First
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 This is the adventure of the punt.
When I (EEA aka Eddie) was in grade school, I had a friend down the road
who had a dad who build boats. (He was a doctor at the VA Hospital, and
was into fiberglass sailboats -- maybe 20 ft.) Somehow this generated
a recommendation that the Averills build Eddie a boat. Dr. Brown
found a pattern that used two sheet of marine plywood, and sent us off,
with instructions to use about a 5 horse engine.
So, we built it from supplies found in Virginia. Uncle Dick had used a
1932 Evinrude that somehow got estimated as about 5 horsepower. It
was found somewhere in a shed, and here it is getting prepared for
use. It didn't want to start after all those years. After
letters went back and forth with instructions, and hours and hours of pulling
on the rope, the time came when the spark took hold. After a few
sputters, it REALLY took hold.
And we went zoom. The steering rotation was not smooth to begin with,
and I had decided to control it from up front with a rope, so jerk one
way, jerk the other way, and swoop... It stood up on one hind leg and turned
over. But I swear, the engine wouldn't die -- there was still air
in the cowling... Finally it died and the engine sank to the sand.
The 8-foot boat stood out of the water, just barely. And I rose to
the surface and hung on. And ever since, that boat has been powered
with oars.
It is now Aunt Ruth's red punt.
BTW, the Evinrude is now believed to have been 9 horsepower by old, conservative
standards.
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