By Tom Oncken
Since we moved to the Heart of Texas Resort in Burnet, Texas in late 2017, our Lake LBJ wet meet has become more of a Colorado River wet meet. Our current meet location is closer to Inks Lake, whose dam is just north of the resort, with Lake LBJ actually being quite a few miles south.
For those who have not attended either of our two meets held at the Heart of Texas Resort, it is a slightly different setting than we experienced in Kingsland. There are a pair of two-story condominiums, a group of cabins, a cluster of camping spaces, and even a couple of houses available for rent. There is more than ample dock space on the water and the boat launch ramp is easily accessible and is not very steep at all. Unlike the Longhorn Resort where we all could see each other the second we stepped out of our cabins, the Heart of Texas Resort is more spread out and we have to make an effort to find each other.
Chip and Marilyn Rathbun decided to come early on Thursday as did Joe McCauley and Cornelia Kuffner. Although the weather was somewhat threatening on Thursday with potential winds and rain, Joe drove his 1965 Power Cat with its 60HP Johnson (with 75HP Stinger powerhead hidden inside) from Kingsland up the Colorado River to the resort. Later that evening, Joe, Cornelia, Chip, and Marilyn visited the Rathbun’s favorite seafood restaurant in Marble Falls for dinner.
Joe ran his Power Cat again on Friday once Chip had launched his Corson boat. The two of them took their boats down the Colorado River and then along the Llano River to the site of the old Longhorn Resort where we previously held our annual LBJ wet meets. Apparently, all cabins have been demolished and a pair of buildings have been erected in their place. The entrance road to the property is now called “Longhorn Drive” and it takes you to the newly constructed “Boat Town Burger Bar”. According to Joe’s recent article in The Antique Outboarder, they now have “many boat unfriendly metal piers” where we once docked our boats. It is really sad to see changes like these in our old stomping grounds.
Adam and Susan Finn had planned on arriving on Thursday, but were delayed and arrived with the majority of our members on Friday. Adam did get an opportunity to take a ride with Chip in Chip’s Corson boat powered by a 1958 Johnson V-4 Sea Horse 50HP. Later, Chip and others made a decision to take their boats out of the water as the threat of bad weather continued. Forecasts were still being broadcast that heavy winds and rain were soon to arrive.
Meatball Murray and George Gustafson made a brief appearance on Friday afternoon to visit with other arrivals. Later that evening, Tony and Andrea Robinson, Earl Gerloff, Jackie Johnson, and Chip and Marilyn Rathbun ventured into Marble Falls to get some Italian food. Joe McCauley, Cornelia Kuffner, Morten and Martha Lovstad (with granddaughter, Kiara Mallard), John and Cindy Slator, Adam and Susan Finn, and Dave Samstag went to Alfredo’s Mexican Restaurant in Kingsland for their traditional Mexican food dinner.
Louis Rothermel and I arrived somewhat late on Friday after our usual visit to Opie’s Barbecue in Spicewood, Texas. We just had to get some of those great butter beans!! Numerous members’ boats were not in the water when Louis and I arrived on Friday night due to the continuing threat of stormy weather. The weatherman was wrong (thank goodness) as the undesirable weather took a northward turn. We got a light rain on Friday night and perhaps a little more on Saturday morning while all of us were at various breakfast sites. Otherwise, most of the day on Saturday was beautiful.
We had a number of new faces show up for this meet. Coach Larry Mayo and Ann Mayo were present for their first wet meet and brought along Larry’s 1967 Boston Whaler powered by its 1967 Johnson V-4 60HP. Jim Lancharic made the trip from New Braunfels and brought along his grandson, David Ethridge. They were seen running David’s Starcraft boat powered by a 1966 Evinrude 9.5HP, both of which were apparently gifts from grandpa. Earl Gerloff with guest Jackie Johnson came as a result of a special invitation from Tony Robinson. Earl ran his Lone Star boat powered by a 1957 Mercury Mark 55. Earl and Jackie also brought along a four-legged friend, June, who enjoyed going on boat rides. Morten and Martha Lovstad were also in attendance and brought along their granddaughter, Kiara Mallard. They spent some time in Morten’s handmade flats skiff powered by an Evinrude E-Tec 60.
Ed and Colleen Kilford invited the Sullivan family to this wet meet. Tom and Carol Sullivan and Teresa and Michelle Sullivan came along to see what “old outboarding” was about. Ed brought his 1960’s aluminum boat with a 1956 Evinrude 15HP that some of our members helped make run at the 24th Annual Houston Swap Meet last November. Apparently, we failed Ed because we could not get it to run this time. Sorry Ed, we will try to do better in the future. Glenn Seureau and Harrison Seureau spent some time running around in a nice center console boat powered by a 1984 Johnson 40HP. This was a much better result than last trip when Glenn decided to keep his duck boat on the trailer. We are still not sure that Glenn was having engine problems last time, but maybe a severe cold-natured issue instead (and I am not referring to the outboard).
Quite a few regulars showed up for this spring wet meet. John and Cindy Slator brought a 1957 DuraCraft powered by a 1963 Gale Sovereign 40HP. I understand that John volunteered to take Jerry Lindamood on a cruise. Jerry decided to leave his Lindycraft at home because of the bad weather forecasts. There was no sense in exposing its beautiful finish to the elements. Dave Samstag was very prominent while running his Marchetti hydro powered by its Mercury Mark 58AH race engine. I believe there was some prop swapping being performed to see if his speeds could be increased. Tony and Andrea Robinson brought their 1958 Wizard aluminum boat powered by a 1957 Mercury Mark 30 which is housing a Mark 58 powerhead behind the band. That little boat really moves!
Others in attendance at this meet not mentioned earlier included Weldon and Cheryl Eklund, Greg Ganz, Rocky Lindamood, David and Belinda Reyna, “Scott-Atwater Al” and Katie Smith with their little sidekicks, Addison and Abigail Smith.
Louis Rothermel just could not help himself at this meet. A nice Johnson PO was delivered for him to take back to Houston, but you must first consider, we drove to the meet in Louis’ mid-sized Mercedes Benz. The trunk just did hold our suitcases comfortably. How in the heck were we going to transport this PO? Check out the photos! Believe it or not, Louis dismantled that old PO and fit every piece carefully in the trunk. When it was time to head back to Houston, our luggage fit comfortably in the back seat. By the way, “mum” is the word in regard to this transaction. Its addition to Louis’ collection will be our little secret. OK guys?
Saturday evening’s meal was again arranged by Adam and Susan Finn with some excellent barbecue catered in from Spyke’s B-B-Q in Kingsland, Texas. We had the usual full spread of brisket, ribs, sausage, and turkey along with all of the sides. We wish to offer our thanks to Susan and her helpers, Cindy Slator and Rocky Lindamood, for setting up the meal in the open covered area between the condos. We were not able to have our meal outdoors in October due to the very cold weather, so this location was an improvement from splitting up all of the members between a pair of condo rooms. A very special thanks is also due to Rocky for her extraordinary strawberry cake and Cindy for her fabulous cherry cobbler. I cannot say it enough: these are some very special ladies who put up with our group of outboard motor-heads. Thank you ladies!
Most individuals decided to pack up and return home in the morning on Sunday to attempt to get home during daylight. On their way home, a few of our attendees decided to make a short trip north to Inks Lake whose dam is just to the north of the Heart of Texas Resort. Tony and Andrea Robinson, Earl Gerloff, and Jackie Johnson pulled their boats out and then towed them up to Inks Lake. Tony and Andrea decided to keep their dual trailer setup connected and just simply looked around a bit. Earl, Jackie, and their furry companion, June, decided to launch once again and did a little running around on Inks Lake prior to making their way back home.
All in all, it was another successful wet meet at the Heart of Texas Resort and we have planned to return on October 19th through the 21st later this year. Of course, as we have seen, some members will arrange to come earlier. I hope all of you decide to join us in October when we do it one more time. If you are interested in attending, please see the upcoming meet schedule for contact information so you can make your reservations now. They fill up very quickly from what we have seen in the past. We hope to see all of you and your friends there!
Follow this Link to View all of the pictures submitted from the LBJ Spring Wet Meet http://www.texaschapteraomci.com/?post_type=gallery&p=6409&preview=true