1968-69 Evinrude Sportsmans.
Earlier (1964-67) Sportsmans and Sport '16 models had different styling.
1968 was a transition year, with the same hull as the original Sportsman and Sport '16, but new styling.
The 1969 and 1970 Sportsmans featured a new hull, designed by Lars Granholm (OMC resident naval architect) and Ralph Lambrecht (Chief Engineer of OMC Boats Division), a 22 degree vee cathedral hull with 4 inches more of deadrise on the center Vee, two longitudinal strakes on either side of the keel, and the bow "brow" height (below the rub rail) was reduced by about half.
The 1970 model abandoned the "flip-over" windshield used since 1964 in
favor of a "walk-thru" windshield.
[added 5/22/2001]
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Gregory Fell writes:
I am a third-generation owner of a 1969 Evinrude Sportsman 155 that
was purchased new by my grandfather. I have every original item
including the top, windows, trailer, owners manual, service manual,
and parts manual. The mooring cover basically turned to dust, so I no
longer have that. I had a custom cover made that is trailerable to
replace it. I also had the original tilt trailer modified. I had the
rollers replaced by bunks to distribute the weight over a greater
surface area.
[added 6/22/2001]
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New photos with top up:
[added 7/2/2003]
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Lost Dreams:
Bill Green's 9-year project boat "Class of 68", a 1968 120HP Sportsman, lost on a Mountain in Richmond, Kentucky in 1998;
The axle on the Evinrude trailer went bad, I loaded it on a car trailer. Towed it around Richmond to see if it was ok. Felt good towed OK. So as I got on 75 North, the whole outfit jackknifed; The car trailer right front stuffed under the guardrail. Immediate stop, the Evinrude flew over the guardrail into a big ravine. Too many pieces to count.
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[added 7/11/2001]
NOTE: Bill Finally found a new 1967 Sportsman in January of 2004! And a 1966 Sportsman in October 2006!!
Jim Medore of Michigan's 1969 120HP Sportsman
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[added 7/21/2001]
This boat is for sale as of 9/16/2003
Here are some pics of my newest aquisition. It's a 1968 Evinrude Sportsman 155. I bought it recently as a "fixer-upper" and it's going to be my winter project. Being a big Jeep guy the thing that attracted me the most to this boat was the engine. Jeep used the same Buick 225 cu.in. engine in the early Jeep CJ's and Jeepster Commando's and it proved to be a very reliable engine which produced good power. The trailer is obviously not original and has been replaced with a tandem axle at some point. In these pictures I have one of the rear wheels off as we had a blow-out on the way home with it the night I bought with no spare tire. We ended up removing both rear wheels and jacking the rear axle up as high as we could get it and chaining it in place for the ride home on two wheels. The trailer is almost in need of more work than the boat itself is. The wiring is horrible, the bow stop is too far back causing it to have almost no tounge weight, the tires are shot and the hull bunks are about rotted away. The boat runs well, but isn't moving water through the cooling system at all so it overheated and blew an exhaust hose within a few minutes of being in the water the day we took it to the lake to test it. I'm guessing that the lower unit water pump isn't working, but I haven't had a chance to look into it as of yet. In any case, hopefully by the end of winter 2004 it will be back in lake worthy condition and I'll send some new pictures then. Also, I am in need of a port side engine cover (door) if anyone has one or knows where I can get one. This one is totally missing. The previous owner told me they lost it going down the highway and it shattered into a thousand pieces.
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[added 8/22/2003]
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[added 09/25/2004]
Our family owned a 1968 Sportsman 155 from new to 1984 when chronic electrical ignition circuit problems caused us to (foolishly) give it up. We used it on Lake Michigan and Big Whitefish Lake over this long period. Doug and I missed that boat from the day it was gone. Doug's discovery of a 1967 Sportsman 155 for sale in WI when he took his daughter to visit Lawrence University in 2003 got the search going for a 1968 (or 1969) model. We began our dream of owning the Sportsman again.
We found our 1969 Sportsman in Buffalo City, WI on the shores of the Mississippi in 2004. The boat had been maintained by the original owner well but it hadn't been run much or registered since the late 1980's. After a valve job and other engine work, it was finally ready to go in September, 2005. The 500-mile trip back to Michigan was well worth it, and on October 9 it made its first run on Big Whitefish Lake. Besides running well, the seats and other vinyl are in great shape, as well as the top and side curtains. What a durable boat Evinrude made!
We found our 1968 Sportsman on Burt Lake in northern Michigan in July, 2006. In many respects this boat is almost "new". The seats, carpet and fiberglass finish are almost perfect. The engine starts in an instant and runs smoothly at a 500rpm idle, and is almost silent at idle. Since this was "our boat", the boat of our youth, it is our favorite, but just barely. They are both wonderful boats and Doug and I feel very fortunate to have them.
So, which is faster? Neither, it turns out. We raced them on Big Whitefish on July 15, and they went precisely the same top speed, about 40-41 mph. They were so close in speed that it was like Doug and I were standing still looking over at each other and the lake was going by us very fast. Very fun.
Special thanks to the late Ed Z Sr, Mary Z and her sons Ed, Jr and Bill Z and son-in-law Rick T of Buffalo City, WI for working with us to get the 1969 Sportsman ready for us, and for loving it as much or more than we do. Special thanks also to Jim W of Brutus, MI, the boat's third owner, for his loving care of the 1968 Sportsman and for selling it to us.
Dreams do come true--sometimes twice! "
Thanks again for maintaining this website.
Mike Julien
Grand Rapids, Michigan
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1968, Mike, Doug, 1969
start of race
1969 on its first run 10/9/05, Big Whitefish Lake
But what more could you want - it runs great (finally, after installing a rebuilt carb and correctly setting the dwell), it was free, and everyone who sees it smiles like hell!
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This boat was purchased by my step father in-law (Dale) brand new in 1969 right after he bought his lake house. This fine old girl has made her home there ever since and been much beloved.
I first saw this boat when I was dating my wife a little over 6 years ago. While getting to know my soon-to-be in-laws I noticed the boat sitting in the driveway under a tarp looking a bit neglected. I don't think it had run for a couple of years due to Dale being ill. At any rate, it seemed a shame to have a lake house in the summer with a boat in the driveway and not in the water, so I asked him if he minded me cleaning it up and attempting to get it running. He did not mind at all
She shined up pretty well and Dale helped me sort out the mechanics even though still pretty ill, it took surprisingly little to get it running again, just an oil change, plugs, clean the points and Dale poured A CUP OF GAS down the carb YIKES Don't try this at home!! Fire extinguisher at the ready, we turned it over and VROOOOM!!! We dropped it in the water the next morning and the whole family had a ball with it for the rest of the summer.
Sadly, Dale passed on a few years ago and I became the head mechanic from then on. I make it my mission to bring it up a notch every spring before we enjoy it all summer long. Here is what we have done so far.
For the first few years we did pretty much the normal maintenacne stuff except for putting on a Pertronix kit, it was cheap and VERY easy to do and did wonders for performance and reliability
In 05, we really went for it. Due to a bad mooring cover and no automatic bilge pump I had to replace a ton of electrics,the tilt motor, the alternator, starter solenoid and the starter motor. I also installed an automatic bilge pump and got a new mooring cover from the nearby GI Joes (not a Perfect fit but not bad for under 100 bucks), costly lesson learned. We then replaced the rubber floor matting, installed real wood on the kick panels, new seats, replaced the vinyl padding, new vinyl registration numbers on the side, new bottom paint and used 3M Marine fiberglass restorer and wax with a 10" orbital buffer to really get the oxidation out of the Gel Coat.
In 06, I replaced the Port side exhaust manifold, when I took it off to get a better look at what I thought was a leaky gasket, the flanges crumbled in my hands from rust and there was a HUGE hole on the underside close to the front, quite an exhaust leak and fairly common I understand. I also replaced the far to shallow 14 inch 16 pitch prop that Dale had put on with a stock sized 14 inch 20 pitch prop, with a decent tune up on the carb the old girl was trucking along at 37-38 MPH by the stock speedometer and 4600 RPM WOT (wide open throttle) this from 32 MPH and a very scary 5500 RPM not quite WOT I would have certainly broken something if I ever left it wide open. Not bad but still room for improvment. I also replaced the lights on the trailer and went ahead and replaced the old wheels and tires with a very standard set of steel wheels and new tires. It took a little doing as I had to take the hubs in and have them turned down by a machinist to make them accept a standard sized wheel and of course repack the bearings, but it will be much easier and economical to keep good tires on the trailer.
This year
I will try and send more pictures after I have it in for the season. Read a longer version of BC's writeup
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Hi, My name is Joseph Mullarkey. Last fall (2007) I was given a 1968 Evinrude Sportsman 155. The out drive was missing and the canvas is shot. It came with a 1967 Johnson tilt trailer. I plan on converting it to a jet drive using a Cadillac Northstar engine. I knew that I would not have it done for this summer so I went looking for another one to use "as is". I found this 1966 Evinrude Rogue. The boat is complete and ready for the water. The man I bought it from is only the second owner. He had it for two years. His wife just gave birth to twins so he figured his "water" days were over for the near future. It has the 200hp Buick engine in it. It came with the fenders, anchor, fire extinguisher, six life jackets, and the shipmate tilt trailer. He sold it to me for $1200.00. Some days it does pay to get out of bed. It is still cold here in upstate NY but summer will find me on the lake a lot.
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Doug in NorDakota
Model 221605S
Serial WI-29291
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Picture was taken at Lake Leann in Somerset, MI. We started with seven skiers, then went to nine. There are five people in the boat! I still have this sweet boat.
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Owner: William R. Lindow, DMD
Make: Evinrude
Model: 16' Sportsman
Year: 1970
Engine: V-6 155HP
Location: Lake Lansing, Haslett Michigan
Model number: 0027010
Hull serial number: WI-35767
It is a sportsman 120 but it has a V6 155/hp with a model-nr. from 1969!? Unfortunately i have no information about the history of the boat.
Thank you for maintaining this website!! It's really perfect!
thomas
Owner: Thomas S. (Germany)
Make: Evinrude
Model: 16' Sportsman
Year: 1969
Engine: V-6 155HP
Owner: Greg Nealis
Boat Name: "Little Blue"
Make: Evinrude
Model: 16' Sportsman
Year: 1969
Engine: I-4 120HP
Location: Beaver Dam Lake - Claypool, IN (summer) Anderson, IN (winter)
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| Ready to float |
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| Original Covers |
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| Interior |
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| Ready for a quick run |
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| Outboard (we repainted it white) |
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| run by the pier '84/'85 |
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| Dad on the torpedo '84/'85 |
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| That's me on my mothers lap '84/'85 |
Owner: Chuck and Nadine Breen
Boat Name: LOT OF FUN - TOO
Make: Evinrude
Model: 16' Sportsman
Year: 1968
Engine: V-6 155HP
Location: Lynchburg,Va and Smith Mountain Lake in Central Virginia
Model number: 224605S
Hull serial number: WI-28717
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| Picking up in Hackinsack, Minnesota |
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| WOT on Smith Mountain Lake |
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| At Smith Mountain Lake |
Owner: Dennis and JoJo Herr
Boat Name: JoJo
Make: Evinrude
Model: 16' Sportsman
Year: 1968
Engine: V-6 155HP
Location: Watertown, South Dakota
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Owner: Chris Graves
Make: Evinrude
Model: 16' Sportsman
Year: 1968
Engine: V-6 155HP
Location: Manitou Beach, Michigan
Model number: 221605S
Hull serial number: WI 27560
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Owner: EVB
Make: Evinrude
Model: 16' Sportsman
Year: 1965
Engine: Other
Location: France
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