Home › Forum › Ask A Member › What was your first outboard? › Re: What was your first outboard?
When I was a kid my dad had a 1958 (if memory of a ~6 year old kid at the time still serves at 41) Johnson 35hp on the back of a wooden runabout I don’t remember the make of. Everybody in the family skied, tubed, etc behind that boat. There was a long ‘dry’ spell so to speak after that during which I was not around boats or outboards much at all. When I got married we bought a house with a pond and I wanted something to putt around with so…
My first one was an early 70s Eska built Sears 5hp I bought at a flea market for WAY more than it was worth. The powerhead turned out to be toast with the crank journal galled badly and the big end of the rod egg shaped. It looked like it had been run on straight gas. 😮 So began the quest for a better motor. My next one was a 1979 Merc 9.8 that came with a 12 foot Duracraft rowboat. The PO claimed it ran good… 🙄 While a bit of a stretch I did get it running pretty well with a bit of work and a new impeller. I found this club while looking for parts and info about the Merc. That was about 4 years ago. I still have that one along with many more now and many more to come. I finally decided to join the club this year. I’m more of an OMC guy but I enjoy and appreciate all of them.
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