Need some help: 15' Allison interior and rigging

[BLUElixir]

Hey guys. I have a few questions about the interiors of the older 15' Allisons. I just bought one and I'm doing some repairs and a little updating.

What were the floors like in these smaller Allisons? Mine is covered in terrible outdoor type carpet that I will be taking out. Were the floors covered with anything? If not, what was the floor finish like? Paint? Gel-coat? What color?

I think I've found just about all of the pictures of small Allison that are on the web. I would still like to see some interior shots and some rigging pictures would be awesome too. Some shots of the fuel tank, battery, trim pump locations would be very helpful.

Thanks for your help!

[Ted Stryker]

My trim pump is mounted to the starboard knee brace, fuel pump on the port knee brace... The fuel tank is farthest rear, then the battery, then the drivers seat all as much down the center of the boat as possible... The tank and battery are as far forward toward the seat( and I like to sit close to the wheel ) as possible to compensate for the huge aero-bowlift and to tame the holeshot.. I was running more HP than average...

[bridges]

The interior of my 15' Allison is original. Gray floor with black and white spatter on it.

[bridges]

There is no trim pump mounting because I have no trim :D ....but as you can see the tanks and battery are mounted on a board. Most states require battery boxes ;) There was no factory mounting for this stuff in 1969.

[Jeff_G]

The Allisons came with a splatter paint as Bridges posted. The rigging was done my the owner or dealer. Depends on race or pleasure version. Fuel pumps were usually motor operated and mounted. 6 gallon fuel tanks and one battery. Performance oriented boats used dual ride guide steering and race boats cable and pully.

[bridges]

This boat was set up for pulley steering, and the pulleys are actually inside it, but as far as I can tell they were never used. It has single cable ride guide. There's not much transom torque with the little surfacing 3 blade.

[BLUElixir]

Thanks for the help guys! That really helps me to get thinking in the right direction.

Jeff, is your race boat a decked over 15' Allison? Do you have more pictures of that? Whatever it is, it looks cool.

[Jeff_G]

It is a 15 Allison that has had a Robertson/ Velden capsule added.
As for your boat, are you trying to take it back to all original or just usable. The splatter paint differed by year and boat color. They also used black with white splatter and white with black as well. It is reletively easy to duplicate the opriginal using lacquor and contact cement. The splatter paint sold in the home or auto stores is not the correct splatter, if that matters.

[bridges]

Yep, if you want to take it back original look, don't use canned spatter paint. It's not even close.

Jeff what is your technique for duplicating that look?

[BLUElixir]

Yeah Jeff your boat is sweet and I think the racing series is pretty interesting too.

I have started to peal up the carpet just to see what is underneith. Its a whole lot of carpet cemement and either black gel or paint. The boat was painted at one time in its life. Anyway, I need to do a tiny amount of floor repair and then finish off the floor. I'm not trying to restore the boat but I think the splatter would give it a nice finished appearance. I'll probably have a local boat builder do the glass and gel work. I have a good relationship with them and they do excellent work.

Thanks again for the help!

[Jeff_G]

Paint the part to be "splattered coat". You can use any type paint, a good acrylic enamel is fine. Lets say you wanted black base with white splatter. The base is painted all black. Next mix the splatter, use 3/4 lacquor paint, must be lacquor, 1/4 contact cement. You will add just a little lacquor thinner to get it to spray well. Mix well. Using a spray gun, I use a old primer or touch up gun, open the orifice, TEST spray on an old board. It should come out almost like silly string, depending on temps and amount of thinner you will have to play a little to get the right set up. The air pressure needs to be around 40#. Once you get it right just spray. Vary your angles and shoot in short spurts. Let dry completely. After 24 hours you will find 80% will be bonded and some will look like cobwebs hanging everywhere, just wipe these up with a clean rag.
That's all there is and it will look just like original.
When spraying the mixture should spurt and splatter everywhere so anything remotely near by must be covered.

[TStone]

That boat has lived in Oklahoma California Kansas, back to Oklahoma and now Arkansas. I think you'll find the only bad spot is the floor in front of the air tanks. I had it right after the previous owner carpeted it and never ripped it out. The 110 runs great, starts easy and pushed the boat just over 60 MPH with a different prop. The boat was always stored inside.

[BLUElixir]

Wow that is great that you know some history on this boat! Do you know what happened to the floor? I'm just currious. I can't find any structural problems anywhere else. Do you know who painted it and/or what color it was originally? Again, just currious.

That is great to hear that it has been stored inside. It won't be getting rained on under my watch either!

Thanks again for the history!

[TStone]

I believe it rotted from previous owners. The bulkheads were replaced, as was the front floor. The wood in the front floor was too thin and cracked under pressure. (my foot) I had heard that this boat was raced in late 80s early 90s with a 140 OMC. What are you going ot power it with? Have you owned an Allison before?

[BLUElixir]

It fun to know a little bit about the boats life. This is my first Allison. I am looking forward to learning to drive it. I'm not sure what I'm going to use for power. What would you recommend? I want it to be reliable and it doesn't have to be a vintage motor either.

[BarryStrawn]

How fast do you want it to go?

[Raceman]

I'm one of probably not too many people who's run a 15 Allison over 100 MPH. I don't recommend it. They're great boats with an inline 6 Merc or a V4 OMC. I think it's a mistake to put a V6 of any size on one. Taking on water over the rear becomes an issue in a hurry with the weight of a V6.

[TStone]

If you can wait, the 110 would be great to start with while you prep a 150 inline. You may want to check with Jack to see what prop he sent with it and make sure it will run like it should. I received my first ticket in an Allison almost 30 years ago. It was a 14R with a 85 HP Merc.

[TStone]

Should have added I was eleven years old at the time, and didn't realize you have to be 16 to be alone in a boat.

[BLUElixir]

Thanks guys for the input. I really have no desire to run super fast in this boat. I've got the STV for that. 70+ would be excellent but I would be satisfied with slower speeds. I'm kind of thinking about a 140hp V4. I'm still learning the ins and outs of V-4s and what kind of prices they bring. What do you think about 140hp on this boat?

TStone, the prop that Jack sent is a 2 blade. I haven't examined it really closely but it looks like it has been welded on and isn't too pretty.

Raceman, Thanks for your input. I emailed you last week through the board. Maybe there were some issues with the updates... Thanks again.

[Bruce Washburn]

I had one with a 150 inline short shaft. The motor was not a j-block. The boat was set up like a race boat. It had cable steering and a stump that the engine rested against. The boat had two seats in line to keep the boat ballanced. The battery and tank were behind the second seat. With two people I ran a 14 1/2 X 28 round ear 2blade offshore. it carried the boat great. If I ran the boat by myself I ran a 3 blade cleaver usually a 28 or 30 overhub. The cleaver handled much better with the lighter load.

With two people the boat would run right at 72-75 on a keller speedo depending on the size of the second person. I would think that a decent 140v4 should easily do over 70 if set up correctly. As far as a fun boat on the lake, it was a blast to drive with two people. I had the boat back in the early 80's and had alot of fun picking on inboards and jet boats.

[BarryStrawn]

With a good top end prop, a healthy crossflow 140 V4 should push it to 80mph or a bit more. Just about any setup should get it over 70. Or that is my experience with the 16 foot version. These things can get dangerous at 75+ if you try to stretch a little more speed with just a bit more trim. Plenty of aero lift in the bow so watch out for wind gusts and rollers. Or prop it with a 22 or 24 so it runs out of revs around 70 and just enjoy the acceleration.

The sensible engine would be a shortshaft Yamaha or OMC triple.

[BLUElixir]

Wow, 80 with a 140? Thats amazing!. What horsepowers do the shortshaft Yamahas and OMC tripples come in?

[LakeRacer99]

Hey Excellent Boat Adam! I too have a 15 footer.
I like the idea of the V4 crossflow...paint one up like a Stinger GP.
This was a members boat here I think...Barry, Was this yours?

[dale robertson]

Make sure you put good steering in it. If you are going much into the 70's I would use cable and pulley race type steering. A crappy steering system will hurt you in this boat. I have scars and can prove it. Any kind of slop any where in the steering will also make it a lot harder for you to learn how to drive this boat. If you have never driven a pad-V at speed, it's probably about like learning to ride a unicycle.

I would also round up a good jack plate. If you go with the 140 and want to go fast, try a DAH cleaver, it will get the job done.

Ultimate engine would be a T-2X. Good luck on that one.

Dale

[Ted Stryker]

I had a slightly modded 140 on a 16' Allison copy ( 360# balsa bottom )... Seemed to be the perfect motor, but as always after a few hours of run time I mothballed the v-4... I installed my brothers 2.5 Mercury... The V-4 ran 71 mph in an SDBA 1/8 mile race with a 25 pitch clever... It was by far an imperfect set-up as it was someone elses last minute idea to make a pass down the track... The OMC would push the boat well past 80 mph, stable as an atomic clock... The 140 is being sold by ROLF here on S&F, and it is a very well built, solid motor... If I ever drag the little Ally back out, it will have an OMC V-4 on it...

[Raceman]

Actually, I had a T2X on mine at one time, as well as a T2, a T3, and several 1500's. The boat sat so low in the water it was very hard to get on top with the T2X with it's super long tuner on 3 cyls. The T2 suffered from the same problem, although I drilled some strategically placed holes in the tuner, and a 3rd one in the mid and made it tolerable. By far I prefer the short 1500 on those boats.

[BLUElixir]

Thanks for all of the info guys. I really appriciate it.

The V-4s weren't really a performance motor were they? I am just thinking that I would have to install solid mounts if I were to run one. Not that its a big deal, I was just currious.

[BarryStrawn]

LakeRacer99 - Yes, that is my old 16 on one very cold Kansas day back about 1982. Motor was pretty high for those days. Best speed prop was a custom 28" round ear made by Dave "Hoss" Bostic. I don't think I ever had a setup on the boat that didn't run over 70. Motor is a 1978 Johnson 140 that was rebuilt and cleaned up but porting was stock.

BLUElixer - The short OMC triples are the classic 49 cube 75 horse or the newer 56 cube SST60 race engine. About 200 pounds. Yamaha has a 90 horse that is 70 cubes. These would be a lot slower than a V4 or inline six but might be more fun to just screw around in. Expecially if you also have a truly fast boat.

[BLUElixir]

Hey Barry that 16 is a cool looking package. I'm looking forward to getting mine set up.


The smaller motors sound like they would work but the Tim Taylor in me is saying "go for the 140". We'll see though. I still need to weigh all of my options.

[hwyrnr]

Is your father the realestate guy in OKC area? And is your brother the one that has the yellow 14' Allison Jack raced?

[TStone]

Yes, although my brother no longer has the 14' Allison. Jack raced it and then my dad did well in it. We ran AOF back then. I ran hydros for about ten years after turning 18. I'm headed for OKC as we speak. How do you know Jack?

[TStone]

BLUElixir, sorry for hijacking your thread. I would vote for a 140 or 150. Prop it for 70 MPH and enjoy the ride with acceleration. At sixty it gets on the pad and handles great.

[BLUElixir]

Hey no problem Stone! I'm enjoying it all!


Merry Christmas guys!

[hwyrnr]

when I wanted to get a STV I started to talk to Randy, Jacks son. Randy and Dondie took me for a ride in their Allison and talked me into an Allison. When I found My Allison Jack, Randy and Dondie came over to check the boat and Motor out to make sure it was a good boat. Started to hang out at Randys prop shop and Jacks shop and loved listening to Jacks Old race stories. Told me stories about the boat he sold to your dad and your brother. I talked to your brother a couple of years ago about his boat but was asking more than I could do at the time. Wish I could of came up with the money. boat has some stories with it. James

[TStone]

Jack and Randy are both great. Jack was (and still is) a hero of mine. Did he tell you about blowing over the tunnel and breaking his leg? He had a cast up to his hip. Had to move the foot throttle to the other side of the boat, wrapped about three life jackets around the cast, and had 4 men lift him into the boat so that he could race. So how do you like the Allison?

[BLUElixir]

Yeah Jack seems to be a neat guy. I loved hearing his stories.

The Allison hasn't made much progress. I've de-rigged it and started gathering parts. I need to get it into the fiberglass shop for some work and then start putting it back together. I'll post some pictures when I get some work done....

[TStone]

Can't wait to see some results. If I can be of any assistance let me know.

[hwyrnr]

Jack has not told me that one yet. Will have to ask about it. I love my Ally. Not the fastest with a 225 P/M but fast enough for me to play with. I'm trying to put together some money for the next old Ally deal that comes along. Adam keep me posted on the boat. and Mr. Stone you have a good one. Thanks, James