Hydroplane Boat Restoration Questions

[Smitty]

It's not a Foo-Ling; I would have guessed Airborne. K-dude, those are names of two designs by Hal Kelly, a Florida racer in the Fifties who sold plans for a number of designs. An outfit called Clark Craft apparently bought most or all of the plans and still sells them (and presents them as if they are competitve for present-day racing, which they are not). Google "clark craft boat plans" if this link doesn't work: http://www.clarkcraft.com/cgi-local/...39207071003015

To anyone, is there a good way, a preferred company, for shipping an old outboard, or is it even worthwhile?? I have a Mk25 that I rebuilt thirty or forty years ago, freshly bored .015"-over with new pistons/rings, and the lower unit checked out. The paint is non-stock (I didn't care, the motor was for me, and I never guessed it would be "collectible"). I ran it on a too-small boat once, gently, to start breaking it in, then ran it in a tank and shot storage-seal in the carburetor, and haven't used it in all the decades since. Somebody probably would like to have it (and repaint it), but I doubt that it's worth much more than $500 . . . which isn't enough to make it worthwhile to go through the hassle of building a shipping cradle, and hauling it down to FedEx or whomever. But after all this time, I'm beginning to think I might not use it, LOL.

[Timothy Mattson]

Shipping:
I ran a 2 nd hand Marine store in Seattle and used Oak Harbor Freight who likes businesses over your house but also took items tied to a pallet.
Price was good even to east coast.
Target buyer for the classic motor would be the vintage boat owner matching the motor to same year boat.Try posting at Golden State Glassics of California, very active and they watch for each other Other people from all over the country looking there.
TimM
43-R

[Chinewalker]

Not super hard to pop the powerhead on a Mark 25 to ship it in two chunks. The tiller folds back out of the way, too, so shipping the powerhead and lower separately isn't difficult and makes its survivability much more likely - if well packed. Moves you out of crating it up and back into sturdy cardboard boxes.

[Smitty]

Thanks for the ideas, gents.

[Kentfielddude]

I plan on buying and putting a mercury mark 25 on my boat. I don't know how the steering connects. There are two holes on opposite sides of the boat which were used in the previous steering setup. Should I fill them in or keep them? Also at the bottom of the transom there is a support for the motor. Some one suggested cutting it off. Any suggestions?
IMG_4461.JPG image_39528.jpg

[dwhitford]

The hole in the right pic looks as though it is in the deck as a guide for the steering cable to come through from down under. Whether you use it depends on how, and how high, you mount your steering wheel, and just where you mount your pulleys that change the direction of the cable from across the boat to back toward the engine's steering bar. The cables must come off the steering wheel's drum from the bottom. How you mount your steering wheel and those direction-changing pulleys determines the geometry and direction of the cables back toward the engine, and hence whether you can use those holes through the deck. It might be simpler to mount the pulleys higher on the cockpit coamings and run the cables wholly above the deck rather than through it.

I suggested cutting that ''aftterplane'' off the bottom aft of the transom because it does little or nothing for performance and is liable to get damaged anyway. Modern racing runabouts don't have afterplanes like that. Even in the 1950s (the vintage of your boat), we eliminated afterplanes for better performance. The boats were slightly '' squirrelier'' to drive, but faster and turned better.

You can leave it on for now and determine whether the boat drives to suit you when you get everything up and running. You can always trim it off later if it gets damaged or whatever.

[Kentfielddude]

Do you think I should add a turning fin. A found one online. Length 9 1/4" Height 3".

[ZUL8TR]

Do you think I should add a turning fin. A found one online. Length 9 1/4" Height 3".

A fin is needed for safe predictable turns without excessive sliding out from turn center. From what I have seen 3" height not enough for a runabout fin but might be ok for lake use if positioned right?

For left turn racing the fin is off set to port, for lake running I would center the fin for left and right turns. Looking at the pics you have a center stringer that could be a support to anchor the fin to. Can't tell the width of the stringer vs the bolt pattern of the fin to determine if enough stringer width there. Might have to epoxy extra width to the stringer at the fin location. I would shoot for about 34" from rear of fin to the transom bottom edge and this is a variable which depends on the fin, boat, engine set up and how the boat rides. Since not racing not that critical. You might find a seat arrangement not the greatest for running this boat. On knees you can shift the c.g. as conditions dictate.