TOPIC: 1959 Larson

I'm looking at buying a '59 Larson and restoring it. What would the correct outboard make and hp?
Thanks

buddyear1,

WELCOME ABOARD.

My suggestion is a Johnnyrude BIG TWIN. = TOUGH, SIMPLE TO WORK ON & OVER-ENGINEERED.

yours, satx

There is no correct motor. Whatever was on the market and available in 1959 is appropriate. The biggies were Mercury, Evinrude, Johnson, Gale, Scott, plus there were many other brands.

Boats had ratings for maximum HP. You need to find the capacity plate that lists this or determine the model and look at the old brochures to see if the HP ratings is listed.

Andreas

Congrats on getting a Larson!
Owning 3 Larsons, I have to say I like something in the 70 hp range.
Our 16' All-American was awesome with a 70 horse Johnson (1980 I think with power tilt&trim) Not period-correct, but nice power.
After it blew a cylinder, we put on a 1959 35hp Evinrude Lark Golden Jubilee.
It cruised somewhere in the 20-22 mph range if I remember well. It looked good too in my opinion.

Our T-hawk Sr. has a Homelite 55. Speed wise, not much better than the 35, but better on fuel and allowed us to take it on Lake Tahoe.

The 18' SeaLion still has the original Merc 700 "dock buster" and is great. A Merc 800 would probably give a bit better performance with extra passengers. I like the look of it.

I like the looks of Scott_McCullough, Mercs and Evinrude Starflights, but it's all personal.

Good luck and enjoy your new old boat.
Peggy

I have one just like the one in the photo, and, the open runabout version of it, that I am going to liquidate. There is a 75 HP Evinrude on the Runabout that runs flawlessly. (well, it always has, until I posted that just now)

thompsonboat wrote:

Boats had ratings for maximum HP. You need to find the capacity plate that lists this or determine the model and look at the old brochures to see if the HP ratings is listed.

Andreas

This made me laugh.
The early 50s 14' Falls Flyer was rated for 50 HP. I can't even imagine how unsafe from a weight/swamping aspect a fat 50 on a pre 1958 Falls Flyer would be. (my newer 1979, 2 cylinder 55 HP Evinrude works just fine though)

So what I'm saying is, use common sense eve if there is a rating from back then. Maybe a 1950s Merc would have been fine as a 50 HP.

this might help a little,but also read the top,about differences in boats.john
www.fiberglassics.com/boating-faq-s/how-much-horse-power

I have a 1959 Evinrude :Fat Fifty: on my 1960 Larson All-American

Hey John, I'm still waiting for my bear burgers.