|
|
"I'm needing a set of gears for my 1967 Chrysler 50 horsepower motor"?
"Do you have a new carburetor for a 1958 Johnson 75 horsepower motor"?
"I need an exhaust manifold for my Yamaha stern drive. How much"?
We get questions like these on a daily basis, and to tell the truth, it's getting rather aggravating to have to keep repeating the same answer over and over again....."NO LONGER AVAILABLE". Well, unless by a freak happening, it's sitting on a dust covered shelf who knows where.
We may step on some toes or offend a few with the following, but if that's the case, well, sorry. This is our website and our honest opinion from years of experience dealing with this line of work. Keeping in mind that the novice or beginner boater has no knowledge of the point we're trying to get across, reading on can be educating.
Basically what we are saying here is the fact that boat motors and parts can be a real nightmare if you don't do your homework before you buy. Take your time and check things out before you just jump into a situation you may end up regretting. The following information and/or suggestions might help you prevent major migraines in your future.
These are the brand names you would likely want to avoid:
Elgin, Scott-Atwater, Sears, JC Penny, Gamefisher, McCulloch, Montgomery Ward, and any other motor that hasn't been produced in decades. "But hey, I can get one of these from my neighbor pretty darn cheap." Maybe so, and with your neighbor being relieved of what the heck to do with a boat anchor (gee what a great neighbor), odds are it will spend the rest of its life rotting behind the garage or barn cause no parts are available to fix it when it breaks down.
Another important thought besides whether or not motors are still in production, is age. You would think that most people understand and know that in general, most manufacturers of transportation products do not stock parts for more than about 20 years max. This doesn't mean that all parts are nonexistent or not available, but it does mean that parts may be VERY difficult to locate for any motor 20 years or older (as a rule). Now some people may not have a great problem with that fact, but in our way of thinking, we would much rather pay a few more bucks for something newer having parts readily available and be out on the water enjoying our investment, instead of scratching your head looking out the window and stare at it sitting in the driveway still broke down with no parts available to fix it (not to mention the wife hounding you to haul it off to the junk yard). The aftermarket products offer some help in these situations to a degree, but those parts are more or less limited to minor repair and maintenence type parts, not major mechanical or structural parts.
I just can't figure though, when a person calls up and asks if we have a set of gears for a 1968 Chrysler 20 horse, and you tell them they are no longer available, why they would even ask, "well, where would you suggest I find some?". What? "Did we not just tell you they are NO LONGER AVAILABLE?!?!?!?" We have no problem doing everything possible to help our customers locate what they need, but some people seem to be obsessed with ultimately getting what they want even though it doesn't exist anywhere on the planet. "Sorry, but our magic wand is in the shop, and I doubt it will be repaired any time soon!"
In ending, we will leave you with a few brands and models that you should stay away from due to old age or the fact that they are no longer manufactured. These include Chrysler, older Force (before Mercury took them in), all Yamaha stern drives (no longer made, period!), OMC stringer mount (especially electric shift), Johnson/Evinrude electric shift, Merc outboards with red stripe on the cowling, and basically anything that has an age older than 20 years. Even the newer OMC Cobra and Cobra SX drives are becoming questionable until or unless Bombardier ultimately decides whether they are going to keep manufacturing parts or drop them all together. Bummer! We won't even go into the Jap model issues due to the fact that they may or may not be available depending on what part of the country you live in. Bottom line there would be, if there are no dealers for that specific brand within 500 miles of you, DON"T buy one, new or used!
Taking this important advice should save you a multitude of headaches, and spending a little bit of time doing your homework before buying that supposed "great deal", could be considered priceless. If all you can afford is a broken down spitting sputtering 40 year old boat motor, then chances are you should find another hobby that you can afford. Renting a boat and motor on occasion might be the better solution in that case. It seems that many people forget that owning and operating a boat is a luxury, not a common household necessity. "If you wanna play, you gotta be able to pay". "A boat is a hole in the water surrounded by fiberglass which one pours money into". "You might own a boat, or you might have money, but you rarely ever have both".
|
|
|
|
|
Main Menu