TOPIC: My '59 Sport Lido - How big of a motor can I go?

Currently, I am running a Classic 50 Merc. I'm trying to fix up or buy a good '75 horse McCulloch. How big do you suppose would be reasonable? Six cylinder Mercs and big V4 OMCs are a lot easier to find. When I was a Kid, my dad had a couple G3s. Those had a 75 Evinrude, a 75 Scott (which worked better), and a Merc 1000. The Mercury was quite peppy on it.

A tall black Merc would look pretty good on the back of that yellow boat. But that is just my opinion.
Bill

Gorgeous boat SportLido, welcome aboard. (Clicking on the pic took me to your photo hosting site, please share some more pics with us when you get a chance!)

SportLido59:

Welcome to the website Sir!

That is a very nice Lido you have. On your question about outboard motor size, I would suggest contacting Fiberglassics Member morris,
AKA: Al Wilson. He has alot of experience with the Lidos and can probably help you out alot.

I have a '57 Club Lido which I believe is the same basic hull...
If you look at the period photos of Lidos, they are using 35-40hp
OMCs & Mercurys...(I have a '60 Johnson 40)...
Now, more than 50 years later, what with aging transoms & stringers, I guess it just depends on your personal risk tolerence...
Its easy to give arm chair opinions on what would look good on there, but with the vintage of your Lido, I think you would have to be a real sportsman to put anything much bigger that a 35-40 twin....
Ed

Hello Sportlido 59,

Our friend Brett has a 59 Sport Lido with the Evinrude Fat 50. The boat was bought new by his father and he has since inherited her.

In my opinion that 50 HP does all that the 14’ Glasspar hull requires and keeps it original.

Check out the ride:

rentcom.com/BrettRide

Welcome aboard. Great looking boat from the pics. My 2 cents would be find a '61 or older Cloud White Merc tower of power 800 FGS or smaller. That cloud white stack would really go good with your color combo.

Bob

well you guys know me and I would find a mcCulloch, not only for looks but fuel mileage too! and at 167 lbs plenty of freeboard left for coolers

Hello Sportlido 59, First, I must say WOW and please post more shots of your boat. If you are currently running a 50 Merc, you are aware of the Lido's handling. I believe the choice of a larger motor is up to you. As far as appearance I do have to agree with Ponyboy a vintage McCulloch done to match your Lido would be a cool look. There was a Lido out of Southern California a few years ago that ran a pair of 35 hp Johnsons. The boat absolutely flew!
Myself, well I am an old man and a 50 would suit me very well.

Welcome to the site and again please post some more photo's of you Lido.

Al

An inline Merc 700 - 1000 on that boat would be a horrible choice, it's far too top heavy. An OMC V4 75 won't get you anymore speed than the McColloch. Both the Merc and OMC engines are going to be in the 240 PLUS lb range. If you can find a McCulloch 75 that is in good shape (and you can get parts to keep it that way) it would be surely the best power to weight / size ratio. That boat was designed for 35 to 40 HP. I think 50 is an excellent size for it. 75 Hp is beyond what the boat was rated for - if that means anything to you. If you plan to insure the boat, you'd be wise to look into if an insurance company will frown at that size motor on that little boat. Keep in mind that you Glasspar hull efficiency drops off like a cliff at speeds above 30MPH, and these can get downright dangerous at excessive speeds. Get a safety lanyard kill switch for sure. All of these little boats should have them - I will be putting one on my Reinell before it is back on the water.

Good points Bruce - the Glasspar price list in the Library lists it as 40hp MAX. But that's not with a 53-year old fiberglass hull.

Ponyboy wrote:

well you guys know me and I would find a mcCulloch, not only for looks but fuel mileage too! and at 167 lbs plenty of freeboard left for coolers

This boat has a lot stronger of a transom than it came with from the factory. The Mercury Classic 50 on it absolutely does not have enough power. I appreciate the responses recommending even less power, but it isn't happening. Its a great looking boat, but it isn't fast enough. I have 2 Scotts that turned out to be 60s, and a 75. These are project motors. I have driven a G3 with a 75 Scott, and with a 75 Evinrude. The weight difference made the McCulloch work better than the Evinrude.

My house is on a little lake, only 1.5 mile by 3/4 mile. I'll never be far from home. Got a good McCulloch 75 to sell?

Actually, one of the 60 horse McCullochs, I purchased from you in Noblesville. I drove in with a Rabbit Pickup from Oregon.