Re: Drilling the transom...
Thanks Mi duckdown...hadn't thought of that, excellent idea. Now the rest of you guys need to revisit your forum skills or forum reading skills...better not to post than put up a smart-*** reply that doesn't help much..."it ain't rocket science"..."just fill any mistakes with silicone." The boat is not a jonboat or an aluminum tinny...it's a vintage 15-foot aluminum runabout. Photo is attached. Not worried about overpowering it as the hull is rated for 75 hp, and it has 70 hp on it in the photo.
Ok Mr. "tm", I was boating as a young lad when TexasMaid "maid" and sold a ton of aluminum (Tinny as they are called on here...and my current boat is aluminum) boats as did Lone Star. I just re-read your last reply and see that they are both 35's. I had the '58 or '59 Rude 18 hp, the one with the black prop...the paint on your Rude cowling seems to be the exact year model I had.
I bought it in Houston (New) for $400 cash (worked on tug boats in the summer to earn the money) and used it to replace a 25 HP Wizard that I had also bought new a season earlier. My buddies ran OMC (their dad's boats) and I just felt that I was having trouble getting up on 2 skis because my Wizard (Merc Mark 30 derivative) didn't have the cubes and low end torque to get me up....was a wash.
We boated in Clear and Taylor Lakes primarily, near where NASA is now. The water was coastal marsh and usually only 2 ft deep with 3 ft of mud so we didn't even have to wear life preservers.....just fall off, dig yourself outta-da-mud, get your tips up, wait for the rope to come by and away you go again.
Anyway I kept the engine in my room where I slept....and my mom let me do it.....great mom. Didn't want anything to happen to it.
We both know that "quality" survives the test of time. These boats certainly have done that as has the Ford N series tractors that are still kicking and bringing more money than they cost new.
You are dealing with the general public on this forum and dialogueing with people from all walks of life, nationalities, experiences, and incomes. Some of us enjoy it and have fun most of the time. Some times we get into arguments and some times we support each other, but in the end the reader wins because they get to see many variations of the story and the cure and if the answer isn't laid out for them, they usually have enough info to make up their own minds.
"Beins you are a Captain" you have experienced a lot of this and all.....so sir, in all due respect.....Get A Grip. We aren't making fun of your "antique" which by the way seems to be in STELLAR condition for the year-model.
Respectfully,
Mark
