What was your first outboard?

[bullie]

quote pugetsoundboater:

quote Bullie:

The first motor I called “mine” was a Chrysler 8 hp. I am guessing a 60 something. That old motor actually saved my life when I was I was 12 or so. It wasn’t very fast but I know from experience that it will outpace a sasquatch. I wrote down all the details of that little adventure if anyone is interested.

Sounds like you got a good story,a sasquatch chasing you?I for one would like to hear it.

I’ll start a new topic so not to clutter this one too much.

[kerry]

When my father passed, I "inherited" the family rowboat and 1961 Evinrude 5.5 Fisherman. Technically my first. My first after finding the AOMCI and deciding to start the addiction was a 1948 Sportwin 3.3. Still have it… and 37 miscellaneous others.

If you have too many, AND not enough, you're a collector.

[joesnuffy]

In the summer of 1987 I was in college after completing a tour as a mechanic in the Army in Germany. I had recently gotten married and the wife and I would go up to the lake and just set in our VW bug and look at the boats in the marina. I told her one day we will have a boat. About 1988 I found a 500 dollar ski boat it had a 1961 75hp Evinrude on it that turns out had a lot of issues. I went to the dealer for parts and that’s when I found out that outboard motor parts were not cheap by any means. The guy at the dealer must have felt bad for me and gave me a phone number for an old timer he said had lots of older parts. Turns out he did and that is how I started learning and fixing boat motors. He took me under his wing teaching me all kinds of things about my boat motor. He sold me a 1961 power head for my motor that couldn’t have had 10 hours on it if that much. He helped me build a set of gears which included grinding the dog, seals etc for the lower unit. W’hen we got done that boat would stand straight up in the water when I gave it the throttle my buddies that had new boats wanted to ski behind mine. The old guy had tons of parts all in coffee cans and new exactly where to go to get what we would go through them and pick the best one for my engine. We even made a starter pawl out of stainless he said that would last forever not like the plastic one that was on there. It did it was on the motor when I sold it. Wish I had never sold the motor now but I have gone on to own some truly great boats now. I owe that guy a lot.

Joe

[wedgie]

quote joesnuffy:

In the summer of 1987 I was in college after completing a tour as a mechanic in the Army in Germany. I had recently gotten married and the wife and I would go up to the lake and just set in our VW bug and look at the boats in the marina. I told her one day we will have a boat. About 1988 I found a 500 dollar ski boat it had a 1961 75hp Evinrude on it that turns out had a lot of issues. I went to the dealer for parts and that’s when I found out that outboard motor parts were not cheap by any means. The guy at the dealer must have felt bad for me and gave me a phone number for an old timer he said had lots of older parts. Turns out he did and that is how I started learning and fixing boat motors. He took me under his wing teaching me all kinds of things about my boat motor. He sold me a 1961 power head for my motor that couldn’t have had 10 hours on it if that much. He helped me build a set of gears which included grinding the dog, seals etc for the lower unit. W’hen we got done that boat would stand straight up in the water when I gave it the throttle my buddies that had new boats wanted to ski behind mine. The old guy had tons of parts all in coffee cans and new exactly where to go to get what we would go through them and pick the best one for my engine. We even made a starter pawl out of stainless he said that would last forever not like the plastic one that was on there. It did it was on the motor when I sold it. Wish I had never sold the motor now but I have gone on to own some truly great boats now. I owe that guy a lot.

Joe

I’d like to hear how you went about grinding the dog ?

[fleetwin]

57 Fleetwin

[labrador-guy]

Mine was a 5hp Firestone. Me and my buddy wanted to get some ducks in a marshy spot we knew. He bought a boat and I bought the motor. First time out we threw out the decoys and pushed the boat and motor into the bulrushes. It didn’t take long and the ducks were whizzing by finally we both stood up and started blasting. We both dang near landed in the drink. Two twelve gauges blasting rocked the boat like crazy. Scared the stuff out of us! Did not do that again! The old motor ran just fine, but no ducks that day!

[joesnuffy]

He ground the dog with a normal shop grinder. If memory serves me correctly he ground the rounded portion off making it flat to keep it from kicking out of gear. Those area’s become rounded through the years he said normally more so in forward. I think we installed it with the ground area toward the reverse side. Hope that helps!

Joe

[mgsolakis]

Well I did not technically own it but when I was a kid we rented a cottage on Sea Bright bay in Ontario and each year we rented a 1960 Evinrude Fisherman. It was always a great motor. The first one I owned was actually a 6hp Viking from the 60s. It was a Chrysler build and actually surprisingly ran great most of the time. Very slow though and eventually the re-coil come out. I still have it but never was able to get the re-coil back in.

[slim60]

In 1952 my dad and his aunt bought a cottage in northern Wisconsin. It came with a wooden rowboat that leaked. The next year Aunt Gertie bought a new Alumacraft model E. After a couple years my dad was tired of rowing so he bought a 1955 Fleetwin that was seized. He soaked the cylinders for a week and it freed up. We used that rig every summer and in 1959 my dad let me solo while he and my mom watched from shore. She squeezed his hand till it turned blue. I was eight and about sixtyfive pounds. I bought the cottage in 2000 and still run that ‘old reliable’ Fleetwin on the Alumacraft.

[rudderless]

Martin 40 on an old wooden boat ..around 1974 or so.

[Author]

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