I Got Me a Mercury !!!

[tpenfield]

I've been wanting to get an outboard motor for the dinghy that I made a while ago. Today I picked up an engine . . .

Mercury 7.5 HP, twin cylinder



Looks to be a 1970's vintage motor. When my brother was about 16 years old, he bought one of these brand new. Looks just like it. :thumb:

I suppose that I will have to figure out what year it is . . . Serial number is: 2634682 Any help there?

I plan on putting on the fiberglass dinghy that I made a couple of years ago, but first I have to get a state issued HIN number so I can register it. I have an appointment to have the boat inspected by the Environmental Police tomorrow, so hopefully, I will have all the paper work done for next weekend.

Here is a picture of the boat . . . the engine (7-1/2 HP) is a little much for it, but I could not find any 4 HP Mercury's available. So, I figured what the heck.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: I Got Me a Mercury !!!

I think she's a '69 from this chart at Max Rules. MERCURY OUTBOARD MODEL YEAR GUIDE 7.5 - 9.9 HP -- Mastertech Marine

Nice dinghy!

 

[tpenfield]

Re: I Got Me a Mercury !!!

Yup, 1969, so it is 44 years old. 1969-70 would be about the time my brother bought his. Only kept for a year or so, then sold it to get a runabout.

 

[boobie]

Re: I Got Me a Mercury !!!

Back in those days it was a good mtr. Worked on a number of them.

 

[nwcove]

Re: I Got Me a Mercury !!!

thats gunna be alot of motor on that lil boat!!! play safe. lol

 

[tpenfield]

Re: I Got Me a Mercury !!!

Back in those days it was a good mtr. Worked on a number of them.

Yea, I ran it for a while in a trash barrel this evening. Starts right up, idles well, shifts well. Just as I remember the one we had 40 years ago :thumb:

thats gunna be alot of motor on that lil boat!!! play safe. lol

Probably could go tubing with this thing!!! The boat should have a 5hp . . . But if I ever build a bigger dinghy, then I'm all set. The guy I bought it from had it on a 10 foot Jon boat and thought it was too much engine. Not quite understanding that one . . .

 

[jbjennings]

Re: I Got Me a Mercury !!!

Yea, I ran it for a while in a trash barrel this evening. Starts right up, idles well, shifts well. Just as I remember the one we had 40 years ago :thumb:



Probably could go tubing with this thing!!! The boat should have a 5hp . . . But if I ever build a bigger dinghy, then I'm all set. The guy I bought it from had it on a 10 foot Jon boat and thought it was too much engine. Not quite understanding that one . . .

A 10ft. boat is tiny if you're 230 lbs. like me........... A 7.5hp would be a lot on a 10footer. That's a nice looking speciment for a 7.5 of that vintage. I always liked the red stripe mercs. Make sure she's spitting out a good hard stream at the tattletail at idle. Sometimes they're a pain to get the cooling system working just right.
Nice looking dinghy, too.
JBJ

 

[tpenfield]

Re: I Got Me a Mercury !!!

A 10ft. boat is tiny if you're 230 lbs. like me........... A 7.5hp would be a lot on a 10footer. That's a nice looking speciment for a 7.5 of that vintage. I always liked the red stripe mercs. Make sure she's spitting out a good hard stream at the tattletail at idle. Sometimes they're a pain to get the cooling system working just right.
Nice looking dinghy, too.
JBJ

Yup, those engines were built fairly well, so not surprising to still see them after 40 years.

The impeller was just replaced, and the cooling jacket plate stays cold when the engine is running . . . but I noticed a solid plug where the 'pee hole' should be. My preference would be to swap it out with a different fitting so I can see that water is flowing. The shutoff button is a bit finicky, and it does not appear that this vintage had the safety lanyard setup.

GA & JBJ, thanks for your good words about the dinghy. I get it 'inspected' this morning by the state Environmental Police, so I can register it. Should be in the water in a week or so, then I'll see if it is too much weight/power of the dinghy. I made the dinghy so that it can support a good amount of weight in the stern. . . We shall see how it goes.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: I Got Me a Mercury !!!

Just don't go crazy with the throttle and all should be fine. But you have to do one speed run so you you know what you have in reserve.

Is the dinghy scratch built? Looks like molded glass right down to the cup holders.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: I Got Me a Mercury !!!

Is the dinghy scratch built? Looks like molded glass right down to the cup holders.

yes, scratch build in my garage. Fiberglass over foam core. Took me about a year, off and on, to build it. Just came back from getting it inspected and now have my HIN.

Here is a link to my 'build' pages: http://home.comcast.net/~tpenfield/Web_Page/My_Power_Boat/Fiberglass_Dinghy.html

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: I Got Me a Mercury !!!

Nice quick build link. Glad you tested the "‘off-shore’ style beverage holders". And now she's legal!

 

[tpenfield]

Re: I Got Me a Mercury !!!

It looks like the "Stop" button is a bit flakey . . . Does not always kill the ignition. The original part does not seem to be available anymore. I am wondering if there is a retro fit or replacement kill button, and perhaps one the has the safety lanyard feature to it. I am wondering if a newer version of the same part would work :noidea:

any help with that? TIA

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: I Got Me a Mercury !!!

Stop switch is still available -PN 87-69508A31 from Mercury Marine 7.5 HP BOTTOM COWL AND SHIFT LINKAGE Parts. All the places I've look for that part #, $40 some bucks and up. I would put a lanyard kill switch in that hole and use the kill switch to stop the motor.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: I Got Me a Mercury !!!

Yea, I think that I will do a 'wait and see' with the kill switch.

Meanwhile - I ordered a fuel line here on iBoats - they seemed to have the best price. :thumb:

 

[tpenfield]

Re: I Got Me a Mercury !!!

Got my registration numbers today . . . so I'll be trying out the old/new motor this coming weekend. I plan on bringing my portable GPS to clock the speed.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: I Got Me a Mercury !!!

UPDATE:

I got everything set up today and took my 'new boat' out for a test ride.

Here are a few photos from the day . . . Started at about 8 AM at the ramp getting the engine installed, the security locks rigged, the registration number on, etc.


I designed this dinghy to hold a fair amount of weight in the stern, and it looks like it is doing OK. Only down about an inch or so with the engine mounted.

Then it was time for a test ride. I cruised around the harbor a bit and then did some speed runs in the 'basin'. Here is a pic below of the wake at WOT. I got 12 mph on the GPS. The power is ample, but not overly so.


We took the dinghy out to the 'big' boat, but did not have enough time to go out on it. Here is a photo of the motor & dinghy at the boat.


The engine runs very nicely, idles well . . . I do keep the oars on hand, just in case.

Here is the dinghy tied up with the rest of the dinghy's at the dock. In the background is our local launch ramp. . . . not much of a ramp, sort of a road that runs into the water. It looks like about 1/3 of the dinghies have motors . . . everyone has various security set ups to deter theft. I have a clamp lock and a secondary eye bolt lock. Hopefully that will be enough. :noidea:

 

[64osby]

Re: I Got Me a Mercury !!!

tp - Very nice work on the dingy and nice find on the Merc. Test run looks successful.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: I Got Me a Mercury !!!

tp - Very nice work on the dingy and nice find on the Merc. Test run looks successful.

Thanks for your kinds words . . . the engine is working out nicely.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: I Got Me a Mercury !!!

The Merc and dinghy look like a perfect marriage. How was the handling at 12 mph?

 

[tpenfield]

Re: I Got Me a Mercury !!!

Handling at WOT was fine . . . of course, I did not make any sudden turns, etc. . . I may play with the trim setting a bit to see if I can get any more speed out of it.