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Rend Lake 2007 - Richard Spelling

For this messabout I get to try out my new (well, new to me) truck.

I have been in need of a bigger truck for a long time, the Toyota Tacoma, while a nice little pickup, is way too little to tow my boat on a regular basis. And there is no way four people can fit comfortably in it.

Bought a replacement, on eBay of course. Paid 2/3 of Blue Book for it. It's a 1999 Dodge Ram 3/4 ton with the turbo diesel. BIG truck, big engine. It tows my 3500lb boat and trailer like there is nothing connected to the back of the truck. Even up the hills that call themselves mountains in Missouri, I can fly past the semi trucks in the "slow" lane doing 70mph uphill into a head wind.

And it's big enough to haul everybody in the cab. I like it. It suits me.

This year my wife Pat decided to rent a room in the Lodge at Gun Creek, so she wouldn't have to do the tent thing, and so she would have a place close to take a shower.

Of course, when we arrive, we discover that the park service has put in a nice new bathroom with many showers.

Sometimes at a messabout you get rained out. Sometime it's to hot, sometimes it's rainy and cold. Sometimes the wind blows so hard you can't get on the water. Other times it doesn't blow at all. I have to say, out of all of messabouts I've been to; the weather at this one was absolutely perfect. It was so nice, in fact, that Pat canceled her second night at the Lodge and spent the night on the boat with me.

Friday, the first day of the messabout, there was perfect wind for sailing. Got out some, but as I pointed out several times to people who said "you are missing all the good sailing wind", I can go sailing anytime, I come here to visit with other boat builders. Which is an interesting thing, as, generally speaking, homemade boat builders are an introverted lot, and not the most sociable people around. So a messabout is, in essence, a social event for anti-social people. Not an unfair assessment of a bunch of people who make their own boats, and spend more than a good used "production" boat would cost doing so.

There were lots of boats there this year, as you can see from the pictures below. Lots of good photos this year too, I've already updated my slide show screen saver at work. Even without photo shop, some of the pictures below turned out really nice.

I have done my best to match up boats and builders, but if anyone sees one I have misidentified let me know and I'll fix it.

Several shots of the two beaches where we pulled our boats up. Max taking a picture of Larry Appelbaum's Swamp Yankee Canoe.

David "Polytarp Sails" Gray (PD Racer with "biplane" rig)

Some green catboat or something anchored next a schooner.

Mike Zenker (Campanoe)

Windigo 11, an original design by Dave Seaberg. Lot's of interesting features on this boat. On the left note the scratch built roller reefing system. Next is the dagger board, complete with dumpster scrounged steel plate for anti-floatation weight. Middle right is a nice shot of the sheeting arrangement. Far right is a shot of the boat sailing; if you click on the image you will be able to see the anti-turtle ball on the top of the mast.

Mounting procedures. This is Tom Hamernik in his Michalak Mixer design

Max Wawrzyniak and his interpretation of a CLC kayak. Note the serious look on his face in the far right photo.

Jim Tucker, cat-yawl Normsboat with sprit-boom sails. Complete with painters poles for sprits.

Damn, he has more sail up than I have on my Chebacco. This is Philip Frohne in an Uncle Johns Skiff.

My daughter looking bored, couple shots of me, and the cook organizing the potluck.

Paul Ellifrit's Oughtred Acorn lapstake. This one is so well built and so pretty I would be afraid to take it sailing, for fear of marring the spotless finish!