The Sinking Of The OutBoard Marine Corporation -

**FUJIMO** · 01-15-2020, 08:00 PM

Originally Posted by Instigator

My old man used to say you could clean/adjust the points and plugs w/a book of matches.
Tear the striker off the match book to clean them and use a match for a feeler gauge.
Said the matches were normally .035”-ish so maybe not correct but would get you home.

...Your dad was exactly right. This is what every man did back then, that was mechanically inclined, because it worked. Like he said, it wasn't perfect, but it got those crude johnrude motors running in a pinch. Probably before your time, but every restaurant/diner in America gave away books of matches at the counter with their advertising on them. Everyone smoked back then. They were right next to the mints and the toothpicks, lol.

**Instigator** · 01-15-2020, 08:38 PM

I’m 60 so I remember.
He also meant cars too.

Back in my muscle car days I had a 440 Chrysler w/a Mallory dual point distributor and my friends all thought I was a genius because I made it work.

BTW, the old mans first real boat was a plywood 18’ over nighter w/twin 25 hp Evinrude.
One was a ‘54 w/electric start and one was a ‘53 and pull start.
The old man figured out the only way the pull start would start every time was to keep it in perfect tune. Which he did.
He and my mom took me and my sister to Lake Erie for the weekends in that boat.

Family of four w/no elec, no running water and no head no A/C etc.

Hard to even imagine in today’s spoiled world.
Neighbors would probably call the man.

Originally Posted by FUJIMO

...Your dad what exactly right. This is what every man did back then, that was mechanically inclined, because it worked. Like he said, it wasn't perfect, but it got those crude johnrude motors running in a pinch. Probably before your time, but every restaurant/diner in America gave away books of matches at the counter with their advertising on them. Everyone smoked back then. They were right next to the mints and the toothpicks, lol.

**powerabout** · 01-16-2020, 01:32 AM

Originally Posted by 89LASER

sure, I did mean single lever with electrics in them

**Chaz** · 01-16-2020, 09:20 AM

Originally Posted by powerabout

sure, I did mean single lever with electrics in them

Ask the slant's from yamaha about the Merc guys walkin into their booth at the Miami boat show a few years ago with their pastries and coffee in hand only to find the covers pulled back and getting caught, on, under, all around taking a million pictures of the then-new joystick control system.
Ohhhhahh, so sollie, co-va muss havve sripp uoff tabe-rul ...

**powerabout** · 01-16-2020, 05:21 PM

L3 Communications did the work for Merc and Volvo for the joystick.
I have worked with them for 10 years on Dynamic Positioning stuff ( division now owned by Wartsila)

**Instigator** · 01-16-2020, 06:41 PM

And a cracker ass buddy of mine told me the electric choke ruined boating for the rest of us.

Now you can buy a truck that backs your trailer too.
Think I’ll take up golf.

i.e. the 40’ 4 motor Center console on the break wall down there.
They do own a mansion on the water though so that negates the need for boating knowledge.

Originally Posted by powerabout

L3 Communications did the work for Merc and Volvo for the joystick.
I have worked with them for 10 years on Dynamic Positioning stuff ( division now owned by Wartsila)

**powerabout** · 01-16-2020, 07:05 PM

scary part of joystick thrust control is anyone can drive anything....

**Instigator** · 01-16-2020, 08:23 PM

Exactly my point.

Docking a boat Well Used to be an earned pride thing.

Originally Posted by powerabout

scary part of joystick thrust control is anyone can drive anything....

**David** · 01-16-2020, 08:23 PM

My father had a 1954 Johnson on a 14' Cedar strip boat. I remember the mixture controls on the front - do your own jetting on the fly. I don't remember anything about points, but it's been decades. My father's rule was we could drive the boat when we were (a) 14 and (b) able to start it ourselves.

He drove us for water skiing until he was 80, including driving my SS2000.

**H2OPERF** · 01-16-2020, 11:07 PM

Originally Posted by FUJIMO

...Your dad was exactly right. This is what every man did back then, that was mechanically inclined, because it worked. Like he said, it wasn't perfect, but it got those crude johnrude motors running in a pinch. Probably before your time, but every restaurant/diner in America gave away books of matches at the counter with their advertising on them. Everyone smoked back then. They were right next to the mints and the toothpicks, lol.

You had to love the hole in the flywheel on some of the early 2 cylinders with the little cover plate you could sneak in and clean them with out removing the flywheel. The old big twins were clunky but ran for ever, i was at omc training ctr in 84 and remember rich telling me the users in under developed countries didn't like the new prop exhaust 35s, 9.9 n 15s they were too difficult to work on in the jungle, they didn't even want electronic ignition... you could clean points and the coils/condensers were cheap and rarely failed. The split gear cases could be serviced with a screwdriver and they put everything from grease to bananas in there. The first looper counters ran lefty..

**Capt.Insane-o** · 01-16-2020, 11:33 PM

I'll take a mid 50's 15 hp omc over a new pos 15. At least I know it will run another 60 years.

**Instigator** · 01-17-2020, 07:35 AM

Forgot about the tuning knobs.

They had two.
One for low speed and one for high.

I had a ‘53 25hp on a 14’ glass ski boat that would pull me up in a slalom from a deep water start.
People would stop to watch.
Learned to do it behind a 13’ Whaler w/an 18.

Originally Posted by David

My father had a 1954 Johnson on a 14' Cedar strip boat. I remember the mixture controls on the front - do your own jetting on the fly. I don't remember anything about points, but it's been decades. My father's rule was we could drive the boat when we were (a) 14 and (b) able to start it ourselves.

He drove us for water skiing until he was 80, including driving my SS2000.

**H2OPERF** · 01-17-2020, 07:53 AM

Ohhhhahh, so sollie, co-va muss havve sripp uoff tabe-rul ...

Chaz Now that's some funny shizit there...Cant s stop lmao..

**89LASER** · 01-17-2020, 10:45 AM

These were stackable

**JPEROG** · 01-17-2020, 10:51 AM

My first 4 outboards were OMC. The law in Michigan was if it was 6 hp or less then anyone any age was legal to operate it. So when I was 5 my dad bought a 10 foot john boat with a 4 hp evinrude-It had the duel mixture screws on the front of the cowl plate "you had to turn the motor 180 on on the clamp if wanted to reverse-the throttle was on the side of the motor (not a rotate grip) " and I was addicted to the freedom--This gave young kids the real feel of what the boat would do. If your intent was to go backwards, you were going left or right first "no option"-the 4 hp merc. was the same way (another friend had the merc.).

Then I had a friend with a 6 hp evinrude "not only faster but it was shift-able" and just a much nicer piece overall. So at the end of summer my dad picked up a 6 for me (it was sooo much better) and I could run right next to my friend instead of the constant trailing position that I had become used to (life was good). I ran that for what seemed like a couple of weeks and my dad came home all excited with a 9.9 that looked identical to the 6 (I remember us sitting at the dining room table with a hair dryer putting the new 6 hp decals on the 9.9 cowl) we mounted the motor on my little john boat (I think I was 7 at this time) and my dad had me run by the front of our house what seemed like a hundred times and would waive me in for adjustments he was moving the stop pin in the clamp "adjusting the trim angle" for me with my anchor all the way in the front compartment (I remember this like it was yesterday-43 years later) he kept asking me if it was wide open? did I feel okay? and did I feel safe? my answers were all yes and they were all lies. He says "now go out and see if Andy has anything for you". I ran down the lake about a mile and circled in front of buddys house for about 30 seconds before he came out and jumped in his boat as we did every day if the weather was above 40 degrees and I was suddenly six feet tall as I drove off on him BAD "I can remember being afraid to hold it wide open and having the same light sketchy feeling that I still love today"-- all of the times of him drilling my little 4 horse and bad memories of me having to run in his wake until he was almost of out of sight were gone.

Killer memories that we now have the chance to create for young kids--take a kid for a ride anytime you can. You don't need to hang it out and put anyone at risk "a 60 mph pass will last a lifetime and you will be someones hero".

Joe