Hello, forum, my name is Andrew and it's been eight months since my last confession.
When last we spoke, I was trying to decipher what appeared to be an under-performing 1957 Johnson 35HP for my 15' Westport Skiff, Buoy Scout. We never did get her running well last season, and I eventually gave up and parked her in the barn for the winter.
Fast-forward to this past weekend. I drug the boat and motor to the local AOMC swap meet, and all sorts of good things happened. For starters, the experienced guys quickly determined what my problem was (face palm: needed a long-shaft). Mark that down as good thing #1. Shortly on the heels of this revelation, I met a guy who happened to have all the parts I needed to convert my short-shaft to a long-shaft unit. Mark that down as good thing #2.
Before leaving, I picked up a great-looking 1958 Evinrude Big Twin 35HP with a MUCH better-looking electric start setup than my Johnson (which uses a liberal amount of electrician's tape). This thing is in what appears to be primo shape inside and out and I got it for a steal ($175 plus $30 for a tiller-arm sitting nearby). Mark that down as good thing #3.
Slightly off-topic but continuing the "good thing" motif, I met a handful of really nice, helpful people, two of which invited me over to their places on the lake the following day to make my repairs and take her for a spin. Mark that down as good thing #4. We hit a few snags but quickly got it all ironed out and dropped the rig in the water. Shazam! The difference between yesterday and last summer is night and day. Boat is now plenty fast (about 25mph, with three grown men, three full 6-gallon cans, a battery, a full toolbox, and a 4-year-old) and motor runs beautifully. Mark that down as good thing #5.
We noticed on the way back to the ramp that the reinforcement board inside the transom was developing a split, so that'll need some surgery before we go back out. Bad thing #2. (Didn't mention bad thing #1 - dropped iPhone in the water at the ramp. Doh.)
So. I get home this afternoon and go out to inspect the "new" Evinrude. It's a Big Twin manual start model 25034, but a previous owner has installed an electric start setup. The cabling is neat and clean, and he's installed a nice pushbutton start button on the lower portion of the front of the motor. So far so good.
I pulled the battery out of the board and started to hook up the new motor, just to satisfy my curiosity that it would turn over (I didn't think to do that at the swap meet - probably foolishly). Attached the positive cable and tightened down the nut. Started to attach the negative and BAM! That sucker sparked and started cranking. Like, without me pushing any buttons or anything. Which seems like a problem for everyday use.
Can somebody tell me what's going on here? Why would the thing crank as soon as power is applied? (Bear in mind I have done exactly NO snooping around on the motor - I just wanted to see if it was alive.)
When last we spoke, I was trying to decipher what appeared to be an under-performing 1957 Johnson 35HP for my 15' Westport Skiff, Buoy Scout. We never did get her running well last season, and I eventually gave up and parked her in the barn for the winter.
Fast-forward to this past weekend. I drug the boat and motor to the local AOMC swap meet, and all sorts of good things happened. For starters, the experienced guys quickly determined what my problem was (face palm: needed a long-shaft). Mark that down as good thing #1. Shortly on the heels of this revelation, I met a guy who happened to have all the parts I needed to convert my short-shaft to a long-shaft unit. Mark that down as good thing #2.
Before leaving, I picked up a great-looking 1958 Evinrude Big Twin 35HP with a MUCH better-looking electric start setup than my Johnson (which uses a liberal amount of electrician's tape). This thing is in what appears to be primo shape inside and out and I got it for a steal ($175 plus $30 for a tiller-arm sitting nearby). Mark that down as good thing #3.
Slightly off-topic but continuing the "good thing" motif, I met a handful of really nice, helpful people, two of which invited me over to their places on the lake the following day to make my repairs and take her for a spin. Mark that down as good thing #4. We hit a few snags but quickly got it all ironed out and dropped the rig in the water. Shazam! The difference between yesterday and last summer is night and day. Boat is now plenty fast (about 25mph, with three grown men, three full 6-gallon cans, a battery, a full toolbox, and a 4-year-old) and motor runs beautifully. Mark that down as good thing #5.
We noticed on the way back to the ramp that the reinforcement board inside the transom was developing a split, so that'll need some surgery before we go back out. Bad thing #2. (Didn't mention bad thing #1 - dropped iPhone in the water at the ramp. Doh.)
So. I get home this afternoon and go out to inspect the "new" Evinrude. It's a Big Twin manual start model 25034, but a previous owner has installed an electric start setup. The cabling is neat and clean, and he's installed a nice pushbutton start button on the lower portion of the front of the motor. So far so good.
I pulled the battery out of the board and started to hook up the new motor, just to satisfy my curiosity that it would turn over (I didn't think to do that at the swap meet - probably foolishly). Attached the positive cable and tightened down the nut. Started to attach the negative and BAM! That sucker sparked and started cranking. Like, without me pushing any buttons or anything. Which seems like a problem for everyday use.
Can somebody tell me what's going on here? Why would the thing crank as soon as power is applied? (Bear in mind I have done exactly NO snooping around on the motor - I just wanted to see if it was alive.)
