The photo shows a 1974 Seacamper. She's a 24 foot trailerable houseboat aboard which I plan to explore the backwaters in and around the California Delta. The plan is to base in either Stockton or Sacramento and make short trips over an extended period of time. I found the boat on Craigslist in November and after a some e-mail inquiries, and a few phone calls, she seemed worth a closer look so in mid December I took a road trip south and spent a few days with our friend Elias in Folsom, CA.
The boat was up in Loomis, CA in the care of boat broker Chuck Howson of CHH Marine Services.
Chuck was very helpful with putting this deal together. He made numerous trips up to the lake where he fought with a consistent high rpm cut-out, then a rough idle and stall situation. With the help of mechanic Don, the problem was isolated to a clog in one of the fuel lines. The line has now been replaced. With my available time running out we managed to get her running on my last day there and I was able to take my first "on the water" trial at Folsom Lake. At that time we were running on a small day tank so the gas supply was definitely limited.
With that in mind and a brisk wind coming up, I opted to make the run a short one. We took her out past the 5 knot markers and made a couple of loops and "S" turns before returning to the launch ramp.
She performed quite well despite the short chop developing on the lake. For sure she'll need some TLC and a few dollars spent to make her my own, but other than that I was quite pleased with her.
I've named her " Delta Blue" for now but this could be just temporary. I'm sure something more suitable will come to mind once the adventures get under way.
