Why were 70HP Johnson's so popular with mulletheads?

By mullethead I mean mullet fishermen(net boats) not the hair-don't. I was not clowning on our friends up north, eh. Anyway, I grew up in Pensacola, FL and it seemed like every trailerable work boat I ever saw in the 70's and 80's had a 70HP Johnson hanging off of it. Why is that? Were they exceptionally reliable? More available? Lower priced? Maybe they were all related and grandpa owned the Johnson dealership? I worked on some of these boats as a teenager. My official title was '' the dumbass kid that had to jump out of the boat all night to free the net". Shorts, tennis shoes(sting rays were everywhere) and a knife were what you went in the water with. Fins got in the way and all a mask was good for was letting you see the outline of the shark in the net with you against the boats work lights. Fortunately, the scent of human feces in the water has a repellent effect on sharks. But, for some reason the subject of motors never came up. I can't ever recall breaking down either. Any thoughts? MJ

Re: Why were 70HP Johnson's so popular with mulletheads?

there powerful enough to move the boat with a load, dependable. easy to work on.

Re: Why were 70HP Johnson's so popular with mulletheads?

I think they were just what the Dr. ordered at the time, one of the first compact, fairly lightweight, powerhouse 3cyl, fuel thrifty, easy to work on, reasonably priced, dependable, motors ever made. IMO, everyone happy with a bigtwin 40, or 50hp, saw this as the next step to a good boost of power, & efficiency, with managable weight, instead of the previous, heavy, bulky, old V4 style. If their small boats, usually up to 16' capacity plate said Max 75hp, or thereabouts, they jumped at the chance to put one of these modern marvel motors on. Work, or play, they were the bomb! (theoretically)

Re: Why were 70HP Johnson's so popular with mulletheads?

They are all over the Dominican Republic on the launches and bananna boat / water ski haulers. dependable and enough power for the job.

Re: Why were 70HP Johnson's so popular with mulletheads?

MikDee said:

I think they were just what the Dr. ordered at the time, one of the first compact, fairly lightweight, powerhouse 3cyl, fuel thrifty, easy to work on, reasonably priced, dependable, motors ever made. IMO, everyone happy with a bigtwin 40, or 50hp, saw this as the next step to a good boost of power, & efficiency, with managable weight, instead of the previous, heavy, bulky, old V4 style. If their small boats, usually up to 16' capacity plate said Max 75hp, or thereabouts, they jumped at the chance to put one of these modern marvel motors on. Work, or play, they were the bomb! (theoretically)

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Capacity plate? These boats didn't have one. They were hand built by the guy driving (usually). They are funky looking boats. Transom mounted motors were mounted way off to one side to prevent net interference. Some had boxed enclosures in the bow where the motor was mounted so you could turn in either direction when you set the net (always a circle). 16' is a bit small, usually on the order of 18'-22' and wide beamed. Nets take up a lot of room. Not speedboats but very good at what they were meant to do. I forgot to mention that these are inshore boats. They were usually made of plywood with flat bottoms. Thanks for the input, MJ.

Re: Why were 70HP Johnson's so popular with mulletheads?

kenmyfam said:

They are all over the Dominican Republic on the launches and bananna boat / water ski haulers. dependable and enough power for the job.

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Since you mention it, I remember seeing bunches in the Virgin Islands and Bahamas. Coincidence? Methinks not. Thanks, MJ.

Re: Why were 70HP Johnson's so popular with mulletheads?

tashasdaddy said:

there powerful enough to move the boat with a load, dependable. easy to work on.

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Thanks TD. You've been a big help to me others. I'm still using the info you posted on my first thread. I'm looking forward to future reports on your $150 steal. MJ

Re: Why were 70HP Johnson's so popular with mulletheads?

mobyjaws said:

Capacity plate? These boats didn't have one. They were hand built by the guy driving (usually). They are funky looking boats. Transom mounted motors were mounted way off to one side to prevent net interference. Some had boxed enclosures in the bow where the motor was mounted so you could turn in either direction when you set the net (always a circle). 16' is a bit small, usually on the order of 18'-22' and wide beamed. Nets take up a lot of room. Not speedboats but very good at what they were meant to do. I forgot to mention that these are inshore boats. They were usually made of plywood with flat bottoms. Thanks for the input, MJ.

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I was not referring to Mullet boats in particular, but I bet they were the most "bang for the buck" powerwise, and still light, & simple enough for one guy to muscle on, & off the boat if need be. I was describing the average small boaters dream for most 14-16' runabouts, I know I would have loved to get one if I could have afforded it at the time when they first came out. I had an old 16' Thompson lapstrake, and later a 16' Eltro plywood runabout, each with a different 40hp bigtwin evinrude, the latter with electric start, and then a 16' Larson All American, with a 6cyl 70hp Merc that I had to rebuild, before I got 1/2 way into the season. The 70hp Johnson would have been ideal on any one of these boats, that I bought because I got them for a song.

Re: Why were 70HP Johnson's so popular with mulletheads?

Re: Why were 70HP Johnson's so popular with mulletheads?

The JohnnyRude twin and triple loopers were waaaay ahead of all competition in technical sophistication in the 70s and 80s.

Re: Why were 70HP Johnson's so popular with mulletheads?

Now I get it. They were reliable, easy to maintain and lighter and smaller than previous motors of equal horsepower. I failed to realize how heavy and bulky the older outboards were, duh. Why would anyone hang something the size and weight of a VW on the back of the boat when you could go with a tough and trim 3 cylinder. Thanks for clarifying gentlemen. MJ

Re: Why were 70HP Johnson's so popular with mulletheads?

They are tough engines. Back when OMC was making commercial versions they had no peer for reliability. Commercial guys know it. Other than Chrysler for a short time, OMC was the only ob company that made "commercial" ob engines...which were detuned and slightly modified "domestic" engines. The differences were small but important...lower compression for running poor grade gas (foreign countries), more splines on the drive shaft to handle constant high speed FNR shifts, etc. A 70 domestic was revamped to make a commercial 65.

bp