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Got my boat launched by myself for it's first official and successful lake run this evening!! Started right up and I drove up and down the lake, taking in the full moon rising to the East, the sun setting to the West and seagulls following my wake looking for fish I may have disturbed. My first time back on the lake since 1972 and I was 7 years old. Now that I know this motor runs, I can move it over to my dad's old boat and finish the little bits of restoration I still have to do on it then FINALLY will get to take my mom out on it again after all these years. Thanks to everyone on this forum who helped me, I couldn't have done it without you all. (If the motor looks kind of ugly, that's because I've been sanding it in prep for painting. :redface
I had never driven a boat by myself before, I wasn't even sure which way to move throttle to go forward (but I quickly learned!) I waited til 6:00 pm so there wouldn't be anyone out at the lake and I wouldn't tie up the ramps unloading the boat or bother anyone while I tried to figure out how to work the throttle and steering with the tiller handle. I have decided I do NOT like the tiller handle and I am searching for a Johnson remote control box that I can hook up so I can also reattach the steering wheel and be able to operate it all from the front. It really was blissful out there this evening with the cool breeze blowing past, the chop, chop, chop of the water, the birds following along...yeah I can see getting addicted to this boating stuff!