Re: please help.
Well, I think a lot of folks buy an older boat and just want to know something about who made it, when, and where to find any information that's out there about their particular model.
I understand that curiosity. And their frustration at times. When I find those questions, I'll do a Google search to see if my search skills can pull something up to share. Often, there isn't anything, and I'll say so. I'm pretty good at searching for stuff, and will do it if I have time.
As for the "jerks" stuff, that's a different story. Everyone posting here is doing it on a voluntary basis. Often, what the oldtimers post is the bare bones information. Sometimes it's saying that there's no information and that it doesn't matter, anyhow.
Sometimes, a poster (not this one) will write an ungrammatical, poorly-spelled query, providing very little information. Most often, such posts just get ignored. There's a post at the top of most sections that describes how to get help here, and it offers very, very good advice about posting questions that get answers.
When some oldtimers do answer a question that doesn't include the necessary information or that shows a lack of concern about making the question easy to read, you get a snide comment...often along with the information. Other times, the missing information is pointed out....pointedly.
Bottom line is that coming here and asking questions is asking a complete stranger to devote time to providing the desired information. That person isn't getting paid a dime to do that, but the depth of knowledge here is enormous, and there's no better place to get answers about boats, engines, and more.
All those who have the information ask is that posters not waste their time. Every time someone has to ask for the model number or the horsepower, or the year, it's wasted effort.
I help wherever I can. I'm retired, and have the time to spend some of it here. I do it because the folks here helped me when I had a new old Johnson with a problem.
Telling someone the facts is not being a jerk. Telling someone they need to supply more information is not being a jerk. Telling someone they shouldn't run an outboard over the horsepower rating of their boat is not being a jerk. Telling someone that who made an obscure boat doesn't matter is not being a jerk.
Calling people who are trying to help, unpaid, jerks is, however, being a jerk.
