The Sinking of the Outboard Marine Corp.

[mercuryman]

Paste the title below on You Tube the video is about the end of OMC

The Sinking of the Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC)

[Mumbles]

I just finished watching that last night. Now to figure out if my black box is half full or half empty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBdLitpi2sU&t=585s

[jerry-ahrens]

I remember the day that happened. I was at my bench working on a Cobra drive, when the service manager came out and told me. I remember the mechanics across the lake from us at Bridgeport Marine (an OMC dealer) were furious… they were strictly OMC mechanics at the time, and wondered what would happen to their lively hood. I was glad to be a Mercury mechanic at the time, and still having a job. Pretty sad time..

[Bob Wight]

An almost unbelievable and sad story. Bad leadership, bad decisions and bad timing marked the end of a giant. I remember our local annual huge boat show the month right after they filed bankruptcy. All of the area OMC dealers were practically giving away brand new motors they had in their local inventory and they couldn’t sell a single one knowing there was no warranty available and what would ultimately happen with what was left of the OMC operation. I was glad to see BRP buy it up and am still a loyal Evinrude owner.

Bob

1937 Champion D2C Deluxe Lite Twin
1954 Johnson CD-11
1955 Johnson QD-16
1957 Evinrude Fastwin 18
1958 Johnson QD-19
1958 Johnson FD-12
1959 Johnson QD-20

“Every 20 minute job is only a broken bolt away from a 3-day project.”
"Every time you remove a broken or seized bolt an angel gets his wings."

[fleetwin]

quote bobw:

An almost unbelievable and sad story. Bad leadership, bad decisions and bad timing marked the end of a giant. I remember our local annual huge boat show the month right after they filed bankruptcy. All of the area OMC dealers were practically giving away brand new motors they had in their local inventory and they couldn’t sell a single one knowing there was no warranty available and what would ultimately happen with what was left of the OMC operation. I was glad to see BRP buy it up and am still a loyal Evinrude owner.

Very sad, and it could have/should have been prevented. So many dealers and owners were affected, which is why you are hard pressed to see a new Evinrude these days….

[rmhxruss]

OMC at one time had about twenty dealers outboard in Los Angeles county Ca. BuRP is now down to three dealers. Yamaha has one outboard dealer in the same county now. Current population is now about ten million.

[roj115]

Being a die-hard OMC outboard fan I will watch that documentary with great interest. I have a 2010 BRP Evinrude 150 HO eTec on my ski boat and absolutely love it. I think eTecs are the best outboards made right now. Before that, I had a ’74 Johnson 115 on my old ski boat which I sold for good money in 2015 to make way for the new ski boat with the eTec. It broke my heart to sell that old boat and motor. We got them new when I was just 14 and I lovingly maintained it and kept it in top running condition for 40 years. The people who bought it are still running it and it’s still rock solid.

[fleetwin]

quote Roj115:

Being a die-hard OMC outboard fan I will watch that documentary with great interest. I have a 2010 BRP Evinrude 150 HO eTec on my ski boat and absolutely love it. I think eTecs are the best outboards made right now. Before that, I had a ’74 Johnson 115 on my old ski boat which I sold for good money in 2015 to make way for the new ski boat with the eTec. It broke my heart to sell that old boat and motor. We got them new when I was just 14 and I lovingly maintained it and kept it in top running condition for 40 years. The people who bought it are still running it and it’s still rock solid.

You are soo right, the 74 115 is surely one of the best outboards ever, simple, rugged, reliable, and easy to service….I’m glad you are enjoying the ETEC, sure wish I had more experience with the newer BRP models…

[roj115]

One thing that has really surprised me about the ETEC is the terrific fuel economy it gets. The old boat was a light 16′ fiberglass V hull 1975 Starcraft American with the bored out 115 Johnny on it. Great for waterskiing behind. The new boat is a 17′ 3" 2010 Glastron GT180 with the BRP Evinrude ETEC 150 HO which probably puts out about 165 hp at the prop. The Glastron is much wider and probably 400 lbs heavier than the Starcraft yet the ETEC uses only 1/2 to 1/3 the amount of fuel the Johhny did pulling slalom skiers and cruising, etc. It’s quite remarkable really.

[reivertom]

This is the story of most of the lost manufacturing companies in the US. The EPA is culpable as much as short sighted leadership.

[Author]

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