TOPIC: 1960 Dorsett Sport Lexington w/ Merc700

Hello,
I just registered but I have used this website around the year 2000ish when I purchased my Dorsett. This website was very usefull for me way back then. I like a good old boat story, so I think I'll tell mine before I get to the current project. When I bought the boat, the ignition switch, steering rod end, and windshield hinges were all missing. The story that was told to me was that it lived in a garage most of it's life after the Dad or Grandfather past away. Then one of the sons sold it. I have a feeling there was some kind of quarrel, because I found that the reason it would not run, was that someone had removed an ignition coil low voltage wire and taped it up hidden in the harness. Luckily my dad had a can full of mercury ignition switches that I think my Grandpa had saved from when he worked at Mercury Marine in Fon du Lac. (I can only guess how he got them) I hooked it all back up and it actually ran.

My first time on the water was on lake Shawano in Wisconsin. We made it half way out, and lost power. The fuel pump butterflies broke, and the battery was half dead from trying to restart it. We had to have one person squeezing the primer bulb and another pulling the recoil, plus someone pressing the starter button to get it to run. It would go through the water as fast as you could squeeze the primer bulb. The second time it failed was I think on Mathews lake near Minong. This time the water pump failed and it got a bit warm but survived just fine. I learned from the first fail, and invested in a trolling motor for emergency power and docking. Then the last time it was on the water on lake Poygan/Winneconne, we simply ran out of fuel, and had to troll home till the batteries went flat. As far as we can think and remember, that was 12 years ago...

Since then it unfortunately had some time being stored outside under various tarps that failed. I started a new job that drasticly increased in out of state travel, and I put it in a storage unit for another day. From being outsite the Ride Guide steering cable siezed up, which I managed to rescue before I stored it.

So now I'm bringing it back out and picking up where I left off 12 years ago. I'm hoping everything engine-wize is still anywhere near as good as it used to be. I want to get it fixed up right this time, and have a few items I have questions on.



The biggest problem I always have had is the steering cable/rod end. I can't find any picture of what this remotely looked like. This time though, I'm armed with a 3D printer and 3D designing skills, and plan on prototyping something of my own to make it work. My printer only prints plastic, and I'm just testing fit and function on land with the parts. I will be sending the files off to have it printed in stainless steel, which has 40% bronze infuzed in it.



Some other things Id like is the original fuel tank, and an idea of how the sliding doors worked. If anyone still has some on their dorset sport version I'd love to see a picture. I still have the bow sliding doors, but the rear don't look like it operates the same way.
I'm also wondering if the side rail storage was done by Dorsett or was it custom? I can see the original remote control mounting spot on the hull. I added the aluminum gauge panels myself, all done with out adding holes or modifying the boat.
I'd also like to see a picture of a window hinge. I just have some pins that I bought put in there, but the hole in hull bracket is larger than the holes in the window.
I have probably rambled too much, I'll try to attach a bunch of pictures..

Thanks,

Nate

Hmm well I'm messing up posting pictures, my file sizes are too large to attach..

OK nowwww I have the hang of posting pictures

firepinto,

WELCOME ABOARD!!!

NICE rig, too.

yours, satx

Welcome Nate, and thanks for sharing the history on your project! Looks like it's coming along nicely, keep us posted on your progress.

Hi Nate,
Here is a link arm with the correct adaptor to connect your steering.

Thanks,
Joe
www.fergusonpoolemarine.com
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Hey Joe,
Thanks for the pictures! I guess I have seen those pieces seperately online but never could see that they would sandwhich the rod end I have. My motor connecting rod is a little different and has a threaded end instead of a roll pin hole. There must be a reason they abandoned this design. It sure seems like a lot of important parts held together by one roll pin.

I'm going to continue on my own design that will be printed in stainless steel. I think it will be stronger and safer in the long run. I just have som tweaking on some dimensions to do after I get the steering wheel centered. Then I'll be sending it off to be printed.

Nate

Hi Nate,
The change to threading the end and adding a lock nut is due to the cost savings. The bronze coupler nut and the labor to press-in the roll pin at the factory are more costly than threading and including a nut in the carton. It was once deemed important to allow for relatively quick installation and removal of outboards from the boat (the coupler nut does not require a specific sized wrench or socket, and requires but a quarter turn to disconnect) to allow the outboard to be stored indoors separate from the boat. The factory design also places the end of the link arm immediately adjacent to the end of the steering cable (you have a small amount of spacing), which minimizes the bending forces applied to the end of the steering cable (as opposed to greater spacing).

Regards,
Joe
www.fergusonpoolemarine.com
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

My parts to redo the Navigation lighting all came the same day. This is the rear white light in the photos. I'll have to pop off the rubber cover and fold it around the wire some how to get the post in the mount, but I think it should work well.





I decided to spend extra and go with LED bulbs. I had put an incandecent bulb in at one time that melted the globe some. Hoping the LEDs run much cooler.






The part numbers on the boxes are what I ordered for this project. The 2 prong plugs are very close to the same as the old ones, but are now polarized. I think if my old metal cap wasnt bent and rusted, it would of screwed on to the new plug.

Nate

LED will save you a ton on battery life.

So my mind is getting a bit rusty. Looks like I bought the boat in 1999.



I'm getting closer to putting some fire in the Merc's lungs. I found some of my old notes for fuel mixture. I was running 6 oz oil per 1 gallon gas. I had what was left of the original 1960 Merc 700 manual way back then that I pulled the fuel mixture from. I remember it required "white gas".

This looks like about a 21:1 fuel mixture. Is this correct for these old merc's? Should I be running a lead substitute? Octane booster? Any advice on extra mixes for a motor that hasn't run in 12 years is apreciated.

I wish I could find that old manual, I scanned all the pages back in the day too. Will have to find that.

Made a short clip of the electric choke in operation. Never did work.. boy is this gonna be nice!

Nice ride for sure, if you need parts let me know mite have what you need was going to redo one but sold it instead. good luck safr boating

Well she still runs! I may need to replace the water pump impeller. I barely got any water out of the pee hole on the side. I replaced it over 10 years ago, but im sure thats not saying much. The hole did have some "mud bug" stuff in it. Maybe I should try running in a water barrel with no prop instead.

It did run cool through the entire test runs...

I see no aftermarket companies took up making any reproductions of the water impeller for these old motors. Only option is NOS pieces at $50 and up. It seems like time is ticking away for this motor before it just becomes a wall hanger. How long will a new old stock rubber part even last?

Ugh

This guy sells impellers he has re-cast onto the factory bronze-bushing insert:

home.earthlink.net/~flyingscott/

Pretty good deal at $27.

HTH.......ed

Wow, thanks Ed! I just might try one of those. I'm a little leary about the NOS impellers. I put a NOS impeller in it 14 years ago. Sure a different one isn't all bent up in those 14 years, but it's still possibly just as old. Rubber is rubber, it all ages.

I'll pull out the old one and see if it really is a problem.

Nate,
You really don't want to push impeller more than about 2 years, running a lot or not just because it will keep that bent shape and fail. Especially when you don't want it too! What can happen a lot of times is it holds the shape so when at full speed it actually bends more and won't push as much water, which could be what happened in your case. You won't know until you pull it apart.

Bob

Yeah I suppose, especially since this one has to spin backwards and flips the fins quite alot. At 2 years per engine, those NOS parts must be almost gone. Hopefully the recast impellers stay available for awhile.

It would be interesting to know what newer more available impeller would at least fit the shaft, and be ruffly the same shape. Now days it wouldn't take much to redesign housings and make them with 3D printing and aluminum casting.

I guess I'll have to tell my Dad to just order an impeller for his 1972 Chysler 40 horse he just bought. The story was the impeller was new back in 1988, and never run.

I wonder if the impeller is removed and stored in a sealed bag for long periods of time would it still be good?

I wonder if the impeller is removed and stored in a sealed bag for long periods of time would it still be good?

I was once told by a brake parts supplier that they would not take back any product over 10 yrs old, because that was the shelf life of the rubber in their parts. They were packaged in boxes, and inside sealed plastic bags as well, so I don't think that would help?

It wouldn't hurt to get two when you make the purchase though Nate, availability probably isn't going to get any easier.

Well,
I got the new impeller, gaskets, and rubber valves installed in the Merc. It still fires up just like before, but still no stream from the little hole.

I'm running it with no prop and in a garbage can full of water. The engine is running nice and cold to the touch and there is warm water spray from the exhaust port out the back of the motor (above water). I don't even get a slight trickle or any moisture from the little pee hole. I can get a wire up in there an inch and a half or so. There was some of that mud-bug nest stuff built up in that little hole when I pulled it out of storage. They couldn't of got up inside there to cause other damage? Is there any other port I can open up to see that water is flowing?

Ugh I hope I dont have to pull the engine all apart.

Nate

GOOD NEWS!

I got the port unplugged! I sat around thinking and dreading taking the engine apart just to find some stupid bug poo. I was thinking "man I wish I had an air compressor with a tank. Then I remembered I had some large syringe plungers laying around. I figured why not fill it with water and try inject water up in the hole as fast as I could.



I gave it a few loads of water, and I noticed some brownish dirt coming out. I gave it a few more and then I could hear cavities inside the engine filling with water.

I started it up and water streams out great!

That just topped off an already great day.

Nate