My work morning was interrupted by a phone call from Lee Wangstad from Brainerd. He had been referred to me by Ross Pfund. Seems he knew of a 20 foot Flyer inboard that was for sale. Could this be true? Was it really a Flyer? Was it restorable? Was it really possible I could own the flyer of my dreams? Trying to contain my obvious excitement I started to call the number Lee gave me. A Burnsville phone number tells me, no sweat, it’s here in town and I’ll just run out now and pick this plum up. Not so, the recorder says “leave a message, I’ll get back to you.” I do.
The
phone rings and it’s Lloyd Olson from Onalaska Wisconsin and the boat isn’t in
the cities at all but in Onalaska; not right on my way to anywhere.
We
talk about it and I verify that it’s a Flyer and the price Lee quoted me is
correct and it’s in A-l condition and going to be sold A.S.A.P.
I
get there and see the boat. My heart sinks. The word pristine that has danced
in my head is replaced by the word rough. But all is not lost, it is a Flyer
and it is restorable. The engine is gone replaced by a Dodge V8. Not to worry,
I can locate a l4O hp Grey Marine that it came with and replace that. Maybe we
can negotiate.
Much
to my chagrin I find that even as I drove the price went up 40%. What’s a fella
to do—rough & 40%—seems like a double whammy to me. I do the best I can to negotiate
~ but it’s a no ‘go. It’s
a lonely drive back to the cities, my eyes keep finding the rear view mirror
empty, my Flyer was only a dream after all.
I
try to forget about it but every 3 or 4 days I get a call about a new
development, another looker, another offer.
After
10 or so days and numerous phone calls my offer is going up and his price is
coming down and I have Flyer Fever.
Finally
we agree on a solid price by a solid deadline—CASH. I get in my Suburban, cash
in pocket, and my son Lee along to help when the homemade trailer the boat is
on falls apart. We leave really early so we can do as much traveling by
daylight as is possible. We close the deal passing the money even as new phone
calls with new offers are coming in. Integrity wins the day and both parties
stand by the deal they made.
My
eyes find my rearview mirror—can it be, is the Dream Flyer really mine! The
trailer doesn’t fall apart in fact it makes it all the way to Little Falls the
following weekend. John Monahan, Dave Watt and Lyle Tuller spent that afternoon
with me talking about where we go from here. Lyle helped Larson build the wood
inboards and it was really neat to have him reminisce about those days. In the
summer of 1991 I plan , with
the help of others, to put on a Falls Flyer Homecoming in Little Falls. My
Dream Flyer will be there in pristine condition—I promise!!
Dreams—They
can come true.
Paul
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