Trip Home From Williamstown - Part II

With the conditions of those starboard wheels and hubs, I had no choice but to unhitch, go to the service plaza (remember, only two miles further up the road) and do a bit of research.

I asked around to everyone there who might have an idea of where I could find parts and even talked to one of the remote service providers that work under contract for the turnpike authority, but nothing seemed to offer a solution.  Then, I got on my smart phone and found - much to my amazement and good luck - a listing fairly locally for a company names MGS Incorporated who manufactured trailers and sold trailer parts.  And, it was only about 28 miles further to the West.

So, I proceeded to get off at the exit 286 and made my way to Muddy Creek Church Road in Denver, PA where I was able to purchase two different hubs (one with integral brake drum, one without) and full sets of bearings and seals and, according to the helpful clerks, everything I needed.  Again using my smart phone resources, I was able to locate a local Auto Zone where I was able to buy a small grease gun (to service the bearing buddies on the port side), wheel bearing grease, rags and a few other miscellaneous pieces.

So, I go back to work on the trailer.  It is at this point I should mention the concept of a "Limited Access Highway" which is a characteristic of freeways and to an even more restricted access, to Turnpikes as well.  What this means is that there is no where to access anything except to get off at the next exit.  From where I was broken down, this meant that I had to drive 28 miles to the next exit, two or three miles off the exit and then add this 31 miles back to get even with my location.  But, since there are no cut-throughs, I had to drive another 7 miles to the next exit (pay a toll, make a u-turn in the toll booth and drive another 7 miles back to the trailer.  So it took about 76 miles of driving to make a return trip to work on the trailer.  Due to missing parts and or tools, this had to be repeated three more times and staying in a hotel over two more nights was necessary until I was finally able to get underway with everything fixed on Sunday morning.

The drive westward was cautious but uneventful and I was able to make it to Streetsboro (Western edge of Cleveland) to stay the night on Sunday and continue home by mid-afternoon on Monday.

Including parts, tools, supplies, meals, hotel rooms and gasoline,nearly $700. was added to the original purchase price of the boat before it was parked on Murphy Mountain!

Trip Home From Williamstown, NJ or How A Long Day Plan Turns Into Four Days (Part One)

When I got into Williamstown, NJ about 8PM on Thursday, I drove by the house where the boat was supposedly located and found that it was there as planned.  After a quick text to the owner to find out that, while lights were on, the house was for sale and unoccupied, I planned on returning fairly early the next morning.

According to plan, I went over early on Friday and after quite a bit of difficulty getting the coupler to drop down on the ball, decided to hook up the safety chains tight and drag it off the lawn onto the street.  When I did this, I did manage to get the coupler on, verified that I didn't have any working lights, and began the show shoulder-crawl two miles up the road (on three tires that held air) to the tire dealer I had called previously that had the new times to install on the trailer.

At first, they told me that they weren't allowed to work on anything non-automotive, but after they looked up the tires and found that they had all four and that paperwork had already been processed, they consented to make the change out.  They guy doing the work was very pleasant and, while he had some problems with the wheels which had been in place at least seven years with rusted lug nuts, managed to get them changed and I was able to get on the road by about 10 am.  

While this was sadly prophetic, we wished me good luck on the trip home and, since one wheel only had 4 of the 5 studs, suggested that I check all the lug nuts in 50 miles or so.  Looking at my map, I found that the first service plaza on the PA Turnpike would be a good place to get a second cup of coffee and check all the lug nuts.

After a slow, heavy traffic crawl through the Philadelphia expressways, I managed to join the turnpike and was two miles from the service plaza when I felt some sever shaking coming from the trailer.  I immediately looked up and found an emergency pull off 1500 feet ahead.  When I pulled off and got inside the painted "get thee behind here" line, I walked back to the trailer, saw nothing on the driver's side but instinctively  felt both hubs for elevated temperature and found nothing amiss.

Such was not the case when I came around the the starboard side of the boat.  The conditions were as bad (maybe worse) than one may have feared for a wheel bearing left unattended for many years and a hub that was only held in place by four studs.

The forward wheel - the one with the brake drum) was coated with grease and the bearing was completely shot and, as it turns out, GONE!

The rear wheel didn't apparently have any bearing damage, but ALL OF THE WHEEL STUDS WERE SHEARED OFF and the wheel was simply riding around the outside of the hub on the pilot bore.  It was not attached to the trailer; it was a miracle it had not come off!

To be continued...

Purchase A Project on Ebay

OK.  In retrospect, I have to admit that this was a gamble and, depending on what horrors await me with the overall status of the engine and outdrive, it can be a real disaster, I decided to make the plunge and buy this boat on Ebay from Boat Angel.

Even with their $299.00 "processing fee" added to the purchase price and the obvious need to purchase four new trailer tires prior to a haul home from New Jersey back to Michigan, I think that I may be able to do OK financially and have it ready for sale by late spring 2016.

As I find out over the marathon return to Murphy Mountain, not everything goes according to plan!

Here is what Long Shot II looked like in the Ebay listing.

This is a 1989 IMP 220 Sportsman made by IMP boats (long since defunct) in Iola, Kansas.