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View Full Version : The best Christmas gift I ever got



ggarland
12-12-2004, 01:51 PM
Hey guys and gals:

What with the holidays just around the corner, I thought I would pose the question: What was the best Christmas gift you ever got, especially but not limited to boating? Or what did you give that was memorable? What would you ask Santa for? I would like a clean KG9 and a hot little hull to hang her on, maybe a Sid Craft. What is your hearts desire?

I remember one Christmas when I was a kid my Dad bought me a little '71 Merc 7.5 to hang on my Sea Flea. We never had much money back then, there were six of us kids, and Dad was the only one bringing any money in. I used to go down to the dealership and gaze at those black cowls and dream about owning a Mercury someday. I memorized all the specs, and could recite them by heart to my friends, who used to roll their eyes then push me in the lake to shut me up. But I guess Dad must have been listening too and somehow found the money for that engine. Mom’s food budget for the week was 40 bucks to feed all of us, so it must have been one hell of a stretch for him to come up with the 300 or so it cost to get it at the time. I came down that Christmas morning and nearly fainted when I saw it. I could not believe it was mine, and I must have polished it 500 times between then and the time it actually got on the transom of my boat. Man, I thought I was King of the Lakes that summer, and I was the envy of all my buds. I still have that little engine and I will never part with it. This year I am giving my boy his first outboard engine, a mint little Merc 25XD that I reconditioned to hang on his Grew Cub. My Dad passed away some years ago, but every time I look at that little engine I smile, think of him and remember how I felt on that Christmas morning so long ago when he made me the happiest kid alive. I can only hope my son will feel the same way too.

Thanks Dad, and Merry Christmas. Wherever you are.


Happy Holidays everyone

George

Scream And Fly
12-12-2004, 02:02 PM
George, thank you for sharing that really cool story. I remember my first outboard - it was an '87 Evinrude 4 DLX. I guess I never changed - I would wash and wax that engine all the time. I ended up selling it before my move to Florida, but I should have kept it. It still looked like new, but I must have put 2000 hours on it. I used it everyday after school. That little engine never failed me. Good memories.

Greg

ggarland
12-12-2004, 02:30 PM
Thanks Greg. I remember some years ago just before my father died we were reminiscing about the past and I asked him why he did not get me the 9.8 for the Sea Flea, as they were the same size and weight and it would have been a better choice. He looked at me, hung his head and told me that he wanted to, but it would have cost another $35, and he just didn’t have enough.

I wept when he told me that, and felt ashamed. I knew then what a sacrifice it must have been for him at the time, because all my sibs got great gifts that year, as well as my Mom, but there was not much there for him. But he never complained, and he had a smile that day you could not knock off. Seems I have lost something precious, now that I think about it. The best gifts you receive are the feelings you get when you give with your heart.

George

RathaBsurfin
12-12-2004, 03:44 PM
probably the best boat related christmas was when I was 14, a family friend gave me a 1956 Evinrude Fleetwin for my runabout. The learning curve was harsh on that one, and i ended up spending more money on it than I could have bought a cleaner motor for, but it is my favorite by all means. This was the same man that helped my dad restore his 1929 Ford when he was my age. The best christmas ever was two years ago when my parents loaned me the money to buy my Jeep Grand Wagoneer, which I had to sell this past summer for financial reasons. It was a 1989 with 72,000 original miles, garage kept, black cherry and wood grain with sand leather interior. I will miss that thing forever, but I doubt the neighbors will miss my dukes of hazzard style slides down the driveway and the nasty exhaust I had on it. My dad hated that thing and all the money I dumped into it(about 10grand), but he still supported me with it. meant a lot. This christmas I hope to get the parts to restore our 1968 Boston Whaler. My grandfather bought it new and I know it will mean a lot to my dad when I get it finished and we can take it to shows.

happy holidays to yall too

Andrew

Dukeofchippewa
12-12-2004, 04:44 PM
Mom 88, Dad 90, still alive. Wife, kids & grandkids all fine.

Raceman
12-12-2004, 05:05 PM
When I was 10 my dad and I were just finishin' up a Mini Most from Glen L Plans. He bought me a new 5 horse Johnson and it was under the Christmas tree when I woke up. It proved to be not quite enough for the little boat and he ended up trading it for a 9.8 Merc at the spring boatshow that year.

Like George, there wasn't a lot of surplus money in my family, and my Dad always touched his limit when special occasions came along. When I was 16 he bought me a 57 Chevy with some money I had saved along with some matching funds from him and my Mom. It was a mosquito fogger (oil burner) and had a slippin' Powerglide, but was very nice cosmetically. I had wanted to upgrade the engine for some time, but was strugglin' with replenishing my savings. At Chrismas that year, there sat a new V8 in a crate.......... unmarked) Assuming it was another 283, since my Dad wasn't exactly into performance I started talkin' about changin' the camshaft before I stuck it in the car. He said NOPE, we're leaving it alone. That wasn't good enough for me and when I started complaining he said he'd probably just take it back and let me continue to buy oil every week, but did I want to at least look in the crate first. It was an L79 (350 horse 327). It put some real teeth in the old Chevy and it was faster than all the rich kids' new 442's, GTO's, and SS396 Chevelles and Camaros. With just headers and the four speed that replaced the slippin' glide at the time it ran mid 13's on the skinny street tires fo that time. All the pure stock muscle cars around here back then were just runnin' mid 14's and slower.

ggarland
12-12-2004, 06:35 PM
Raceman:

Your Dad was a lot like mine, a great man of principal. I have heard that they call our parents the "greatest generation"; I will go along with that. Totally unselfish, and dedicated to the family at any cost. Good story, I loved it. Whatever became of that Chevy?

Duke, you are one lucky guy. Hope you can spend a bunch of time with them this Christmas. You will not believe how much you will miss them.


George

Dukeofchippewa
12-12-2004, 06:40 PM
Raceman:

Your Dad was a lot like mine, a great man of principal. I have heard that they call our parents the "greatest generation"; I will go along with that. Totally unselfish, and dedicated to the family at any cost. Good story, I loved it. Whatever became of that Chevy?

Duke, you are one lucky guy. Hope you can spend a bunch of time with them this Christmas. You will not believe how much you will miss them.


George

I've been trying to get them to move down and live with us, don't get enough time with them. Hoping to move up there next summer. You have great holidays.
Duke

DarthVMAX
12-14-2004, 10:18 AM
These are all really neat stories, thanks for sharing.

BTW my first outboard was a 1984 2.2 hp Mercury on a little 8ft 2-man fishin boat, got it on Christmas 1985. I must have run 2 tanks of gas through that little 1 banger while I had it in a garbage can full of water ;)

Dukeofchippewa
12-14-2004, 11:37 AM
My 1st outboard was a Martin 200 on a step hydro, which I flipped and lost. It's still on the bottom Hired scuba diver, but he couldn't find it. Sold the boat and bought a Black Magic/Martin 200. Stuck on them 200s.

Raceman
12-14-2004, 09:16 PM
George, I sold the 57 in the early 70's for a mint 63 SS Nova body which I stuck the L79 in. Crossram and 12.5 pistons with Crane roller at the time of the swap and the rods came through the block and oil pan soon after. First child on the way and wife with attitude didn't mix with blowin' money on hotrod cars, so I sold the Nova, bought her a new Buick and the next year the 18' Sidewinder as a "family boat" (yeah right) The boat obsession lasted for all these years and outlasted the wife.

Back to the 57, I've always wanted to have another one but have just never found the right car.

ggarland
12-14-2004, 10:22 PM
Raceman:

I love the '57 too! Always wanted to build a Black Widow clone, but even two door post cars are long dollars now. Perhaps if I ask Santa?

George :rolleyes:

Raceman
12-14-2004, 10:37 PM
Mine was a 210 2 door hardtop. A lot of people think the hardtop was only available on the Bel Air, but they did in fact do some 210's also. I want to build one with the Morrison Chassis, a 572, and a 6 speed. I really don't care if it's a 210 or Bel Air as long as it's a hard top.


I posted some pictures last year of my 55 Chevy project. It's movin' kinda slow, but is a 2 dr. sedan which I prefer in a 55. I found an original California chassis for it which had one piece rails (some silly California regulation back then) and have decided to stick it under there since it's so easy to make real clean, and that's set the guy doin' the sheet metal back several months. The six speed and big block had to have custom mounts as do the ladder bar/coil over rear. He'd already gotten all that done on the old frame, so he's doin' it over on the new one now. When this one rolls and gets paint shop ready I'm huntin' a 57 body.

bridges
12-14-2004, 11:19 PM
Got it for Christmas after my 16th Birthday. I had to pay for half of it...I think my half was $700 :D Then we had to rebuild the engine of course. :cool: