TOPIC: Will a Fat Fifty short work?

Hello, I have a 1969 16' Fiberform with a 20" transom. Was looking at a 1959 Evinrude V4 50 horse short shaft, was wanting to know if the short shaft will work on my boat. Any advise appreciated.

Thanks

you will need to convert the motor to a long shaft or just find a long shaft outboard in the HP range you are looking for.

It would (might) work if you used a off set bracket so the motor would be 6" behind the transom. Many racers run short shafts on long shaft transoms but then a fat 50 is not a race motor. Its a gas guzzler though lol..... You can in some cases cut the transom down a bit or if the transom is SOLID use a jack plate and mount it down low enough {18"} From the bottom....Good luck, Mike

Thanks for the helpful information, might have to look into the jack plate, or just keep looking.

May or may not work...ideally, you'd want a long shaft.

Most of the older 50 and 60's OMC short shafts were closer to 17-18 inches anyway. Running a couple, few inches above the keel is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as your pumping water from idle to WOT. Depends also on how low the stern sits in the water...some boats squat alot more in the rear than others. Some boats also did not have a true 20" transom...some were slightly taller, some slightly shorter.

They do make conversion kits to extend it essentially making it a long shaft...they pop up on here or ebay from time to time.

Throw it on and try, wont hurt anything...just keep an eye on it first time out to make sure youve got water flow.

Well I went ahead and bought it, sits just an inch or two too high but it was in such good condition and ran so well I couldn't pass it up, I'll be working on building a bracket or cutting down the transom to make it fit. Thanks for all the input, I am looking forward to getting it in the water.

Jerrfylube gave you GOOD advice.....Try it the way it is. 2" might be fine, or not... Mike

I'll probably go ahead and give it a try before I get too involved in trying to convert the back of the boat.

I hate being a party pooper - but I strongly advise you against putting the fatty on your boat.

You can use a long shaft on a short transom (but it won't work well) but not a short motor on a long transom. The water pump intake is high on that motor, and it will suck air. It also won't steer for beans, because the prop will cavitate when you apply power and turn the wheel. If that isn't enough, the Fat 50 will drink more gasoline than you can imagine. Seriously. How much? 6 to 8 galons per hour, no matter what speed. If your boat had an Olds 455 it would be more thrifty than a fat 50. The fat 50 was the 1st generation of V4 design & it problems. OMC redesigned the lower unit, reeds, and cylinder heads in 1960. The fatty is a wonderful looking motor, but feeding one is expensive. The fat 50 lid will fit on the 1960 75 HP engine. You will get 25 more HP and better economy - but still thirsty engine.

I would look for a 1970s loop charged Evinrude or Johnson 50. Light weight, 2 Cylinders, great economy & will be WAY faster than the fatty. They are everywhere & for cheap.

OK - I'll go away now.............

Bruce Gerard wrote:

I would look for a 1970s loop charged Evinrude or Johnson 50. Light weight, 2 Cylinders, great economy & will be WAY faster than the fatty. They are everywhere & for cheap.

Please share your sources because I rarely see them...and when I do, they arent anywhere near cheap!

Everything said about the fat 50 is true. They are great looking motors but absolute pigs on fuel. A 1960 75hp Johnson with the 58 hood is the way to go but a long shaft is needed for sure. The parts you need to convert the motor to long shaft are readily available Post an ad here on the glassifieds and over at AOMCI.org Most big motors left the factory in a long shaft configuration so finding a 75 to do the job shouldn't be too hard. I have a 1961 Evinrude Starflite 75hp pushing my 1960 Glass Magic Ranger which is an 18' pocket cruiser. It gets up to 34mph on GPS with 2 big guys on board but the fuel....wow!

Jeff,

Go on craigslist every other day & you will see them pop up. they sold a million of thise engines. I frequently see them in up here Northern Cal because people want new power. Sometimes you can buy 2 junkers and combine them for one good motor. I recently found a good engine with bad lower unit for 50 bucks, then found a blown engine with a good lower unit for 100 bucks. Neither motor is worth much, but combine them & you have a nice engine for cheap.


Al, if you can find an aftermarket prop that has a little rake to itand a pitch of around 12, you will cut the fuel use way down at speeds in the 18 to 25 mph range. Look for a Michigan bronze high perf prop & you'll be pleased.