A New (Old) Motor!

As you may have noticed in the duck hunting posts over the last couple years, HERE and HERE, we have not been using a motor on the duck boat. This was mainly because the old Johnson seen HERE, has not been running at 100%. We have done some work to it, but most likely need to crack the case open and install new rings and just haven't had the time.

A while back my Uncle Lee had mentioned that he had his Uncle Jerry's (my Great-Uncle?) old boat motor. We started asking questions about it and he mentioned he wasn't going to use it for anything. We made arraignments for him to bring it from Mandan, ND to the Twin Cities next time he came into town. He dropped it off on 10/14/10 and just gave it to me! I was very honored and thankful!

The motor is a 1951 Scott-Atwater 5 hp. The model is a 1-16, it has the gas tank located on the top of the motor, and even has reverse. A website Dad found (HERE) claims the 1-16 means this motor will propel a boat 16 mph in ideal conditions. I'm not sure on the logic of that claim!

The motor is in wonderful shape considering it is almost 60 years old! It hardly has a scratch or dent on it! We haven't had a chance to run it yet, but it sounds like it did run when it was put away. The tank is totally dry but clean. We did a quick spark test and one of the cylinders does not have a spark, but I'm not that worried about it, I'm guessing a loose wire is the cause, but I won't know for sure until we get it apart! The neat thing about this motor is that it even came with the original box and warranty card!

I am very honored to have this motor and keep it in the family. I can't wait until we get it going and for it's maiden voyage on the S. S. Dinghy! I think with this motor being a 5 hp and having reverse, it might move to the top of the list when we select a motor for duck hunting!