Worst idea of all time?

[Scream And Fly]

What do you think is the worst boat-related invention or idea of all time? I’m going to start this thread by giving my suggestion: The Force L-Drive. Circa 1990. Basically, this was an answer to a nonexistent problem. An outboard engine (A Force, no less) mounted inside a cavity of a Bayliner, so as to place the lower unit under the hull… Not behind it, but under it. Sort of like a poorly contrived spin off of a Stern Drive, only it was an outboard with no cowl. What could be the benefit to this? Needless to say, the idea was scrapped after a year or so.

Yikes

Greg

[Talon2.5]

putting the gas tank in the boat and then fiberglassing the foor over it with zero access to it, to do repair to, or replacement of the tank!!!!!

[Glenn]

Don't know if this really counts....You remeber hip-belt life jackets? Know a guy who almost drowned after a water ski wipe out. The belt road up his body and pinned both arms to the to the side of his head. They thought he was OK 'cause he had both hands in the air. You know, the old I'm OK signal. Also remeber bubble-pack life jackets. They'd rip apart so easily and resisting the temptation to pop 'em was almost impossible!

Glenn

[LaserModVee]

What about FOUR STROKE OUTBOARDS!!!!

BLAHAHAHAHA!!!!

-The Tri-Hull

-Pull cord on a V-6

-Carpet in a boat

-OMC

[AnthonySS]

I actually knew some people that thought they were really good...wonder why they stopped producing them...anyone know

[Firestarter]

Actually the Yamaha stearn drives were quite good, like their outboard, I cannot remember the reason they stopped producing them. For some reason I think they are still in production, just not here in north america.

RT

[pyro]

Land&Sea dual-plug cylinder heads!

I thought I read a thread on these being a waste of money...

[crazy horse]

Don't know about the rest of you, But I don't think plastic spare props for large outboards is a good idea.

[H2OPERF]

Are we talking lately or can we go back to some of the early blunders. I think the old merc dock nockers have to fall in there some where. That was a crazy design ok were comin in lets shut her off pull back the igniion turn the key for reverse start her up backwards oops shes not crankin right up look out.I was looking at a restored one not too long ago design wise you have to marvel at it but the practicality?

[captcarb]

also turned the water pump backwards.

[H2OPERF]

Yea your right ,Guys dont get me wrong i love outboard history That design just allways amazes me.My brother has an old mark 20 that thing will run along side any thing made today fairly compact too.

[captcarb]

I ran a Mk 78A for years and never had a problem with it. I kept it tuned up and did not rely on reverse.

[woodco]

A V - 6 with a pull cord ...... Actually saved my but a couple of
times... Thank God it was only a couple :(

[84exciter]

i started mine with the cord last year,just to see if i could.
it works!!!!

[Techno]

Jet Skis
Not that they weren't a good idea or that they're not fun.

But because of the inconsiderate idiots who usually think they own the launch because they paid their $5 and can't do much else right.
If its someone who is only brain damaged they're not bad. Its the brainless "dawn of the dead" ones that somehow find these things as another way to kill themselves or others. Buy it, get it wet and forget about any "rules of the road".

If only for boats then I think its the Coast Guards rule of power restrictions on smaller boats. Get over something like 22' and you can put whatever you want on it. It somehow is safe now.

[crazy horse]

Man,I gota second that. Jetskis are a pain in the ass!!

[captcarb]

blew up right in front of my house the other day, after coming out of the water at full throttle about 100 times. It broke my heart.

[crazy horse]

Man, they don't even sound good, Rar-Rar-Rar-Rar!

[hydrostreamvulture1]

turn on a dime people take advantage of that....couldnt tell ya how many accidents we had to avoid cuz of careless jet ski drivers....goin full throttle dont look behind them and do a 360...for sum reason the bay constables never catch them doing nethin wrong but they do catch us goin 8 mph in a 5 mph zone

[FCnLa]

This has to be the weirdest set up I have ever seen. There is a guy that still uses one around here....I wonder who he gets to work in it???:p

Not that I am a big fan of jap stuff, but I have a 650 SX Ski. Only thing stock is the carb and intake. I am thinking about mounting it in a kneeler hydro with a surface drive, or in something with a prop.......Maybe a go devil???:eek:

[crazy horse]

There wakes can be very unpredictable, As can they, I get off the lake when they come out. I bet it's been 5 years sence I had my viper out on a weekend.

[dan agnew]

i cant believe that with all the mechanics nobody has said omc electric shift anything, chrysler electronics got to be THE TURKEY of all , but man electric shift and in the water too!!!

Danny

[H2OPERF]

I was gonna when i posted the merc thing but i couldnt think of which version was the worst one. The spring clutch stern drive junk or the ones with the two soleniods,your right on on that one especially with that wire they used to use that the insulation would deteriorate and just fall off.

[84exciter]

my g-pop had a 1965 75hp v-4 ,put plugs in once a year,and changed the gear oil.NOTHING ELSE.HAD IT UNTIL 1985.
boat run 33 mph or 28 with a skiier,that's all we ever did.WFO for 20 years never even put points in it.just gas,30 wt non-det motor oil and beat the snot out of it.GREAT MOTOR(big as hell but great)

[H2Onut]

BAYLINER

People who throw trash (especially broken glass) in the water ...YOU SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Boat ramp bimbos...

remote control stater for baot....DUhhhhhh

[dan agnew]

yep we had a balloon motor in the early 60s killed a few l/units but i would bet that it is still running today in OMC heaven if there is one. maybe in canada??
i learned to ski behind a 18 hp tiller on a starcraft and i weighed 250 lbs. try that today!

Danny

[duce duce]

What a pile of @#$!

[BenKeith]

The idiots that think a no wake is slowing down just off plane so the boat is plowing at about a 45 degree angle while I'm standing on the front of my bass boat hanging on for dear life. Many times I've been tempted to cast a lure with the biggest trebbles I have into the drivers lap. Figure a good crotch hook set would get him slowed down.

[Raceman]

Duce, I gotta disagree. The 3.4 was an excellent engine when used within it's boundaries. The early ones didn't give any more warranty trouble than the first 1750's in 76, maybe less actually, and people at Merc have stated that the warranty incidence with the later Cosworth type was amongst the lowest in the Merc line.

The guys that tried to scream em, and bungied em wide open in the ocean, bouncin' em off rollers had problems. The weren't high RPM race motors for sure, but great engines none the less.

[woodco]

Didn't OMC call that the " Selectashift " or somethin like that ???

My dad had ( still has ) a 60's 85 hp Starflite .... Think thats what
it was.... Chit my 150 Gt's r smaller than that..... :eek:

Oh the memories...

[typhoon]

Sterndrives..nothing wrong with them. Leaving sterndrives in the water year round, one of the worst ideas I have ever seen! Every time I see one on a slip, it's got bits falling off, seals gone or whatever. If you have to leave a boat in the water, shaft drive or outboards for me thanks!

Regards, Andrew.

[us1]

The way Mercury installs their ring locator pins.:rolleyes:

[duce duce]

They all suck

[us1]

I am sure thats true but I can only speak for the one I know.

[ratso]

Remember the old Evinrude boats, I think they were the ones that at one time put a V-4 outboard motor (Laying down) inside of the boat and used it for an IO. I've only seen maybe two of them in my life, had to be a 60 something model, and those motors were a bitch to keep running anyway. My dad knew a guy that was going to use one of those motors in an airplane he was building, crazy, I'm sure he is dead by now.

[Sorry Dog]

How about the scott atwater bail-o-matic:

http://scottatwater.com/Scott_Atwater_Bail-a-matic_ill..jpg

Water enters screened immersion unit (1) and flows through
neoprene*bilge hose (2) to vacuum-type water pump(3). Water bypasses
the cooling system and is expelled (4) via completely separate outlet.
Pump is automatically primed and lubricated by water bled off from cooling system.

I bet that feature would sell like hotcakes today!

[MODVP22]

Wait a sec guys, not everyone who rides/owns a jetski is dumb, hey, there are PLENTY of idiot in boats out there too...like ones who leave the trailer attached to the boat and launch it, then can;t understand why it won't plane off.

I agree and disagree...some of those 3.4 Merc were awsome, others sucked...I've seen both.

What about that SternPower outdrive company...those things are weird. Anyone ever seen any that are good?

[Balzy]

on the ring pin deal.

Oh yea, LaserModVee, I started up a 2.4 200 Mariner Carb one time with the rope in the middle of Winnebago about 6 miles from the nearest shore. Thank God it was warmed up !!!!!!!!! It did start though.

[Techno]

MODVP22
As I said they aren't all idiots, only about 1,000:1 are. It just makes it seem as though they all are.

There are a few on this board that may or maynot admit to owning one.

[MODVP22]

Techno,
yeah, I'll side with ya there...there really is. I own one, but I'm not THAT stupid, lol.

[Rickracer]

where you can't even see the oil filter? And you have to change the oil through the dipstick tube? If I had an I/O (fat chance) I would make a hose that screwed into the drain in the pan that would reach out of the bilge drain with the drain plug in it. :rolleyes:

[LaveyT]

damn,i was gonna put that under best ideas of all time! There were alot of leaky plywood and Lapstrake hulls back then. The Bail-O-Matic pump was driven just like the fuel pumps,with crank case pulses.
The L-Drive is a very old idea.I have some magazines from the
1950's.I belive it was called the Flagell drive system.They did some crazy stuff back then.On one boat a trailer tounge would fold out of the bow and the rear tires would fold out from under the boat like landing gear.:rolleyes:

[MODVP22]

Hey I got one, anyone else hate that old Mercury oil injection with the plastic gear running off the cranskshaft? Not that anyone else had a far superior one or anything, just seen too many motors die because of that system, yet so many still live.

[TTriton]

I have so many times now been called out on a dead battery job and when I get there I ask them if they have tried to pull start it.. they look at me stupid.. So i pull off the cowling and show them where the pull cord is.. Show them how to remove the flywheel cover then wind the cord.. Have them turn the key and advance the throddle.. THen one good yank... "I love it when they start and the first yank" Then time for the paper work where they pay me to drive all the way out to where they are and show them how to start there own boat.

Now back to the spirit of this thread... WHen it comes to bad idea's or engine's that just don't run they are often very good for our bisiness.. But some of the ones that help put money in the bank are...

OMC Ficht engine's
FOrce engine's
OMC electishift
"trusting the storage yard that they actually put fuel in your boat"

"and forgive me for this one" Optimax enigne's

[cobra147]

Yeah, I got a 1987 JS 550. Bought it brand new in 1987 when I was 21. I should have bought the crashed 1983 Mustang GT instead. I had a ton of fun on it then, but I have only ridden it once in the past 3 years. Pretty maintenance free, just buy another battery and go.

Now I hate the things, especially since the popularity of the "sit-downs" - this is the big problem. The "stand-ups" took skill to operate, these "sit-downs" don't. Any fatass, young kid, thong-wearing cover-girl, or stupid drunk can get on one and go. Then they try to swamp people, get too close, and you get that look - the "oh no I'm too close now so I will let off the throttle - hey the steering doesn't work - CRASH!!!". Drives me nuts. Best defense is my buddy with his Sleekcraft Jet with a 460 - this fat 40 year old arrogant loser who always gets about 10 feet from our boats and tries to jump the wake 5 FEET BEHIND THE BOAT! - timing is everything. After he got hit with the water from that Berkeley jet and 500 HP, knocked his ass off that jetski and made him swim quite a way to get it too. He flipped us off, but never got within 200 feet after that.

[dwr]

Any thoughs on the old OMC sterndrive? It's the one with the rubber diaphram on the transom and the little screw jack at the front of the engine. The entire engine moved up and down to trim.

One crack in the rubber and down it goes.

-dwr

[dwr]

Almost forgot:

Cable & pully steering - great fun when a cheap plastic pully breaks and the cable pops off.

Upholstery made from cheap vinyl stapled to bare plywood: rots very nicely.

Boats designs that make you step on the seats to get into.

Access holes in the motor well that allow water to pour in.

Power tilt & trim that is always active - even when the key is off. A great design for killing small kids.


-dwr

[WharfRat]

damn, can't believe ya'll left out Ralph Nader wanting to implement seat belts in boats back in the '70's

[WharfRat]

now remember, this was back before canopies & the new tech that is around now.......................

[Hydroballistic]

VRO (has to be #1, although they have made me lot of $$)

"Selectric" shift

Optical Ignition System (OMC)

And so I won't look like I bash OMC........

Mercury's clear oil line between the oil pump and check valve.


Gregg:D :D :D

[Looper]

Porta-pottis.
Sail Botes
OMC stern drives with the mentioned "Stringer Drive" with the hardend gear-like things where u-joints should be.


The "L" drives were made into the early 90's. One of the first Force products to get oil injection on the Bayliners. Multiple recalls, water ingestion and various other problems. Total piece of crap. We knew it when we sold them too, never could figure out why someone would buy one.

[B.Leonard]

The way some high performance V6s use the same exact fuel delivery system as 4.5hp kicker, vacuum pump and squeeze bulb. Great for a portable but for a 200-300hp outboard? :rolleyes:

-BL

[racer]

The L drive is NOT oil injected.