Scotty, We need more Power!

It seems the Flying Scott likes lots of juice when it is  starting. So if one battery is good, two must be better, right?

I decided that I would upgrade to dual batteries and install a Blue Seas Systems Add-a-Battery. This will allow me to use both batteries if needed for starting while isolating the batteries when running.

This also has the added advantage of charging my "starting" battery first and when it is fully charged it switches over and charges the "house" battery.

I don't have anything connected to the house battery so right now so the second battery is just an extra starting battery, but I'm sure an iPod docking station isn't too far fetched. The installation was quite simple and this setup should give us a little extra power when we need it.

Note: the black cables you see in the photo above are all positive (+) cables. (The auto parts store didn't have pre-made red cables to I bought black and wrapped the ends with red electrical tape.) The small black wire coming off the ACR is a ground (-) wire and goes back to the batteries with the three positive cables but it is hiding it in the photo.

The illustration on the left is the recommended setup. The illustration on the right is my slightly modified setup.

• Instead of connecting the ACR at the battery posts, I connected it on the live terminals of the on/off switch. So the "hot" lines coming out the top of my switch are actually connected to the same post on the on/off switch as the batteries.
• My picture only shows three cables coming out of the bottom of the switch. I do not have the "house" power line (seen in the diagram on the right in gray). This would be added later if I add a house circuit.

Carter Carburetor N-3008S

The Carter Carburetor N-3008S on the 1960 McCulloch Scott has a idle mixture needle and the high-speed performance is determined by the adjustment of a fixed type metering rod.

There's not much information on this carburetor on the internet. My guess is this was a design unique to McCulloch's specifications for the Scott 60 and 75 hp motors.

Model N-3008S Parts:

Flange gasket	1A-93
Nozzle	12-538
Float & Lever Assembly	21-163S
Bowl	23-59
Inlet Needle & Seat	25-399S
Metering Rod Spring	61-612
Metering Rod, Standard	75-1481
Metering Rod, Lean (High Altitude)	75-1506
Metering Rod Pin	150-260

The metering rod pin (seen in the illustration as #20) was bad on one of my carbs. The head wasn't round and it allowed the metering rod to jamb next to the head. I replaced the bad pin with a homemade pin that started life as a nail.

Getting the Scott to Fly

So its May of 2013 and Summer is just around the corner. Time to get the Scott running. The first order of business was to seek help from the members at  FiberGlassics.com. This is my journey as I was led by their advice.

The First Order of business was the starter. While I already had two starters, I came across a listing on Craigs list for a 58-59 Scott McCulloch 60hp for $50 in Folbrook, CA. I have a broken latch on the port side of the motor housing and this one has both levers in tact, so given the price and proximity I had to own this motor.

The 58-59 60hp McCulloch outboard motor (white head) has some different parts than the 60-61 (red head). Most notibly (that I've seen so far) is that the carburators are different and the motor uses three coils fired off a magneto rather than my 60-61 that uses a single coil and an automotive type points and distributor. But the good news is the starter is the same! So I sent my 3rd starter to my buddy and they refurbished it and I bolted it on my motor.

Get it to Spin
Then it was off to O'Reilly's for a new Marine battery, new battery cables, and a new starter solenoid. The goal was to spin the motor with the plugs in.

The members at FiberGlassics gave me several suggestions for the starter including putting a ground strap from the starter directly to the solenoid.

So I made new cables (from a set of 6 gauge jumper cables) and mounted the starter with the new starter solenoid and turned the key. The motor turned about a 1/2 turn and stopped. I pulled the plugs and the motor would spin and spin just fine. (Update: See my post on Feb 2014... there's a problem with these battery cables. I used them all summer but have replaced them.)

Then my buddy suggested I charge the new battery overnight. The next morning I turned the key and the motor started spinning with the plugs in. Sure it wouldn't start, but the "starter" issue was solved. (Really Advanced Marine? What did I do that was different than what you did? hummm...)

Do we have Fuel?
So now we are spinning next up do we have fuel? You will see in this photo the fuel pump is not original. This is a crankcase pressure activated fuel pump and this one only had one pressure line connected the other pressure line had a screw into to block it off. So I pulled the fuel pump off the donor motor and ordered a new diaphragm from Laings Outboard.

I removed the carbs and cleaned them (mine were actually in pretty good shape. Usually old carbs have a lot of gunk from fuel residue but these had been gone through by the previous owner. I did find one significant problem. These carbs are Carter N series PN 3008S and have a fixed jet metering rod. This is spring loaded and rises and falls with the rotation of the cam on the top of the carb. I found that one of the carbs had a messed up metering rod spring and pin. The metering rod was stuck in place next to the pin (rather than sitting on top of the pin and moving up and down). I made a new pin out of a nail head and a small spring solved the problem.

I went to Napa Auto Parts looking for the Carter N gaskets, but all they had was a $30 rebuild kit and I needed 3. So I went with $10 of do it yourself Mr. Gasket gasket material. I made a new fuel pump gasket and three Carter-N style gaskets.

So with the refurbished fuel pump, carbs cleaned, new fuel lines and fresh gas mixed 50:1 with outboard motor 2-cycle oil, I twisted the key again... and she fired to life... sort of.

The motor would fire occasionally but only on full throttle and then it wont start again for a while. It would just turn over but wouldn't fire. Then something funny(ish) happened. The el-cheapo starter solenoid failed locking in the on position sending me running to disconnect the battery as the motor just turned and turned for what seemed like an eternity. I was sure I'd fry the starter. (so much for a bad starter...) I was able to disconnect before I burned up the starter and so I reinstalled the original starter solenoid.

Do we have Fire?
Next up is the ignition and spark. The first thing I did was get some new spark plugs. The spark looked a weak so we replaced the plug wires, points and condenser. The plug wire kit I bought is an 8 cyl kit so I have extra wires.

Edit: I originally bought the Accel 4041 suppression core wires and found out I needed to use solid (copper) core wires.

Here's my parts list. Try the PN's in bold they should be readily available  at your local parts store.

• Plugs:  Champion J6JM, Autolite 303
• Points: Niehoff SE-332B-135, Intermotor MA346
• Condenser: Neihoff DR24, BWD G120A

The spark was still weak so I pulled the distributor cap to clean the rotor and contacts and I found that the carbon brush was stuck in the distributor cap and not touching the rotor. I drilled a small hole through the pocket where the coil wire goes in and was able to push out the carbon brush with the other end of the drill bit. (I re-filled the hole with a drop of silicon.) The spring was rusted and crumbling. I was able to cleanup the pocket and replace the spring. I'd love to get a new distributor cap, but haven't been able to find a replacement.

With everything replaced, I pressed the choke button and twisted the key and she rumbled to life! I spent a little time adjusting the idle screws on the carbs and now the motor starts, idles and revs ups nicely.

Next up the water trial!

This post includes most of what is contained in these postings on FiberGlassics.com. But for more information, here are the complete posts:

• Original Flying Scott... should I even try?
• Help Tuning my Flying Scott 60

Do you have a flag?

One of the key pieces of the Dorsett's safety equipment was missing when we bought her. The original beehive stern lamp lens was broken. You can see the lens in this page of the 1960 brochure.

Fortunately I was able to source one from a seller on eBay that had some other Dorsett parts listed. I e-mailed him and he had one! We agreed on a price and my "new" stern light lens was on its way.

To compliment the new stern light and to match the 1960 brochure I added a U.S. Yacht Ensign, since this a yacht and all.

U.S. Yacht Ensign
A special flag, looking like the national flag and ensign but with a fouled anchor in a circle of stars in the canton, was created by Act of Congress in August 1848 as a flag to be used by licensed U.S. yachts.

The existence of the Yacht Ensign in United States statute (46 U.S.C. section 109) was repealed by the Vessel Documentation Act of 1980 (Public Law 96–594), which removed several legal provisions pertaining to the by-then obsolete category of "licensed yachts." Nevertheless, owing to its long usage, the yacht ensign is still widely flown by U.S. yachts and pleasure boats in US waters today, continuing a tradition that dates back to 1848.

The United States Power Squadrons' guide to flags and flag etiquette, prepared in consultation with the Coast Guard, Coast Guard Auxiliary, New York Yacht Club, and others, provides that the flag may be flown on recreational boats of all types and sizes instead of the national ensign in domestic waters.

So now my "yacht" has a flag!

Give Her a Name

They say it's bad luck to change a boats name... but the Dorsett has never been named, so we get to name her!

With any good name the goal is to reflect the boat's and/or the owner's personality. In fact I may have bought a boat just so I could name it. The little Dorsett will be named Whisky Tango.

For those of you who are familiar with NATO code Whisky Tango represents the letters W and T. The urban dictionary lists Whisky Tango as an abstract spoken method to point out the presence of white trash to friends while still remaining unoffensive. Quite frankly, rolling a 50 year old 15 foot fiberglass runabout with a too loud and too smelly two-stroke motor in the Newport Beach harbor immediately puts you in the Whisky Tango category.

To complete the presentation, I wanted to add a little 60's nostalgia to the lettering. I chose the Magneto font that is designed from the lettering on the Chevy Belair. Also I wanted to add a little hot rod flair so I included the Clay Smith Cams "Mr. Horsepower" logo.

The Mr. Horsepower logo has become the unofficial "peckerwood" logo. Wikipedia says peckerwood is a slur used by southern whites to describe poor rural whites. The redheaded woodpecker as a representation of working class whites. They considered them loud and troublesome like the bird, and sometimes with red hair like the woodpecker's head plumes.

As a happy coincidence, the 60+ Scott McCulloch 60/75Hp motors are often referred to as the "red head" motors because the block of the motors are painted red. Perfect!

Update August 2017... please be aware the name Whisky Tango and the Clay Smith logo are in no way a political or racist statement and should not be construed as such. The name is intended to be a self-deprecating statement about the social class of this little boat in comparison to the many beautiful large and expensive boats with which we are privileged to share our harbour. There is simply no place for bigotry, discrimination, and hate. Now more than ever we must stand together against hatred and violence.

Winter Storage

One of the cool things about old boats is they are works of art. If you approach the subject correctly you might even be able to convince your better-half to allow you to display the boat when friends come over. That way you can spend your time discussing the finer aspects of "yachting". Here's the Dorsett in winter storage.

I'm told winter storage has a different meaning in places that are not Southern California

The Advanced Marine Debacle

When we bought the Dorsett the former owner said it was having "starter problems" but was running otherwise. The starter turned over the motor (without plugs) so I was sold. Since a starter is a simple fix, I took it up to a local outboard service shop who said they were willing to work on old outboards. So I dropped my boat off at Advanced Marine in Costa Mesa, CA.

June 2012
In the beginning of June I asked Advanced to sort out the starter issue and give the motor a complete tune-up (plugs, points, clean the carbs, etc.) I knew I needed a couple new batteries and the motor needed some serious TLC.

A couple weeks later I called them to check in on the progress and they confirmed the starter was no good and said that they couldn't get a replacement. But they did offer to sell me a replacement motor. I declined replacing the motor, as I wanted to keep the Dorsett as original as possible. So I picked up the starter from Advanced and sent it to a friend (who manufactures motorcycle starters) to have the starter rebuilt. My friend refurbished the starter and dynoed it and two weeks later I returned with the refurbished starter.

July 2012
A couple of weeks went by and I hadn't heard from Advanced so I called them to check in on the progress. They told me the starter was still no good and questioned if anything had even been done to the starter. I sent the starter back to my friend and asked them to go over it one more time and to do what ever it took to get this turning. So they went over it again and another two weeks went by. I dropped off the re-refurbished starter at Advanced and a couple weeks later I hadn't heard from them so I called to check in on the progress, and they said the starter was still no good.

August 2012
Frustration began setting in and not wanting to suggest to my friend that they didn't know what they were doing... so I found a starter company back east (Zorkos.com) who sells rebuilt vintage starters. They shipped me a freshly rebuilt starter and I dropped it off at Advanced Marine. A couple weeks later I hadn't heard from them so I called Advanced to check in on the progress and they claimed that the SECOND starter was no good. (Note: I would recommend Zorkos to anyone. They offered to refurbish the starter again at no charge. Whatever Advanced was doing wasn't Zorkos fault.)

September 2012
Since Summer had passed and the boat wasn't going into the water anytime soon, I decided to pickup the boat and regroup. When I picked up the Dorsett, Advanced Marine charged me $100 to R&R the starter four times. The battery cables had been thrown away, everything was disconnected (starter solenoid etc) and and there were no starters installed on the boat. I had to go back to Advanced Marine and request that they give me back my starters. I did get back two starters one was definitely fried. So I assume it was put on my motor and turned until it smoked.

Bottom Line: I would not Recommend Advanced Marine in Costa Mesa, CA for your old boat.
The boat went into storage for the Winter while I contemplated my decision to buy an old boat and keep the original motor. Come to find out, the only mistake I made was to take it to Advanced Marine. They never called me, I always had to call them to find out what was happening. They offered to sell me another motor, several times... they even had a "period correct" motor sitting in their showroom that they offered to sell me the day I picked up my boat.

Need a starter for your Flying Scott?
Here is what you are looking for: Delco Starter - Part Number #1113559

• Lester 3923 / pic # 140-0110
• Type: starter
• Mfr: delco
• Voltage: 12
• Rotation: ccw
• Teeth: 10
• Str type: dd
• Short note: mcculloch marine, 60hp, 1959-62

Interchanges:

• Ace tri-star cm3923n
• Alltech 104-3923
• Bepco 80-3923
• Boston auto 3140-0110
• Cosmos 90-3923
• Delco 1113515, 1113559, 1113573
• Lester (old) 3909
• Nastra 3923
• Quality 3923
• Romaine electric 41-3923
• Stratoline 80-3923
• Tsa 3923n
• Wilson hd 91-01-3625
• Zorkos 3923

Applications:

• McCulloch marine outboard 60 hp 1959-1962
• Scott Atwater marine outboard 60 hp 1959-1962