With each and every issue, this magazine travels many directions, to every state and numerous foreign countries. 

But no matter where you are as you read this, the common bond between us - we who create the magazine and you who enjoy it - is a love for our Lake Superior.

Now if you ask me, the best way to express that love and to feel it is to be on the lake itself. That’s why many of you loyal readers know my summers often include exploration of the lake on our faithful Skipper Sam II. Then come fall, I get the fun of passing along what I’ve learned by sharing our travels with you!

For this reason alone, Sam is a trusted and cherished friend. Skipper Sam II is the first 50-foot Whitcraft built after Naval architect Jim Wynne completed her design in 1972. We bought her - slightly used - in 1975, agreeing to live on hamburger and spaghetti for several years while we paid her off.

What we quickly realized was how absolutely Sam is a Lake Superior boat! It’s simple, really - if it is nice out, everyone aboard can be on the upper deck. When it isn’t, the warmth of the enclosed main cabin encourages survival, at least.

Remembering Sam’s real age did come as a shock, however, last fall as we hauled her out for the winter. I realized I’d been to boat shows across America for many years and never found a boat who could stand in Sam’s shadow. We’d repaired her in many ways, including a new set of Chrysler 440 engines in 1982, when such large engines were slated for permanent disposal.

I realized the launching this year, 2002, would be her 30th, and it was definitely time to thoroughly inspect every mechanical aspect of Skipper Sam II, since repairs and improvements are much easier as part of the spring “fitting out.”

A fellow boater and mechanical wizard, Dick Bakke, mentioned that he was considering going into the boat repair business soon when he retired from being a teacher of things mechanical. So we struck a deal - please check everything mechanical out on our boat! He began his intense survey in late September 2001.

I won’t bore you with all that he found, but Dick concluded that our years of boating our beautiful lake did, indeed, challenge both the engines and the associated transmissions and drive systems. Repairs began.

What counts most about all of this “Journal” entry is meeting the incredible Dick Bakke … and his work after I explained that I wanted to safely cruise our lake in our mechanically sound boat.

As we must assume, mechanical devices finally wear out … and after 30 years of operation, there was a lot of potential wear on Sam! Our major problem was one of age since the transmission of engine power to the propeller needs both a transmission and a special device known as a V-drive. In our case, the V-drive main case, a heavy steel casting, had suffered hairline fractures caused by vibration and age. When cooling water mixes with lubricating oil, as we found it was doing, the game is officially over. This problem led to contact with Marysville (Michigan) Marine Distributors and with Jeff Mechan.

After as many years of boating as I’ve undertaken, I’m not naive. I know that with boats, the older they are, the harder to get parts for them. But I wasn’t prepared for my telephone conversation with Jeff in Marysville.

In his most polite way, Jeff explained that some parts that we required were best found in a museum somewhere … since they had not been made for years. Realizing that I was collapsed on the floor, he paused, then added, “What’s your number? I’ll check our old warehouse - maybe we might have something....”

You guessed it, this incredible firm, Marysville Marine Distributors, saved our chestnuts one more time. They found - and shipped - exactly what we needed!

Through all of this, Dick Bakke kept checking system after system, not to inflate the overall bill for his services, but because he had promised me a summer of safe boating on Lake Superior’s Ontario north shore.

So, why in the world stay involved with a 30-year-old boat?

First off, she was truly built like the proverbial “Brick Outhouse.” Her length is 50 feet, but her beam or width is but 12 feet. She has a very efficient modified deep “V” bow and so can achieve more than 26 miles per hour - if you want to buy the fuel! We cruise at what is known as “hull speed,” or just under 10 miles per hour, since being just anywhere on the lake is desired.

I’ve honestly never seen mechanical examinations matching Dick Bakke’s “routine” approach to things mechanical. He seems to sense anything “not just quite right,” a common occurrence on a mature boat. He works so fast - with tools fitting the project he undertakes - that I felt his bill for services rendered was more than fair. Dick is simply the best I’ve met over the years.

And, as you might well understand, continuing to care for someone - or in this case, something, is a privilege. After all, Skipper Sam II has brought us safely home, from many extensive and occasionally dicey voyages … every time.

A selection of Jim Marshall’s columns of lake lore and his inland sea voyages has been published as Lake Superior Journal: Views from the Bridge by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc. Follow this link for more information.

Feedback: jrm@lakesuperior.com