a success of life, must have a hobby and mine has always been boating. By the use of this term I do not mean to picture any 100 foot Diesel equipped floating hotel, but rather 16 foot canoes and flat bottomed skiffs.
Through the courtesy of my friend Capt. Spalding I have had the pleasure of visiting Georgian Bay by steamer several times and each trip found new beauty until finally, vacation, and The Bay became words which brought the same fond recollections and eager hopes of future joy and pleasure.
A year ago I began to talk of the possibility of driving a small boat from Bay City to Georgian Bay and experienced boat men laughed at the idea while dry land sailors said it could not be done. However, the idea grew - as contrary ideas have a habit of doing - and the middle of May found me determined to try. I ordered a boat built by a local man, not because he could build better or more beautiful boats than a score of the regular stock jobs, but because he would let me boss the job and I had a few notions of my own; and hence Inez Mae, christened after a little lady of nine years who was always to go and help inspect the job; and no big yard intent on building Coast Guard rum chasers was ever so thoroughly inspected.
I know little of the technical terms relative to boat building and so will not try to tell much of it, but completed Inez Mae measured 17 feet 10 inches over all, with 4 1/2 feet beam. She was clinker built, planked with 3/8 inch cypress, with 2 inch white oak keel and oak ribs, steam bent at 7 centers. The stem was high and the transom was wide and deep and constructed of 1 3/4 inch white oak. Entirely copper fastened she was sturdy and strong.
With her aluminum colored sides and brilliant blue bottom and blue oars she looked quite dressed up. Seats were of oak, varnished, and she was painted gray inside. We installed a center board of 3/8 inch steel, 35 x 17 which put it just below the rail, the boat being 18 inches deep at the waist. Made provision for the use of canoe sail in case it became necessary to use other than motor power and have a 6 1/2 foot turtle deck built of auto top material with bow and strong back.
An Elto Light Twin with the 25 inch shaft had been ordered, and when the Bay City Hardware called to say it had arrived we were ready to put to sea.
Postcards from 1926 (above) and 1924.
Thursday, June 19, at 4:00P.M. was the hour set for departure an with a few skeptical but well wishing friends on the dock and the local Elto representative there to see us off we loaded in tent, blankets, stove, compass, axe, extra clothing, life preservers, a quantity of grub and 17 gallons of gasoline, ready mixed with oil and as the clock struck the hour we pushed off.
Somehow it did look like quite a jump as we made our start with the kiddies waving their hands from the dock and shouting Good-bye.
The glass was reasonably high and wind northeast and when three-quarters of an hour later we passed the lower light and stuck the nose under a fine big roller in Saginaw Bay we knew we were going to have an interesting trip. The engine, purposely over oiled, for we had no time to give it a running in and had only uncrated it the afternoon before, sang away and deep down in its throat protested against the throttled restraint of half speed. We could see lights on shore a mile away and hear sounds from there but it was pitch dark and we decided to stay on the boat, making ourselves as comfortable as possible and trying to rest. This we found compared favorably with trying to sleep in a pullman berth or living with a jealous wife, neither of which can be done with comfort, - and when it began to get gray in the east we were ready to travel. About 25 feet away a pair of mallards were sound asleep on a rock and we startled them from their slumber to see them go hurtling off into the east.
Darkness found us about 16 miles up the west shore of the Saginaw Bay bouncing around in a fair sort of sea and still running at half speed.
We lighted the lamps and had a bite to eat en route and as the wind dropped with the sun we were making fine time when the compass light went out.
With all our care and planning we had omitted a supply of oil for the lamps and being on familiar waters tried to run without them, only to bring up on a flat.
We could see lights on shore a mile away and hear sounds from there but it was pitch dark and we decided to stay on the boat, making ourselves as comfortable as possible and trying to rest.
This we found compared favorably with trying to sleep in a pullman berth or living with a jealous wife, neither of which can be done with comfort, - and when it began to get gray in the east we were ready to travel.
About 25 feet away a pair of mallards were sound asleep on a rock and we startled them from their slumber to see them go hurtling off into the east.
After wading out and towing the boat for a hundred yards the engine was tilted back into the water and without a murmur started its song and at 4:15 when the sun came up out of the water in a blaze of golden glory we were sliding along a sheet of water which looked like glass, quite wide awake and ready to greet it with a smiling Good Morning.
We were not in the habit of viewing the sunrise as my work was not with wild land and I can sneak up to most of my listings in broad daylight, so the hour of sunrise made a lasting impression on us.
At 7:00 we went ashore at Augres and had breakfast, making a small fire rather than to unpack our stove and we passed Point Lookout about the time I would have been thinking of going to the office, and headed into Lake Huron.
Tawas Bay was on an angry mood and with a strong wind coming up out of the southwest and a heavy following sea.
We worked our way out and across, planning to round the Life Saving Station and helping for sheltered water beyond.
Here the center board proved its worth, keeping us from twisting and turning as we slid down the sides of a seven foot sea. The following seas were worse than the head seas we had encountered the day before, for once in a while one crept up over the transom and after burning its nose on the engine spilled a couple of quarts of the beautiful blue water on the seat where the navigator was trying to rest and enjoy the beauties of nature. Finally one particularly large sea lifted the stern out of the water and with the engine running wild dropped us with a thud. Stopped as if by four wheel brakes, the propellor promptly proved its claim of indestructibility by sheering off the drive pin. Without undue excitement the crew proceeded to dampen our beautiful ultra-marine oars while the deckhand wrestled the engine into his lap and replaced the drive pin.
It was only a few moments' work and in a tossing boat I felt thankful the engine was not of a heavier type. Just as this was accomplished someone pulled the puckering string from the margin of a couple of clouds and it started to rain. Soon after the start it decided to pour instead and we headed for shore, landing at Tawas City, clad in oil skins and boots to deceive the citizens, who had no way of knowing that many of waterproof coat has covered wet B.V.D.s.
In spite of curious and rather critical glances we had luncheon at the Hotel and started out again determined to make a fine spurt only to be driven ashore some fifteen miles further on by a couple more mean rainfalls. Hardly landed and set up camp when the skies cleared and the sun came through and we tore down camp and packed it in the boat again when without warning it started raining again; and apparently without reason or effort. Camp set a second time the skies cleared off and the seas smoothed down somewhat but by now we were mad and would not be mislead again. A clothesline was soon in use and we decided to cook a regular meal.
Carrying up the box that contained our new Coleman stove we unpacked it with all the confidence and then found no directions for its operation. Should the sales department of that Company read this I do hope they were unable to read my thoughts as I experimented with that stove aided and cheered by remarks from the Mate. Finally it proved itself fool-proof and everything was fine and bacon and eggs were sizzling while the aroma of coffee filled the air with the promise of a feast.
The clothes dried, and just in time for this time the the entire sky clouded over and it rain all night. Our tent was of lightweight canvas, paraffin dipped, and a with a sewed in floor cloth, with windows equipped against mosquitoes. And here I would say that any red-blooded American man or woman who has never spent a night in the open listening to rain beating on the canvas and lulled to sleep by the sound of waves washing on a shore a few feet away has indeed missed much of life.
(to be continued)
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