Re: Looking for outboard for father/son building project

[David Stanton]

That’s a cool looking boat! and a great Father-son project! I don’t believe the KF7 has a gearshift, so the Mark 20 would be a better choice. For a boat like that, and an old motor, I’d go with Johnson or Evinrude, maybe a 15 or 18 HP. 10 may not plane it off, maybe a KG7 or a KH7 would, but not a KF7. The old Mercurys were a bit faster back then, but , even when new, required a lot of TLC to keep them runnin’….and they were really noisy compared to the Johnson/Evinrudes. The Mercs also did not have quite the low end torque the johnson/Evinrudes had for planing the boat off. The KF7, with it’s on board gas tank that holds a bit over a gallon, will need filling often. Others can differ with me , but growing up with family and friends having all these old motors around the family lake place back inthe 1950s/60s, Mercurys were noisy and not very reliable until around 1980 (the 40 HP was an exception – that one seemed to hold up well,but was noisy). Dad bought a Mark 25 new in 1958 for boating and skiing on a 14′ aluminum boat and it was the biggest lemon I’ve ever seen, in almost every 2 weeks for warranty repairs. Got rid of it after one year switching to a Johnson. Keep in mind that people who race old Mercurys, or anything else old, rebuild them frequently. The Johnsons and Evinrudes are also easier to work on.
Dave