The Spirit of Lexington
Building of 1987 28-foot pontoon with 115 hp Mercury
We named it the “Lexington” in honor of the City of Lexington, Mo. The people there have been so kind to us as we have visited their city with the Young Women's organization of the LDS Church. There have been three years in 2005 of summer camping trips by river and Lexington is one of our first stops.
HULL NO BUJ76038C787
TRACKER 1987
CAPACITY 12 PERSONS
MAX LOAD WT 2900 LBS
UNLADEN WT 3400 LBS
BEAM 8 FT
LENGTH 30 FT
TRAILER HT 12.5 FT
10 weeks till Embarkation
We found this old Pontoon thinking we could take the kids on a river trip
Pick up tritoon, “Tracker 28 Foot Party Hut”
All of the flooring and sides of the cabin were rotten and unsafe, nothing but the aluminum could be used.
Had to take everything off to repair the floor
4/6/03 Sun
4/12/03 Sat
Take off Hut and sides
Talked to Norm Clark about getting marine plywood, boy! 10 sheets of that was a lot of $.
We bought the boat because of the pontoons, didn't know we'd get a working motor out of the deal.
The floor was a mess
4/19/03 Sat
Take off floor
 
Took some work to get the floor off, no power tools at the RV lot
4/22/03 Tue
Got Plywood
Coated 3/4" marine ply with epoxy, bolted down and covered with carpet
.4/23/03 Wed
Cut out sides
4/24/03 Thursday
Two panels resin, sides made on con
Making the helm at home
4/26/03 Sat
PUT on FLOOR, Make cabin bridge, galley cabinet. GOT floor on
4/28/03 Mon
Take old galley apart, make galley walls, begin head walls
Attaching rails, lights, and trim
5/1/03 Thursday
Pick up carpet.
Make galley pannels
5/10/03 Sat
Committee members came over to help clean parts
Fiber glass work, sanding and grinding
Yes, it began to rain
5/23/03 Fri
We added a rear awning for shade and a rear service deck around the motor. We also built an enclosed bridge instead of the original control stand.
18 days left
5/24/03 Sat
help from HC members
Get new truck to haul trailer at 12:00 from Olathe Ford
5/26/03 Mon Memorial Day OFF, Assemble cabin
Inside the cabin looking forward, all the aluminum is cleaned and polished
5/29/03 Thursday
Must finish painting, and get lower gear box back on motor
6/7/03 Sat
1 week, assembly, motor testing
First running of the motor, had a problem--time is really short now
6/14/03
Carbs leaking gas, Alan and Scott going to stores while I rebuild fuel pump and carbs.
6/16/03 Week of 5th year camp
Launch, still finishing the wiring.
Scott at Lexington's helm, we're still hooking up wires
View from Lexington's helm, the Missouri River
On her first check out ride, we took the boat and 30 some people 311 miles down the Missouri River and only had a few problems but they were fixed.
6/22/03 Sun
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