In the early 50's my parents bought a house on the St-Laurence River waterfront.
We could see boats passing every day, almost in our backyard: cargo ships, passenger
ships, tugs pushing or pulling barges, schooners transporting logs to the St-Lawrence
Paper Mill Company which was about a mile and a half away from our house. From
the end of our yard we could see barges full of wood being unloaded. And also those little
tug boats moving within the logs were attracting my attention with their "tuk- tuk,
tuk-tuk" sound. Walking on the shore we could get to the booms where the boats
were docked. I remember going inside, looking at the engines and smell the odor of
gasoline. It wouldn't take long that the foreman would tell us to go away. We would
soon be coming back!
Already then, in my head I was saying to myself , when I get older I will surely have
a boat like that. Well it happened forty years later. But it wasn't my first boat.
In the 70's, I owned a 25 ft. wooden sailing sloop.
In the 80's, I owned a 26 ft. steel double ender. Mid 80's, Russel Hull no. 721 (project was abandoned).
In 1994, Russel Hull 891. I bought a welding machine and decided to do the restoration. It took me quite
a few years, I succeeded and I'm pleased with the job I've done. (but I lost about 25
pounds working on it). I installed a 1944 Chrysler Crown Marine Engine, 6 cyl.,
251 cu. in. In autumn 2006, I installed a 4 cyl. Mercedes OM636 Diesel Engine, it will be coupled to a marine transmission this spring.
Furthermore, I have a couple of marine engines in my shed:
Universal Marine Engine, Utility Four Model BNMR (1937), Universal Marine Engine, Utility Four Model BN (1940), Chrysler Crown Marine Engine, 6 cyl. 251 cu. in. (1944), Mercedes OM636 Diesel Engines, 4 cyl.
and also a Paragon Marine Transmission, Model 3XE-90; 2:1 Reduction Gear.
That's my little hobby.
Pierre Arseneault Trois-Rivières, Québec, parseno13 @ hotmail.com
http://marinerail.com
