Parks has a new boat

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Can you imagine my surprise when I received my copy of Practical Sailor, September 2018, today and on page 5 is Parks’ new boat, no wonder he will be coming to Ft Pierce in February to show off his new cruiser.

Congrats buddy.

Well, where is the pic, or it didn't happen!

Uh, what are you talking about? Did they publish the picture of the little skiff I built? I haven’t got my copy yet.

Yeah, and why hasn’t he changed his avatar? Maybe this new one was actually his “other” boat, you know, the one he uses for cruising entertainment in South Beach, while he keeps the conservative profile here on TF.

This boat? My buddy Snapper and I built it a couple of years ago. That’s a 15 hp Lehr propane engine hanging on the back.

That’s the boat. Now that Parks is retired he can afford the upkeep on this cruiser.

That’s funny. I got my copy of Practical Sailor today. I had been having a conversation with Darrell Nicholson, the editor, and sent him the photo of my current boat. Didn’t know he was going to publish it. He was a customer of mine many years ago.

Nice boat Parks but, engine is the wrong color,prop looks the wrong size, that anchor I can`t see is unsuitable and you`re going to need at least 400ft of stainless steel 3/8 chain.

HopCar said:

This boat? My buddy Snapper and I built it a couple of years ago. That’s a 15 hp Lehr propane engine hanging on the back.

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Looks like you are ready for a cruise down the Ocklawaha!

HopCar said:

This boat? My buddy Snapper and I built it a couple of years ago. That’s a 15 hp Lehr propane engine hanging on the back.

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That's a neat little boat. How does the propane engine work? I have heard some scuttlebutt that they need a lot of working on to keep it going. I do like the concept though

Scratchnsaw said:

That's a neat little boat. How does the propane engine work?

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Simple, you fire it up, you wait 20 minutes than you put a couple of sausage in it, after 5 min the hot dog is ready

L

HopCar said:

This boat? My buddy Snapper and I built it a couple of years ago. That’s a 15 hp Lehr propane engine hanging on the back.

Click to expand...

Nice boat! Do yourself a favor, don't run the Lehr in saltwater. The water passages in the engine corrode closed from saltwater. I'm on my 3rd carburetor, Chinese junk.

Ted

BruceK said:

Nice boat Parks but, engine is the wrong color,prop looks the wrong size, that anchor I can`t see is unsuitable and you`re going to need at least 400ft of stainless steel 3/8 chain.

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You nailed it Bruce. I’m thinking a 50 kilo anchor might be enough.

Scratchnsaw said:

That's a neat little boat. How does the propane engine work? I have heard some scuttlebutt that they need a lot of working on to keep it going. I do like the concept though

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I like the propane engines. I like them because they can sit for months and start right up. I have a 15 and a 2.5.

Ted is right that they had quality control issues for the first couple of years. In fact they took back and replaced the whole first container of them.

Tohatsu is now making a propane outboard and they’ve done something I told Lehr to do. They make an 8 hp with a 25 inch shaft. Ideal for a sailboat auxiliary engine. I think that’s going to be very popular. They already carry propane for their stove no need to carry gasoline too.

Donsan said:

Looks like you are ready for a cruise down the Ocklawaha!

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I’ve already had it on the Peace River and the St. John’s. Ocklawaha would be fun.