Makes sense, did not know this! One of the many reasons the P50 likely never really caught on. In addition to things like having to remove the motor to change an inner tube, LOL. Thanks for the comment!

Thanks for the comment to help our analytics! Every little bit counts! Like and subscribe!

@mikebrillakis7915 I have a few lower units actually. Several are all there but may need freed up. All intact exterior though. Are you just missing one?

Ambos tenemos motos de cross Husqarna TE610, son máquinas fantásticas. Probablemente nunca venderé la mía... una de las mejores motocicletas deportivas duales fabricadas. ¡Gracias por el comentario!

Thanks! It certainly is :)

Jeffrey probably isn't wrong 😂

Sure thing, glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the comment and the support!

Sure thing, glad it helped!!!

Yep, a Dockbuster it is! I have a nice '57 MK75 on my Feathercraft (the boat that I also want to try a larger MK78 on like this one). I actually starts pretty easy in the reverse direction, but I definitely don't come in too hot with it :)

Sure thing! So, if you didn't realize or couldn't tell from the video, the Z50R's are VERY tiny compared to the earlier Z50A models. So for young kids, the Z50R is actually better - one they're a little older (middle grade school or later let's say), then the earlier models including the hard tails are better suited. I still have a 1972 Z50AK2 that has been in the family since the 80's :)

@@retro_grade Thank you for the advice. Will look at the R's too based on your recommendation. Really happy to hear about your long term family member (Z50A). After so many years, I feel that machines like that really do become part of the family. Thanks again..

Hell yeah is correct 😂

Whatever it takes.....

Interesting request lol.

They certainly are 😍 Thanks for the comment!

That's awesome to know I'm not the only one LOL. I think the bank sensor on the inside probably sticks. Glad this helped!

Thanks!

Thanks!

The term "garbage" that we used in the video was a bit strong, yes. The 1970's and 1980's OMC engines are built like tanks. I have two 1974 Loop Charged 50's on my 1960 Alumacraft that are great engines. They've run year after year with little maintance since my great grandfather purchased them new and have hit so many rocks and logs over the years everyone has lost count. (Would I rather listed to a 1957 Evinrude Lark or a 1957 Mercury Mark 55 run - Yes). However - installing a 1980's long shaft Johnson 35 HP engine on a boat this beautiful and modifying the transom to do so is purely criminal. All because someone simply "had it laying around". I think the only thing worse would be installing a new 4 stroke :) We're currently working on fixing this....

Actually, Feathercrafts aren't nearly as fast as they look - at least the ones that I've owned so far. I can only get 40 mph TOPS out of my 15' Vagabond with a Mercury 60HP Six Cylinder on it (twice the HP of what the hull is rated for). And that's with only me in the boat, trim adjusted so the front is very light (not a comfortable ride or ideal setting). In any other case, it's a 35 mph ride. I got about 28 to 30 mph out of my 12' Deluxe Runabout with a 35 HP Evinrude on it (rated for like 18 HP) when I owned that one. They are very light boats, but they aren't really suited for high speed I guess. The 56 Rocket model only weighs 265 lbs according to the brochure, which is about what I'd expect. While the single cockpit looks racier, I believe the '57 Rocket models with the split front seats and rear seat is supposed to be the faster one. This is apparently due to it having a more rigid structure. I also think the Flyer models are supposed to be pretty quick as well. An 85 year old guy who I talked with on the phone some years ago (originally to ask him about re-hubbing direct drive props) claimed that he had a Rocket II model with a KG9 (or KG9H maybe) mounted to it that he could get into the 50's....which now thinking about it, I'm pretty skeptical about lol.

I would agree with the first statement, but not necessarily with the second. While Alumacrafts don't have the racey barrel back look to them, or big fins, there's something about the simple, rugged, utiltarian look that appeals to me (and hopefully others as well). Anymore, I'm as likely to be impressed by a nicely restored or original preserved 1950's Model R with a period correct motor than I am a Feathercraft. Some of the Alumacraft runabouts that still exist as originally configured (such as with the soft top and windshield), like a Queen Merrie for instance, are I think equally as cool. Now the first statement about Feathercrafts, that is correct - the appeal of Feathercraft is ENTIRELY in its appearance. That has been my biggest disapointment in them, is that they don't ride nearly as fast as they look. This is, however, based on the '53 DR and '53 Vagabond that I've owned. I still would like to try a Rocket II or Firefly/Flash as I've heard those are faster hulls to ride in. I pulled my '53 DR with a 2007 Honda Civic SI 2 door :) -Brock

@@retro_grade My characterization of Alumacraft's was too harsh. There is nothing wrong with them. For me, they just don't have the same appeal as Feathercrafts. The Turquoise Starcraft is a beautiful boat. So are Jet Streaks. It is all about the style for me. The fifties were a golden age for cars and boats. They reflect the spirit of the times. I don't care about performance. I'd love to have a fifties car to tow my '55 Vag. but they cost a lot more to buy and maintain. I'm surprised at how cheaply these boats can be bought for. I'm surprised more people don't want one.

Oh, he's quickly approaching stardom for sure 😂

Yeah, they typically do have the grade stamped. I used to run straight 30 weight in my Z50 but then after further thought, it's harder to find straight 30 oil that doesn't have detergents and things in it potetially harmful to wet plate clutch assemblies. And 20 weight? I have zero idea where one would even purchase that at. So, I opt for the Honda GN4 10W40 used in most larger vintage Honda motorcycles, or a similar motorcycle type oil safe for wet plate clutches.

Thanks!

Mainly just by the sound - however, as you saw, I assumed it had a "dead" cylinder (no spark, not firing for some reason). What I found was that it was running REALLY rich due to the mixture screw being out. This either caused it to just run slow enough that it sound like it was on one cylinder. Or, one of them was fouled out / just rich enough that it wasn't firing. If any of this makes sense :)

Sure thing, thanks for commenting!

Thanks! It was a fun ride while I had it, pretty quick. I actually sold it a bit ago after I bought my RX-8.

Thanks! Yamaha makes good stuff as well. While I don't have any of their outboards, I do have a '94 Yamaha FX1 stand up ski (not many of those made). I know I at least have one or two shorts on that one :)

Thanks!

They were simple as well - as big of a black eye as the "dockbusters" got, they had no dog clutch or shifting mechanism in the lower unit to fail. Check out the "50,000 miles by outboard" testing they did on them :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/p5exfWZoqL-prKM

That's interesting, not sure. Maybe the clutch is slipping? Or sounds like something could be stripped. Do you use the compression release lever when peddling?

@@retro_grade Thanks for your reply, Very smart I never tried using the compressor release, I also have a PC50 the engines not on the back wheel , has a compress release but it doesn't matter if you use the compress release or not to crank IT, IT never strips, There is some type of spring clicker on the back sprocket but I haven't never took it apart and kind of scared to take it apart, You can spin it by hand on the pedal real slow and the engine will spin over , but as soon as you try to put any force pressure to crank IT, IT just strips and and won't catch to spin the engine over, I can't find nothing on KZbin about rebuilding the engine or the rear wheel nowhere, Also like to say I like your videos, Also I ordered the manual and misplaced the manual , There is a free download on the internet, But I still can't understand that either, On the manual it talked about a secondary drive gear , and it had these little spring tensioners 2 of them on each side of each other , and it ratcheted, I believe that's what makes it crank up and then when it's running it free spins and doesn't ratchet anymore, that's probably what's wrong with it, It may not be anytime soon, but when I do fix it , I'll respond just to let you know what it was, thanks again for your time, My son has 1 P50 and 4 PC50s Only 2 of them,

@@retro_grade The little spring tensioners is when you pedal it backwards you can hear them click, its like on 10 speed bicycle , but when you pedal it the other way it should catch to crank the motor up, That's the springs I'm talking about,

Thanks. To each their own. At the time, I think I used it because it was "1950's sounding"....it came from Epidemic Sound from what I recall, which we still use. What music to use in these videos is an ongoing discussion on this channel. And most people don't have an attention span to say on without background music, so we continue paying that subscription fee and lose money to be able to use it 😂

Nah, she looks rough but turns over, which is a start. Bets are she'll still run with not much effort. To make pretty? Yeah a bit more effort. She's a 6 cylinder, direct drive, 75 horsepower "Tower of Power". These early engines were tested for 50,000 continual miles by Carl Kiekhaefer on Lake X. kzbin.info/www/bejne/p5exfWZoqL-prKM I'm not sure Mercury Marine still does this with their newer 4 strokes, but either way I'm impressed these old ones could. And many of them still run today.

Nice! Yeah, had they offered the Ralliart with a manual transmission, it would have sold much better and competed with the WRX as Mitsubishi intended it to. Instead, if fell into oblivion and nobody bought them. I wanted to convert this one to manual, but quickly realized it was quite a bit more than I wanted to take on.

Really? Wow - the PO made it sound like those MX pipes offered a big weight savings over the stock one. He kept trying to convince me to find a set of them.

I mean, pretty much bang on it until it works. You're alot better off 😂

No problem! With so many old Feathercrafts getting new 4-stroke engines on them, somebody needs to take a hard line approach. We'll be those guys 😂 Thanks for the comment - is this the Alumacraft Enthusiast and Group Leader Harrison Smith I assume? -Brock

Meh, whatever. Good practice? No. But, it fetched a comment or two to tell me not to do it (mission accomplished here), and the torque wrench still lives 😂

It's a POS for now, sure. Hopefully at some point I'll make it into a nice one. The only thing that will stop me (other than lack of time) is finding a nicely restored MK78 for a reasonable price first. On boat motors, I disagree. I've run plenty of new motors, been on plenty of new boats, and I just don't care. They're boring and huge. And I'll argue yeah, they're nice when they're new - but these newer engines won't be around half as long as the originals were, or be as cheap to maintain over time. Many of these old 50's outboards (and older), once sorted, can run very reliably. And, get me on in front of an old two stroke from the 1950's to 1970's (like the nice MK75 I have featured in several of my videos) and I'm grinning from ear to ear. The visual design, smells, and sounds compared to anything made today is so much better.

@@retro_gradethey are cool, i wont argue with you. They can run ok… but some of those older carbs are just 🙄 the ones when you gotta run rich at startup and lean em out as the engine warms and after a long bumpy ride to camp they’re all outta wack at start up somehow lol my old reliables currently are a 1983 Evinrude 15hp and a 1980 Johnson 6hp, plus I have a old gamefisher 1.2hp from way back. I don’t use anything older than 1980 on the regular… they’re fun to work on and get going, but then they sit in my sheds. My old man runs a 1986 70hp evinrude and a brand new 6hp suzuki 4 stroke. I love that 4 stroke… electric start, reliable as hell, no mix, no smell, nice n quiet! We can actually hear the sound of the forest around us lol now I wanna buy a 15hp but in 4 stroke model… only problem is they are heavy as shit… might have to stick to the 6.

@@wrenchboostboi8994 - one the old ones are dialed in and tuned up right, I've never had any issues with that. Run on half choke for a minute once it starts up, then it's fine the rest of the day. Now, if the packing gland on the tuning screws are loose those can wiggle around and move (easily fixed). Oddly enough, I've seen more engines it seems from the 1970's on with holes in pistons and burned up power heads. I guess when you're running a 50:1 mixture there's less leniency on running slighlty lean versus a 16:1 ratio? Just a guess and something I've (anecdotaly) noticed. Some extended family members have a new Suzuki 15 HP 4 stroke. In addition to being heavy, I thought that it vibrated more than I would expect at high RPM, and also wore my hand out while steering it (constantly wanted to pull right). They let it sit for a year after buying it (mistakingly thinking it's a new motor, it shouldn't need any mantinance, right?).....I pulled it out of the shed to run on the old 14' Starcraft and it wouldn't start up. I called a dealership thinking I was nuts and doing something wrong....no advice offered on their end except bring it in (they'd get it it in a couple of weeks, of course). So I tored into it - ended up, the ethanol fuel was slightly bad and ended up freezing the electronic fuel pump up. I pulled it apart and spent and afternoon cleaning it up and getting it runnning again (they weren't meant to be serviced also btw- a new one was over $300 and not available). While Ethanol gas wreaks havoc on carburetors, the stuff in that motor wasn't as bad as I'd expect. I'm fairly certain a carubretored engine would have fired and burned it out, with as many as I worked on over the years. Either way, I was far from impressed lol.

@@retro_gradeinteresting. Im not surprised the newer engines have their weaknesses. Maybe ill stick with my 80’s 2 strokes

Nice! They were actual P50 four strokes? That's pretty cool, as there don't seem to be a whole lot of these around. I've only seen a couple of them.

YES!!! "Mechanical Music" is the best way to describe running them. All of these motors provide a level of fun, an experience, and a feeling that newer motors simply cannot. You either get it or you don't :)

Agreed

They certainly do! And Feathercrafts were actually manufactured from leftover aircraft grade aluminum as well :)

I guess that's just how stuff was made back then, lol. It is pretty wild. The dark hard grey stuff is typically original. Especially if it's in between the seams (as in very hard to apply after assembly). There was some sealer towards the back on this boat that wasn't original (I don't think that was shown in the video). That's typically white (3m), or the light grey roofing stuff that is sold at Lowe's.

Thanks! It's definitely the most unmolested Feathecraft I've come across which is the reason I purchased it. It's currently not for sale - the title was more a play on Andrew's making fun of "nobody needing one" and a bit misleading, so I changed it up a bit. -Brock

​@retro_grade oh, I can't be havin 2 feathercrafts lol. Saul good, I was kinda joking, kinda not. 😂

@@retro_grade I have a '55 Feathercraft. I sure as hell don't need one. It isn't practical. As Andrew pointed out, it doesn't ride well. It would make more sense to own an Alumacraft. I'd love to have a '55 Thunderbird. Nobody needs one. They don't ride well and they are wildly impractical. I'd be better off with an SUV. I'd still be thrilled to own one.

@@dba12123 and this is why I still have my 1953 Vagabond and refuse to get rid of it (regardless of Andrew's criticisms of me keeping it lol). -Brock

Thanks! I've actually since sold it. Was a very fun car, very underrated for what they are capable of.

Not really sure, it already had a plate on it when we purchased it. You'd have to check with your state and local laws for each individual case.