TOPIC: A great day on the water...

Had a great day on the water this past weekend. But (there's always a but) there was a slight problem. I installed a fuel pump so I could use a larger tank (the 35 is a hungry beast!). Anyway, somehow the vacuum line came into contact with the engine block and melted a hole into the line, thus starving the engine of much needed fuel. Of coarse, it was in the BACK of the hose! So after trying to simultaneously melt my starter and kill the battery, I found the leak! 5 minute fix and we're on the water.

Tell me again, the allure of these boats????

1958 Playstyle, 1958 35hp Johnson

Thats a nice looking old girl you got there .The Allure of these boats ?? Well if you bring one back from looking like a P.O.S. to something that everybody looks at , Likes and asks questions about .... Its Pretty cool ....Not having something everybody else has is pretty neat also .. God I get tired of looking at the same poon toons or Bass Boats , Or even the pleasure boats mostly look alike .Everything can Fail old or new .I worked in a GM shop Believe me i know ..L.O.L...So just because your motor had a Problem with a $1.25 part Dont give up on the old girls .Least you didnt have to figure out whats wroung with the Computer on your 2011 EFI .Bet that would cost alittle more than $1.25 and you would have had to be towed home .You can run newer motors on the old girls to .My 59 Aristocraft took my family out today on My Grand Sons 3rd Birthday with a 79 Merc 80 hp on it .She ran Flawlessly .We did some boarding and then set up on a Island and had a barbeque .He sat on my lap and steered the boat that was born the same year as Gran Pa ...L.O.L...to me thats pretty cool .And with a Hard Top my Old Bald Head didnt get sunburned ...L.O.L..We were running the boat maybe 4 hours and used maybe 6 gallons of gas .Thats some nice memmories for $25

Beautiful boat there Terry, and I think Bobo pretty well nailed how most/many of us feel about the allure of these old boats. (You do too, I know you were just kidding.) I think I towed in 5 boats last year, and only 1 was a Glassic! (Actually a classic Lummie, and he ran out of gas.) It's all about preventive maintenance, TLC, and that proud feeling you get when you're out there cruising in something YOU brought back from the "boat boneyard" IMHO.

terry, submit that pic come calendar time. ron

Great boat Terry!Red & white, Sweeeet!! What bobo said about simple fixes x2.

TERRY: Awful pretty gal there , CONGRATS, You have my vote of day.
58 VACUUM .?? If I read you setup correct , Are you still using the older, TWO hose gas tank.?? Needed for vacuum. or you Already upgraded to the fuel Pump improvement.? on these Evinrudes.

Many thanks for the compliments guys! It's a fun boat and people do give it a second look.

Bobo: Yes to everything you said! It was more frustration than anything. I do love my boat, but it's just so hard to be chipper when it don't run! LOL I wish my 35 was that easy on fuel. I figure 3-4 gal an hour when running, hence the larger tank!

Split:
I have dispensed with the pressure tanks of yesteryear and installed a modern fuel pump. This lets me use single line modern tanks. I have a 15 gallon tank to ensure I have enough fuel to make it home.

Terry, nice boat. The allure? Well for me, it is the ability to do my own work on them. Lots of satisfaction in knowing that I was responsible for getting it to look and run the way it does. Also the cost, I don't have a big dollar payment each month on a boat. And the styles, these old girls have a look about them. Not like the cooky cutter styling of todays boats. Will it do 70, no. Will it haul 11 people, no. Does it burn a ton of fuel, no. Does it get me out on the water and away from all of the stresses of grinding out a living, YES.
That is what does it for me. And your boat, well, if I had it, it would do it for me also. I like it.
Neil

terrydesilets wrote:

Many thanks for the compliments guys! It's a fun boat and people do give it a second look.

Bobo: Yes to everything you said! It was more frustration than anything. I do love my boat, but it's just so hard to be chipper when it don't run! LOL I wish my 35 was that easy on fuel. I figure 3-4 gal an hour when running, hence the larger tank!

Split:
I have dispensed with the pressure tanks of yesteryear and installed a modern fuel pump. This lets me use single line modern tanks. I have a 15 gallon tank to ensure I have enough fuel to make it home.

Maybe you need a Bigger motor . Sometimes a small motor has to work more to keep her on plane and a 35 at 3/4 throttle will use alot more fuel than a 80 at 1/4 .Those Old OMC motors wernt know for being thrifty to start with .Get your yourself a Merc 500 or a 650 ..Once Black Never Back ...L.O.L...JOIN THE DARK SIDE

Bobo:
You guys always want to put a bigger motor on them! LOL Not going to happen! Going to a 50 or 80 would be insane! I've never been a speed freak, just like looking at cool boats.


Seriously, the boat is rated to 40hp, so I'm in the ball park. The Johnson 35hp are notoriously thirsty buggers. And I'll have you know after 35 years of owning Johnnyrudes, I actually purchased one of those Black Devils (98' 9.9hp Merk) for a duck boat I am fixing up. I'm pretty nervous about it! LOL

Dont worry that little Merc she will treat you good ....L.O.L...If your boat is rated at 40 Another 10 should be ok if everything is solid .She will also go only as fast as you push that Lever and your prop allows .I dont know if you ski behind her but if you do a Couple of more HP is nice .Ive had a couple of Rudes .One was a 115 V4 . She was a stump puller for Sking .Then the Ignition went bad .They had so many different combinations of parts I could never find the Odd ball one I needed so it sat .