The OMECO, a classic Fay & Bowen launch of Camp PAOWNYC on Fourth Lake in Inlet, celebrates its centennial this year and will be proudly displayed during the Antique & Classic Boat Show and Fulton Chain Rendezvous in Old Forge on Saturday, July 12th.
The OMECO has been traveling the Fulton Chain of Lakes since 1914.
Family photos from that year show the OMECO pulling a toboggan as an aquaplane with one or two people standing on it.
The boat was originally purchased by current owner Bill Nolan’s great grandfather Oliver Murray Edwards. OMECO is a trademark name of Edwards’ company and stands for O.M. Edwards Co. of Syracuse.
The boat is a 25 foot “Special”, the model of which came out in 1907.
The special is different from the 25-foot standard model in that it is five-feet wide vs. the standard 5.5 feet, has a radial stern and sharper forward line.
The engine is also a little further forward and the seating arrangement is different with three benches across instead of around the sides.
The interior is mahogany with combing. The spark and throttle were originally “double geared” and could be steered and operated from the bow or on the port side behind the original 10 hp engine.
In 1907 the price was $875, according to a Fay & Bowen catalog reprint.
In a 1916 appraisal, the boat has a 4 cylinder engine. Current owner Bill Nolan assumes this was the same F&B “LC 41” that he replaced in 1992.
The present day engine is a Gray Marine Phantom 4 – 75, which is 40/50 hp as configured.
The OMECO has always been in the original boat house at PAOWNYC.
Family lore has it that the OMECO was displaced by the Josephine that was most likely purchased in 1915 or 1916.
The Josephine became the camp work boat, used for hauling luggage from Old Forge or Eagle Bay and other camp work, according to Nolan.
By the mid-1950s she was only used by Nolan’s Uncle Eleazer for general boating.
Today, the OMECO and the Josephine are the only two remaining boats of the PAOWNYC fleet from that era.
The OMECO has been owned by different generations of the family with Nolan purchasing it from an uncle in 1989.
In 1992, it was restored by Mark Mason of New England Boat & Motor and “spruced up” by Mason in 2010, Nolan said.
The late Peter Steele of Eagle Bay oversaw OMECO’s day-to-day operational aspects as well as being caretaker at PAOWNYC and other camps for 30 years, Nolan said.
His challenge now is to get it painted and running well for the upcoming boat show without the assistance of Steele.
Original owner O.M. Edwards was responsible for assembling the PAOWNYC property starting in the early 1900s.
He and his wife Josephine had their house and built the boathouse and eventually purchased or built six contiguous houses for each of their six children.
PAOWNYC, another trademark name of OM Edwards, stands for Pennsylvania, Ontario and western and New York Central railroads.
About 130 people attended PAOWNYC’s centennial in 2010, including a number of decendents of O.M. Edwards.
“The family is very attached to the central Adirondacks,” said Nolan, adding that 50 to 60 relatives are expected at PAOWNYC for the fourth of July and Antique Boat Show celebration.
The OMECO will be honored during the boat show with the presentation of a special award commemorating its centennial and a rousing send-off when it departs during the parade of boats.