It'll Drop Right In
by John Tobin
by John Tobin
Early on a Saturday morning my son, Doug, and I headed toward Frankfort, with the idea of possibly going as far as Manistee or Ludington to try to locate an engine that was restorable. We found one boat in Frankfort that appeared to be well on its way to collapsing on the cradle but were unable to find anyone who knew who the owner of the boat was. We then ventured on to Elberta, across Betsie Bay, and were unable to find any boats with our type of potential.
We then headed out of Elberta and just as we approached the village limits, Doug nearly fell out of the car pointing out a boat on the next block. The boat did not appear to be in very good shape and had a great deal of grass growing around it. We had to backtrack, but eventually found the access to the lot that contained the boat. We inquired of two boys working in a garage whether they knew the whereabouts of the owner of the boat. They directed us to a house nearby in which the individual purportedly knew the gentleman that owned the boat. After a small amount of fencing with the homeowner, we were able to obtain permission to look at the boat to identify its power.
The boat was sitting high up on a trailer and appeared to be ready to tip over on its side. It was necessary for me to hoist Doug up over the transom to avoid tipping the heap over. He came back and indicated that the engines were not Chris Crafts, and our interest ended there.
As we headed across the vacant lot toward our car, the owner of the house next door came out and stated that if I struck a deal to purchase the engines from the boat owner that the engines could not leave the property without the boat also. It seems that the owner of the boat had stored the boat for the winter approximately nine years ago and had never returned to remove the boat. We told the gentlemen that we were not interested in the power of the boat anyway and thanked him for letting us look at it.
He then volunteered that he had a Hercules engine at his home in Fenton and threw a Hercules model number at us with many letters and numbers with two of the letters being ML. Having caught my attention, he then led us inside his house to show me the operator's manual. The engine was exactly what we were looking for. The man indicated that he would give me the engine, but I was to pay him for transporting the engine up to Elberta, and I could pick it up there.
I was not sure exactly what the condition of the engine would be since the agreed upon price was for transportation only. However, the price was right, and I figured that even if the engine block was not usable, the parts would be worth far more than what I would pay for the transportation.
With the most difficult and costly (I thought) part behind me, I inquired of a number of people concerning the difficulty of removing a Chrysler Crown and replacing it with a CC ML. Everyone said that there would be no problems since the ML's were used to power many 22' Utilities, and the new engine should drop right in.
I talked to Lee Johnson, who runs a mechanical shop in Traverse City, about assisting me in getting the ML engine up to snuff and replacing the Chrysler Crown. Lee found as he worked on the ML engine that it was a real find, although he did make some necessary repairs. With Lee's work complete, the engine was put in mothballs for the winter.
As soon as the snow started to melt, I started bugging Lee for a date to switch the engines. We agreed on a date in late April, and to my dismay, it snowed the night before. Here I was, early in the morning, hauling a varnished boat through snow and other slop into Lee's shop for the engine work. The looks of passing motorists was sheer comedy.
Removing the old engine was no problem at all. But as soon we tried to lower the ML into the boat, we discovered that the carburetor on the ML was situated in such a way that it would be necessary to cut a portion of a stringer out to make room for the carburetor. Next, we found that a portion of the support, for the floorboards had to be cut out also to go around the carburetor. (Also, the water intake had to be replaced to fit the larger piping used on the ML.)
Fortunately for us (we thought) Jerry Roster had a 22' Utility with a ML engine so that we were able to take measurements of the motor mounts and avoid a lot of trial-and error aligning. Lee cut the motor mounts according to his measurements, and lo and behold, the engine did not line up well with the propeller shaft. By the time Lee changed the motor mounts a couple of times, the mounts were approximately the same size as those that were used in the Chrysler Crown. In spite of the ordeal, when we were finished, I was pleased that the engine was properly aligned.
Next, I was informed by Lee that the flange on the transmission did not mesh with the old flange on the propeller shaft. This did not seem to be an insurmountable problem, since I had the propeller shaft flange for the ML. Upon further investigation, we found that the ML flange was made to operate with 1-1/4" propeller shaft and the shaft on my boat was 1". After consulting with my machinist extraordinare, Scott Worden, it was decided that the best solution would be to use a bushing on the 1" shaft on the boat. Scott made a bushing, and the engine was mounted and nearly ready to run!
My next task was to ascertain the correct propeller for the new engine. I was able to locate the proper propeller size and secure a Chris Craft propeller from Perfect Wheel in Lake Ann, Michigan. I was quite surprised to learn that nylon bushings can be purchased for approximately $12.00 which will convert the 1" propeller shaft to the 1-1/4" diameter of the propellers used with the ML
When I attempted to mount the propeller on the shaft, I was shocked to find out that there was negative clearance between the 15" propeller and the boat bottom. How could a "correct" propeller for a ML not fit? What I found when I researched the matter was that the earlier 22' Utilities had shorter struts and were not able to handle a 15" diameter propeller. Apparently, when the production reached serial numbers around 1100, the boats were produced with a longer strut that, according to my measurement, resulted in the shaft being approximately 2" further away from the bottom as it passed through the strut.
I considered whether I wanted to purchase a new strut. This would then require a 1-1/4" propeller shaft which would require a larger hole through the hull for the larger propeller shaft, as well as a hole through the hull with a different angle, and a larger log and stuffing box. After pricing these items, I decided if there was any way to avoid this conversion, I would be far better off financially and emotionally. My next stop was again at Perfect Wheel. The owner informed me that a 15" prop with a 13 pitch was comparable to a 14" diameter prop and a 15 pitch, a 13" diameter with a 17 pitch, or a 12" diameter prop with a 19 pitch. He loaned me a 14" diameter prop and a 13" diameter prop with the idea that I could test both props on the boat and compare their performance so that we could ascertain the best diameter and pitch for that engine on my boat. Incidentally, one of the propellers that he loaned me was a Garwood prop that he said was one of twelve made. I protested quite strongly that I did not want responsibility for a prop that rare, but he talked me out of it, saying he trusted people with wood boats!
I found that even the 13" diameter propeller was too large and came too close to the bottom of the boat - so I concluded that I would have to stick to a 12" diameter propeller with a 19 pitch. I found that a 12x19 propeller is nearly, if not totally, impossible to locate. What I have on the boat now is a 12" diameter propeller with a 17 pitch with a cup. It is my understanding that this is quite close to a 19 pitch, and it is performing well.
After I had the propeller project straightened around, I started on the project of finding an exhaust pipe that would work. The ML engine used a 3-1/2" diameter pipe while the Chrysler Crown used a 2-1/2" diameter pipe. Fortunately, I was able to locate a used exhaust pipe. I originally called Mike Shrieber in Indiana who informed me that he had sold his entire inventory to Chuck Grewe, and Chuck was probably at that very moment on the highway headed home with "tons of hardware." It took approximately a week for Chuck to unload the hardware and categorize it so that he was able to find the exhaust pipe that I needed.
The exhaust pipe was the first thing that fit right in the boat. However, as I was putting the interior of the boat back together, I happened to reach under the gas tank and noticed that the exhaust pipe was very close to the gas tank. My initial vision was of my body approximately 50 feet up in the air with a ball of gasoline flames beneath. After contemplating this prospect for approximately 24 hours, it occurred to me that outboard engines used to have the gas tanks literally wrapped around the engine block. Also, in order for the gas tank in a wood boat to explode from heat, it would be necessary to heat the entire contents of the gas tank to the ignition point. To make doubly sure that it was safe, I asked Jerry Roster and Scott Worden for their opinions. They both indicated that there was virtually no risk in having the exhaust pipe that close to the gasoline tank, especially since the engine cooling water exited through the exhaust pipe and kept the temperature of the exhaust pipe probably at no more than 140 degrees.
With my fear of explosion put to bed, I was able to put the boat in the water and run it with no major problems. However, the tachometer did not work because the rotation of the tach cable on a ML is opposite to the Crown rotation. This was easy to solve - just get a different tach and put it in!
In reflecting on the entire episode, my mind constantly refers to Murphy's Law (ML) - then ultimately back to my initial vision that the new engine would "drop right in" and be running in just a few hours.