Hi Folks,
I just joined this group on a recommendation from some good folks on the iBoats forums. I had put out a posting on their Johnson/Evinrude forum about a 1961 Johnson Seahorse 10 that I have and asking advice on what I should do with it. I wanted to know if people still ran those things or if it was basically scrap metal. They told me there are people out there who still run/collect those old motors and that the motor would be of value to them either as a source of hard-to-get parts or as restoration project. Taking that advice, I have decided to make this motor available to the antique outboard community rather than give it to a metal recycler.
The motor came to my family when we bought a cabin on a lake in 1974. I think the family who had it before were the original owners; I think they bought it new the same year they built their cabin but I have no proof of it. After we got it, I used it for a few years and it ran okay but it was sometimes difficult to start and in 1977 it wasn’t running too reliably. At that point, my mother told my Dad in no uncertain terms, he better not show up at the cabin again without a new motor for the tin boat. Dad dutifully complied, wisely opting to avoid the wrath of my somewhat intimidating Mom… 😉
Since then, the motor has been stored in a boathouse and hasn’t moved. It’s pretty much intact except the flywheel and recoil starter are off of it. (I removed them to get at the flywheel key to do an emergency repair on the water pump of my 1974 Johnson 115 a few years ago.) I still have those parts and I have the cowl as well but the pieces/nameplates on the sides that said Johnson Seahorse 10 are both missing.
The leg/gearcase and propeller are all still good and the engine could probably be made to run again with some work. My guess is that it was probably winterized when it was mothballed but even if it wasn’t, the motor still turns over and is probably sound.
I had a friend who had some space in his truck haul the motor from the cabin to my home in the City and it just arrived here today. I’m not trying to make money from it, I just want to see this old motor go to someone who can make good use of it. Hopefully, they will restore it to its former glory but if it only has value as a parts motor, so be it. Look for my posting on your classifieds coming soon.
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