Fix Reverse (and now Forward)

Step 1 - Make Sure the Lower Unit is Working Properly
I was referred to Amber Marine in Costa Mesa to take a look at my lower unit. I'm told Brad guys will actually work on these ancient motors and that he is an honest and skilled guy. So I took all 3 lower units to him (59 Short Shaft, 59 Long Shaft, 60 Short Shaft).

I'm not sure there is anything wrong with any of them but I wanted him to review, inspect adjust, reassemble, reseal and return at least (hopefully) 2 working lowers. My guess if there is anything wrong in the lower(s) it would be in the cam selector or the pin that rides on the cam selector.

 

The cam selector is shown in Neutral. Move it down for forward, up for reverse.

Its important to remember that the lower is a sealed unit that needs to be properly sealed and pressure tested after reassembly, I figured having a pro perform these inspections/repairs is the way to go.  

Step 2 - Make sure the Upper Shift Mechanism is Working Correctly.

If the lower unit is correct then the only other culprit would be the Upper Shift Mechanism. There is a shift arm on the starboard side of the motor that is clamped to a rotating shaft. The shaft has another arm (under the power head and inside the motor case) that is attached to the top of the shift rod. If this has slipped or moved then the full shift travel would not be transferred to the lower.

If the lower is fine, I will pull the power head to inspect fix the Upper Shift Mechanism.

Hopefully I'll know a little bit more about my motor in the next couple weeks. 

You Only Break Your Leg on the Last Run of the Day

One of the things on my "to do" list has been to sort out an issue with our lower unit on the Flying Scott as we have never had reverse. At the beginning of this season I adjusted the shift linkage on the motor and voilá I had reverse! But no forward. I then swapped my original lower for a lower unit off a 1959 Flying Scott parts motor I bought last year. (So far I've used the starter, a cowl latch and the lower unit from this motor. So I'd say I've gotten my $50 worth out of it.) The lower was a direct swap but I still had no reverse.

The key to success to having no reverse is to always dock where you
can pull out or... have a small boat.

I determined either 1) both lowers had a failed gear slide or 2) the upper gear shift connector had slipped. Since servicing the upper gear connection would require removing the power head, I decided to adjust it to allow forward to work and to live without reverse for another summer

Ultimately the goal was to keep the boat in the water until after a scheduled September visit by our daughter and her boyfriend. All summer, Karen has been insistent that I don't mess around with the lower unit and that I don't break something trying to fix something. In August I bought a newly rebuilt 1959 Flying Scott lower on Ebay and had it ready to install. But given my promise, I decided to wait to mess with it until after summer was over.

After our successful family weekend visit and because the weather has been so nice, in mid-September we decided to keep the boat in the water through the end of October. We figured we'd enjoy a few more weekend harbor cruises before we called it a season. I though maybe I'd swap the lower at the end of October to test it before storing it for the winter. This would tell me if the problem was actually the lower or if it was in the shift linkage below the power head.

Then last Friday night it happened. We were cruising to have dinner and stopped by a friends dock to chat. When I fired the motor and pressed it into forward... nothing but a revving motor. Did I loose a prop? Did I spin another prop? Is forward gone the same place reverse went? As the tide was drifting the boat down the channel out towards the open ocean, I grabbed my Coast Guard mandated paddle, jumped up on the bow and paddled back to the dock. (Ok I only got about 15' from the dock but the tide was going out.)

Paddling against the tide going out to sea.

Fortunately our friend Larry was coming in on his inflatable and he saw me paddling. He came over to help saying "Either that's the worlds largest canoe, or you need help." Larry towed us back to our dock during what may have been one of the best sunsets of the summer. Safely back at the dock in the dark I decided to wait until morning to investigate.

 

Whats better than having a boat? Friends with a boat.

Sunday checked the prop nut and prop and verified I still no reverse OR forward. Along with the paddle, fire extinguisher, horn, life jackets and throwable flotation device, one of the first accessories we bought for our Dorsett was a Sea Tow membership. We finally got to use it. We had "Rio" from Sea Tow take us over to the Newport Dunes where I keep the trailer so I could pull the lower unit.

Getting my money's worth out of my Sea Tow membership.

My goal was to just swap the lower with my newly acquired lower unit and put the boat back in the water. Unfortunately when I went to do the swap I realized the rebuilt unit was off a long shaft motor and would not fit my short shaft motor. With my head hung low, I loaded both lowers into the back of my truck and put the boat in dry dock until I can get a known working lower on the motor. Last run of the summer = broken lower leg.

Trixie, Our Friend's 57 Glasspar

Mike is my friend with a boat problem... last Summer after I had lost a prop I stopped Mike on the sidewalk and asked him for some advice. I knew Mike would be the right person to ask because at the end of his dock sat three boats. One of them "Gumby", a vintage Glasspar, was of a similar age as our Dorsett. But how I knew Mike was the right person to ask was the fact that he was also renting another dock down the street to keep yet another boat in his collection. He's a guy with a boat "problem".

Mike, Linda and Karen riding in Whisky Tango

From this chance encounter we developed a friendship this summer. Last month Mike sold one of his boats (a sexy 18' vintage Donzi) and as part of the sale he took in trade a 57 Glasspar.

1957 Glasspar at home docked behind Schotzi.

Mike and Linda (and friends) doing a flyby.

This Glasspar is an all white boat and features a very distinctive split windshield. Mike and Linda told us they think the boat needs a name and a pop of color.

My suggestion is to add a little color while tying in the existing white exterior and grey interior and silver motor colors. With a nod to the 55 Chevy, my thought is to create a 50's-ish side panel using the silver from the motor and trim it with a bold colored arrow stripe that follows the side lines of the hull. The finishing touch would be to customize the motor with a matching side panel graphic and stripe. This would give the boat a little extra visual flair and could all be done with vinyl.

Inspired by this... only it floats.

A friend of Mike's suggested the name Trixie. So using that as a working title, here's my take on a color scheme.

Speed Racer's Trixie... girl power!

 How about a Atomic Age theme? It matches the motor.

Joe Cool? The sunglasses match!

It'll be fun to see what they end up doing but no matter what, it's a really cool boat!

 Mike and I at the helm. Trixie is a hot rod, see the dash?

Obligatory harbor cruise sunset picture.

Check out the film Glasspar Zombies with the 1957 Avalon.

Hailing Port Balboa, CA

We added our hailing port lettering to the transom of the Dorsett. The lettering comes from the sign on the old Balboa Market which is sadly now a parking lot.

What I Actually Do...

Karen says no "fixing" the boat until after summer...

Keep it Turning

Earlier this year a seller on Ebay was parting out a running 1959 McCulloch Flying Scott and I bought the starter immediately. (You can never have enough starter parts for your Scott.) So I now have 4 starters.

1. The original Starter that came with the motor. (Currently lost at my friends shop but it'll show up.)
2. My first replacement starter bought on Ebay from Zorkos.com. ($189)
3. The starter that came on my 1959 Flying Scott "parts" motor bought on Craigs List. ($50)
4. The second replacement starter bought on Ebay ($45) from a private seller parting out a running motor.

When I first bought the boat the starter #1 was the problem (or so I thought). When I brought the #2 starter to Advanced Marine they said it was also bad. So when we first put the boat in the water, the #3 starter was the production starter on the motor.

The #3 starter was used all summer with the exception of failing once when the return spring broke. This failure allowed the starter gear to stay engaged on the flywheel even after the power to the starter was stopped. This was fixed by replacing the spring with parts from the #2 starter.

This Spring I bought #4 so I put #4 on the boat. (The newest one is always the best right?) I ran this starter until mid-July when it failed. The starter turns just fine but the gear won't "spool" up to engage the flywheel. So I pulled the starter and put #3 back on.

So to get #2 and #4 back in service it need parts and look what I found...

API Marine in Florida has Delco-Remy 10 tooth gears with return springs. This kit should fix the problem with both starters. I'm going to order 3 kits. One each for the starters and 1 spare. Hopefully soon I will have an army of working Flying Scott 60 Hp starters.

Next year I'm going to test a theory I have about the #2 starter bought from Zorkos. This starter is like new and should be great once I replace the stolen parts. I originally thought it was "too tight" and that's why it wouldn't turn the motor over so I was using the "loose" #3 starter. Later I figured out my battery cables were too small and I was starving the starter of the Amps. The light gauge cables allowed the worn #3 starter to turn just enough to fire the motor and the new battery cables allowed #3 to work great. My theory is the #2 starter with the heavy cables will be the best setup. But I promised my wife I wouldn't "fix something that's not broke" (aka "Upgrade") the motor until after the summer boating season is over.

HEARTBREAK UPDATE

"We scrapped those." — API Marine

"We don't even show that number in our system.
Where did you see it?" — Go 2 Marine

Let me Google that for you it folks, its your web site not mine... Click Here 

What a Workout!

Last week we were the "pace car" for a motivated Stand-Up-Paddleboarder. We were cruising around the harbor at our normal 3.5 mph and passed him at the south end of Balboa Island near the Balboa Yacht club.

I think he liked our speed so he sped up and stayed on our tail the entire way around the harbor. The cruise took us from Balboa Island past Mariners Mile up to the PCH bridge at and then back under the Lido bridge past Lido Isle and the shipyard back down the peninsula past the Newport Yacht Club around Bay Isle until I was exhausted watching him paddle and we docked back at home near the Fun Zone. What a workout!

Ready to leave the dock at the Newport Dunes

Who's driving this thing? I forgot to put down the speedo pickup.

I feel like I'm being followed.

Back home at the dock. A perfect first day of Summer!