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Greetings All,
I have a 12 foot aluminum boat that is rated for a 10 HP max motor.
I do have a 10 hp outboard but bone on bone joints in both wrists
makes it really painful to put the motor on. For years I have been
thinking about various schemes to put in a liquid cooled 4 stroke
inboard. One idea is to use a conventional air cooled flat head motor
that's been modified with a water jacket. I told Harold Vordos about
this idea and he had done it and it worked well. I mean the liquid
cooling conversion. He even had done it with a motor that was very
close to a 7 hp motor that I have and was considering. I have also
thought about using a 125 to 250 cc motorcycle motor. But these are
expensive and rev higher. I have several reasons for wanting to do
this project. Mostly I want a quiet power plant and a liquid cooled
engine inside some sort of housing seems like it would fit the bill. I
want 4 stroke mainly because I'm tired of putting oil in the water. I
also want reverse and am not sure what is the best way, at least for
me. The plan is to use a prop shaft that pierces the bottom of the
boat and a rudder. So the motor would be inboard as would the
reversing gear. Money is tight so don't suggest a Crosley engine. If I
could even find one for sale. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Eric

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Many decades ago, single-cylinder inboards were used for some small fishing
and utility boats here in NJ. Horizontal-shaft motors typically used a
conventional shaft log, packed with tarred rope at the ends and made of two
planks screwed together. Vertical-shaft motors used a through-hull gasket
and a right-angle powerhead that looked like the bottom-end unit of an
outboard. In fact, that's what some of them were. The shaft-log types didn't
have reverse, IIRC, but at least some of the through-hole vertical-shaft
units did.

'Don't know about cooling conversions. Most were air-cooled mower engines
and the like. Exhaust stacks went straight up around five feet. An
underwater exhaust is quieter, but not easy to implement.

Good luck. If you can pick up a cheap or free outboard with a shot motor,
most of your work is done.

--
Ed Huntress