Just an introduction of myself (new list member).

Hi to everyone on this list.

My name is Greg Van Vliet and I live in Surrey, B.C., Canada. I recently
bought a 1964 (1965?) Canadian model OMC runabout that looks exactly like
an Evinrude Sweet 16 but had Johnson name plating on the sides. The boat
has a 1964 90hp Johnson Meteor outboard that looks to be in very good
condition. The motor is almost completely intact except it had a few
missing screws, bolts, springs, retaining clips, etc.. I wasn't sure if I
really wanted to keep the boat because it needs a new floor, windshield,
and seats. I figured that I could make some easy money if I took it to a
local auction because old boats tend to fetch $500 - $800 and I only paid
$280 for it ($1 CDN = $0.65 US). I also wanted to make sure the motor was
actually going to be able to get into running condition before I made a
decision.

The first thing I did was to look for a motor manual. After searching the
'net, my local libraries and a local marine shop I decided that the appr
opriate Seloc Johnson/Evinrude repair and maintenance manual was the best
bet. I ended up buying a used copy on ebay for about half the price of a
new one. As it turns out, I am very pleased with the manual. It has
allowed me to determine that the motor is definitely worth keeping. I
highly recommend the Seloc manual versus the Clymer manual for these
motors. The Clymer one is far too broad and offers little troubleshooting
assistance.

As for the boat; I'm going to get a quote on a replacement windshield this
week. The compound curve shape makes a replacement a totally custom job
and the cost could be too much for me to deal with. One plastic shop
sounds promising, though. They say they can probably use the existing
windshield as a mold by just reinforcing it. If this doesn't end up
costing too much I think I will keep the boat. After finding Phil's OMC
web site I have become much more interested in holding onto and restoring
this classic. The hull is in near mint condition but I plan to repaint it
inside and out (I like the blue on white from Jim Orfino's photos). I also
plan to install 6 new seats (back-to-back pairs plus two small seats at the
stern so I can fit my 4 kids and my wife in the boat) as the original seats
are long gone. I've found some nice WISE brand folding seats at my local
WalMart that look like they would suit the size and style of the boat
nicely. They're supposed to be fishing seats but they look similar to the
original seats which appear to be flatter than modern bucket style seats.
 Also, they're inexpensive!

There should be pictures and spec's on the web site soon. If anyone has
any info on what the OMC model was called I sure would appreciate hearing
about it.

Anyway, I'm getting long-winded here. I'll finish by saying that, like
many others, this is going to be a 1 or 2 year project. I have a house
addition to build this year but I'm not going to let this boat sit through
next season without a full effort to get it into the water.

Regards,

Greg Van Vliet
Received on Wednesday, 5 June 2002