OMC, Evinrude, and Johnson Boats

[1stgenbird]

I see little or no discussion in any of the forums on these boats yet they seem to be cool and somewhat uncommon. I have only seen one locally for sale and it was in tough shape but pics I have seen on-line of ones that have been restored, they look very nice.
Anyone here have one?

 

[southkogs]

Re: OMC, Evinrude, and Johnson Boats

Never had one, but if I run across one of the older Johnson Surfers that looks remotely "revivable" I will probably grab it. Those things are so ugly they're cool

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: OMC, Evinrude, and Johnson Boats

Many had a V-4 motor hooked to an outdrive....... which tended to be problematic. Unless you can locate one in great shape they hold no collectible value

 

[superbenk]

Re: OMC, Evinrude, and Johnson Boats

Are you talking about boats made by OMC, Evinrude or Johnson or just powered by them? I wasn't aware boats were actually made by that company, but there's a whole forum section here for the discussion of their motors/drives. I had a Stringer drive in an 1980 Century for quite some time & actually really liked it. The drive worked really well, was easy to work on & durable (except for the stupid tilt mechanism). I haven't had the new boat long enough to really know, but in the one outing we've had with the new boat, I already found some aspects of the OMC drive I miss. Turning radius was much better, it actually steered really well for a mechanical system (compared to the new boat's hydraulic power steering), it shifted just as smoothly, etc. etc. Plus there were no rubber bellows to worry about.

Definitely a lot of plusses, but it's a dead company and that made me nervous. It's fun being the unique & interesting boat owner until something breaks you can't find a replacement for anymore. Then you're just dead in the water.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: OMC, Evinrude, and Johnson Boats

I recall the boats; tri-hull, all I/O. I too recall them using their V4 2 stroke in the low hp unit, 90 hp as I recall and a little Buick V8 at 155 hp at the top of the line. I though the 2 stroke was misapplied being in an I/O....mpg, which weren't very good for that V4 at the time and the 4 strokes had it on them hands down.

I thought the lower unit drive, prop, LU shape and exhaust port were clumsy and not efficient looking as compared to the Mercruiser of the day. I do recall that their outdrive could lift higher than MC which was a big plus for those leaving their boats in the water and reduced corrosion and algae buildup.

As I also recall, they were only offered in power tilt but MC had power trim.......BIG difference.

Haven't seen any around here for many years.

Mark

 

[southkogs]

Re: OMC, Evinrude, and Johnson Boats

Are you talking about boats made by OMC, Evinrude or Johnson or just powered by them? I wasn't aware boats were actually made by that company...

They made boats: Check a few out HERE.

The layout of the Evinrude Sportsman was pretty interesting. The older Johnson Surfers have the craziest hull designs, like some Frankenstein concoction between a tri-hull and a catamaran. Like I said above, so ugly their cool.

... and if they weren't outboard, they were loaded with one or another OMC Stringer abomination.

 

[1stgenbird]

Re: OMC, Evinrude, and Johnson Boats

Yep, they are cool. I was just going to post that link myself as I figured not many people know that OMC built boats in the 60s up to 1970, I think. After that, Chris Craft bought the rights from OMC and continued making them under the Chris Craft name for a few years more.

As I don't know much of the ins and outs of the OMC motors and outdrives, I had no idea they were that problematic.

I believe the engines offered were 4, 6, and 8 cylinders depending on the size of the boat and the year.

 

[superbenk]

Re: OMC, Evinrude, and Johnson Boats

So that's what the ugly stick does when you hit boats with it!

 

[dwco5051]

Re: OMC, Evinrude, and Johnson Boats

The reason you don't see many around is that house movers bought them, threw away the boat and kept the trailer. The factory supplied trailers for these boats have to be one of the most over engineered items ever built. They look like they were designed by bridge builders.

 

[JimS123]

Re: OMC, Evinrude, and Johnson Boats

I see them at antique and classic boat shows all the time. They are iconoic and have a small following. Its small because they weren't made that long so not many are left.

Yeah those trailers were awesome!

 

[1stgenbird]

Re: OMC, Evinrude, and Johnson Boats



I like the looks of this one.

 

[southkogs]

Re: OMC, Evinrude, and Johnson Boats

The reason you don't see many around is that house movers bought them, threw away the boat and kept the trailer. The factory supplied trailers for these boats have to be one of the most over engineered items ever built. They look like they were designed by bridge builders.

That's funny.

View attachment 225576

I like the looks of this one.

That's the one I'm talking about - the Surfer. I'm curious as to how they ride. It's bizarre hull.

 

[1stgenbird]

Re: OMC, Evinrude, and Johnson Boats

Here is another interesting site with info on these boats.

OMC Boat Literature Gallery

 

[coolbri70]

Re: OMC, Evinrude, and Johnson Boats

this thread reminded me of a boat I just saw on cl 1969 Evinrude fiberglass Boat W haul on Evinrude trailer

 

[jestor68]

Re: OMC, Evinrude, and Johnson Boats

Fiberglassic has several old catalogs.

Omc(Evinrude/Johnson) boats were made from 1962-1970.

My dad had a 1966 Johnson Reveler 155 V-6. It was a great ski boat; would pull stumps.

When I came home on leave in 1967(after 2nd tour in the place that starts with a "V"), he had traded it for a stinking bass boat. :facepalm:

 

[MikDee]

Re: OMC, Evinrude, and Johnson Boats

I remember those old Sleds,,,lol Functional, but Butt Ugly

 

[1stgenbird]

Re: OMC, Evinrude, and Johnson Boats

Here's one of the Johnson beauties on ebay,

 

[greenbush future]

Re: OMC, Evinrude, and Johnson Boats

If you're a tri hull kinda guy, these would be cool, but they look very heavy. Any tri-hull I ever rode in was rough on any waves. But for a collector what the heck.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: OMC, Evinrude, and Johnson Boats

I think I recall the hull shape referred to as "Gull Wing" because it looked like a head on shot of a sea gull. Agree on rough ride with tri-hulls and also didn't like the way the chine tripped when doing a diagonal heading into rough waves with the wind on the driver's side.

What they needed at the time and didn't come along until years later was a deep V monohull with bow seating like the tri-hulls had.

Mark

 

[southkogs]

Re: OMC, Evinrude, and Johnson Boats

Tri-hulls can be rough, but they can also be VERY smooth. Incredible stability compared to V hulls in some cases too. Inland boating, I've always enjoyed the tri-hulls. Mark's right, they can get a little goofy on that diagonal approach - but, I've also done WAY better "surfin'" a tri-hull in rough than I've ever done with a V.

A true "tri-hull" vs. a modified or cathedral hull makes a big difference too.

Diff'rent strokes, y'know?