Re: [OMC-Boats] OMC Deluxe 'Mystique'

But think of all that peace-of-mind, knowing your craft was virtually
unsinkable all these years. Seems like a pretty fair trade-off to me.
A large percentage of the competitors' boats made in that era aren't
around anymore.

And OMC engineers did think about it:

"It's rigid closed-cell structure means it won't absorb a significant
amount of water even after prolonged submersion."
Quoted directly from: http://www.ultimate.com/omc-boats/gallery/lee.shuster/1964guide/4a.jpg

For those that want to fashion a Canadian-style plexiglas windshield,
here's what they look like:

http://www.ultimate.com/omc-boats/gallery/lee.shuster/65Johnson16_CDN/3.jpg
http://www.ultimate.com/omc-boats/gallery/lee.shuster/65Johnson16_CDN/0.jpg

Lee

On May 13, 2009, at 10:54 PM, jd wrote:

> .........just wish they had thought about the fact that water would
> seep through any bolt holes in the floorboard and saturate the
> foam . ;)
>
>
>
>
>
> On May 13, 2009, at 1:28 PM, Lee Shuster wrote:
>
>> Good journalists never reveal their sources. Let's just say old
>> "Deep Throat" knows all and leave it at that.
>>
>> (You should probably get a copy of the book Evinrude-Johnson and
>> The Legend of OMC by Jeffrey L. Rodengen which has a few pages of
>> interest.)
>>
>> I'm just barely old enough to remember the recreational boating
>> scene of the fifties and sixties. My first "real" (summer) job was
>> at our local Evinrude dealer from 1965 to 1968, with the job of
>> rigging and prepping new boats for customers. Evinrude boats were
>> something really fresh and new in their approach.
>>
>> OMC dominated the post WW II market with their outboards. Much like
>> GM did in the automotive field. Few others had the resources and
>> vision to build turn-key, integrated package (Motor, trailer, ready-
>> rigged) boats. Scott-Atwater (McCulloch) tried around 1961-63, but
>> mainly you had to be able to afford a "luxury" wood inboard
>> runabout like a Chris-Craft or other lesser-known make.
>> Essentially, these were never considered worthy competitors in any
>> sense of the word. You were also at the mercy of dealers to put
>> your so-called "turn-key" package together. Dealers would shave
>> corners to save a dime and put flimsy light-weight trailers or not
>> include essential safety items. Few boats got comprehensive
>> instruments, mooring covers, bimini tops, etc.
>>
>> In the recession of 1958 (nothing like today's) OMC introduced
>> their big V-4 outboard, originally at 50 hp but by 1960 it was at
>> 75 hp. Mercury (Carl Kiekhafer) upped the power ante with the
>> mighty "Black Tower of Power" 100 hp six in 1962. But OMC was a
>> cash-rich company looking for ways to expand. They bought up other
>> companies (Cushman and Lawn-Boy spring to mind) where it made sense
>> and expanded into areas where they could use their core expertise.
>> The sterndrive was re-introduced in 1959-60 on a small scale by
>> Volvo-Penta and MerCruiser soon followed. OMC literally designed
>> the Deluxe 17 to accommodate either outboard power (in single or
>> dual configs) but I think they saw the opportunity to really
>> showcase their new 480 sterndrive.
>>
>> The justification was pretty simple actually, but hard to
>> understand from today's perspective. OMC wanted to be the first to
>> bring high manufacturing and design standards to build boats that
>> were as easy and safe to operate as the automobiles of the day. The
>> company was completely behind the project and agreed to build the
>> type of "complete" people-friendly boat they envisioned the upper
>> average middle class family want want and afford. Eventually other
>> boat companies began introducing sterndrive variants. Larson called
>> their "Comboards." OMC realized the future
>>
>> If you think the performance was mediocre go back in time. I'd beg
>> to differ and call it outstanding (Duals would top 40+ mph) when
>> most (outboard) family runabouts would top out in the 32 to 37 mph
>> range. To package 176 hp in a family runabout back then was hot.
>> (And the single engine or outboard performance wasn't shabby
>> either). This is especially amazing when you consider the attention
>> paid to stability, comfort, usable room, safety and rugged quality
>> construction. You don't need to take my word, read the introductory
>> brochures and boat tests that Phil and I have posted: http://www.ultimate.com/omc-boats/gallery/lee.shuster/1964guide/3a.jpg
>>
>> So I can see why, in today's "throw-away" society these boats seem
>> out of place and difficult to restore. But these guys were not out
>> on a limb. In fact, even when they decided to leave the boat
>> business they had established themselves as the leader in
>> sterndrives which they maintained for about another decade.
>>
>> lee shuster
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> From: omc-boats-bounces@... [mailto:omc-boats-bounces@...
>> ] On Behalf Of Kim Foster
>> Sent: Tuesday, May 12, 2009 10:26 PM
>> To: omc-boats@...
>> Subject: Re: [OMC-Boats] OMC Deluxe 'Mystique'
>>
>> Lee - Once, again, great info! So how did you sleuth this out? This
>> is, again, clear evidence that no amount of engineering or
>> production money was questioned on the Deluxe's...even the
>> trailers... Ultimately there had to be someone - or some force -
>> within OMC that was authorizing these tremendous costs just to
>> produce a rather mediocre performing (from a speed standpoint)
>> runabout. Was there a meglomaniac project manager, board member,
>> company officer driving this? Was there an underlying competition
>> going on with another manufacturer? Do you know any specifics - or
>> have you formulated an opinion - on just what the justification for
>> all of this was?
>>
>> Jake
>>
>> From: lee.k.shuster@...
>> To: omc-boats@...
>> Date: Tue, 12 May 2009 17:05:03 -0600
>> Subject: [OMC-Boats] OMC Myth Busted -- The Deluxe 17 and Sweet 16
>> Windshield Origin
>>
>> Okay guys -- after years of hearing this OMC "urban legend" or myth
>> about the Deluxe 17 windshield design originating in Detroit I
>> decided to do some additional research. Here are my findings:
>>
>> The unique OMC 17 Deluxe - Sweet 16 windshield was made expressly
>> for OMC by Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company. The unique industrial
>> design work was by Myron Stevens, OMC in-house designer, who joined
>> OMC from Brooks Stevens Associates in Milwaukee (no family relation
>> to Brooks). You will recall Brooks Stevens did Evinrude's product
>> styling and logo designs for many years. See: http://hhscott.com/evinrude/brooks_stevens.htm
>>
>> The tooling for forming the Deluxe 17 - Sweet 16 windshield (USA
>> market-only*), was designed, funded and owned by OMC and used by
>> PPG in their Pittsburg, PA plants to produce the OMC USA-market
>> windshields. The windshield was made of "float" plate glass ( a
>> process relatively new in 1960), in which the molten glass is
>> floated on a pan of molten lead and allowed to solidify there,
>> producing a smooth surface and optically uniform thickness, just
>> like ground and polished plate glass. This is a very touchy process
>> in which the glass (in a plastic state, maintained by gas flame
>> heat), is laid on a flex frame which warps the glass into its
>> unique curved "sagged" shape and then is rapidly cooled by air jets
>> to temper it. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Float_glass
>>
>> The tubular stainless steel perimeter molding was installed by
>> another company with a rubber insert all around that was bonded
>> right to the glass to protect the edge of the windshield. This was
>> needed so the ball sockets for the tilting pivots could be welded
>> right to the molding before it was put on. Windshields were shipped
>> from Pittsburg, PA eventually making their way to Waukegan, IL for
>> final assembly.
>>
>> It is important to point out that these marine-application
>> windshields were manufactured of non-laminated tempered safety
>> glass, which cannot be used in the U.S. for automotive windshields.
>> Automotive laminated plate glass has been mandatory since 1927,
>> which has a thin layer of flexible clear plastic film called
>> polyvinyl butyral (PVB) sandwiched between two or more pieces of
>> glass.
>>
>> So, for the OMC Deluxe 17 - Sweet 16 marine windshield THERE NEVER
>> WAS A CONNECTION WITH ANY AUTOMOTIVE WINDSHIELD, though some of the
>> same manufacturing processes were used for both, but DEFINITELY not
>> the same shape.
>>
>> Next time you have your Deluxe 17 or Sweet 16 out, enjoy the view.
>> Take extremely good care of that rare piece of glass; as it will be
>> hard to come by a replacement. The re-tooling costs to reproduce
>> this baby would definitely be astronomical!
>>
>> Myth most definitely busted!!
>>
>> * Canadian market, Peterbourgh-built boats used Plexiglas windshields
>>
>> Lee Shuster
>> OMC Boats Myth Buster
>>
>> Keep 'en floatin'
>>
>> Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync. Check it out.
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Received on Thursday, 14 May 2009