Chris Chamberlain's Wetback

[Ron Hill]

Chris e-mailed me about a boat he was building. I told him to come to Long Beach to the races August 2-3, 2008. While I was at the races I borrowed Loud and Prouds gas powered golf cart to test drive...I managed to get up to the officials stand, and when I was turning around Paul Gritchar said he needed a ride...When he didn't get on, I asked him why??? He said, "You'll never back this thing up." I said, "Get your *** in and watch me..."

Well, I backed it up OK, and almost ran over this guy walking...

(Wasn't that close, the guy said he was going to hitch a ride with me.....).. Anyway, I tell this guy, get on and off we go...The guy asks, Gritch, "Hey do you know Ron Hill?" Gritch says, "What do you want him for?" He say, "Ron told me he'd get me in free and I need to find him..." I turn and tell him I'm Ron Hill......This guy ain't sure.

Anyway, this guy, Chris Chamberlain, hangs with Hill Racing and we talk about his boat...

Well, yesterday he brings his boat by. A Hal Kelly, Wetback (Which I'm sure is not a politically correct name...by Clark Craft. Chris his done a great job. He's made a steering bar, a shifter, and a throttle hook up....

It ain't going to go 80 MPH, but I will help him with a prop.....

The Wentz, Bowdens, Stokers, Hills, Boyes, Jimbo McConnell....to name a few started with a small boat.......

Chris has a cool windshield that he didn't have on it...but maybe he'll post more pictures...

This Yamaha says 28, but I think it is either a 25 or 30. Anyone know for sure?

Welcome to BRF, Chris, I see you are our newest member...

[JohnsonM50]

Nice Wetback Chris, is it a B? One of my pals built a B with a Clarkcraft kit, I got kinda involved in it too. I see you went to a safety throttle right away. He used a Merc fishing one at 1st. We started with my 58' 18 Seahorse, man was it under-powered. :rolleyes: Then he got a Yamaha built Mariner 25 [alot like yours] & more like it. ;) It was doin 38, then we adapted a prop I got from Ron and gps-ed 44+ 1st try. :cool:
Back then the plan Clarkcraft sent was a copy of Hals plan that stated the boat should weigh I think 115. Now the online ad states the kit will weigh 175. Reeves's is 178. He now has a 31.8ci OMC on thats trimmed down to 86 and has the same prop from Ron. It can reach 50 but the Rs are high to do it :D
Heres a look at it with the Mariner & 2 blade 13 1/2 p prop.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d151/mes355/450.jpg

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

That is one nice Wetback hydro you have there. I bought one used and ran a Mercury 55H on it a few times and sold it to another person who did same but only raced it once in the 1970s and some years later sold it again. The it disappeared. Currently since re-appearing, the boat has again been restored and is running a short shaft Merc Mark 58 with a tall propellor putting it somewhere in the 50+ mile per hour range been run at his lake. The hydro seems to want last for ever. Yours will do the same. Enjoy! :)

[Healey75]

Hi Guys, have recently discovered the forum...some advice please, I have recently got hold of a Merc MK40H (here in the UK they are like dragons eggs to find!), for the last 6 years or so I have been running a restored Hally Kelly Jinx B Utility for fun in classic events that was built here in UK in '61. I want to stay with Hal's designs and have a set of original plans for the Wetback...as a 'hydro virgin' here's the questions...
1) With the Merc MK40H will the Wetback have to be built as Class D, about 12'6'' loa? the plans show a scale up for this
2) the Merc is around 16'' transom height, I can adapt the build to suit...will the rig be any good!...?
3) Any idea how it will perform?
I don't want to build something that has inherent problems and never get it working. I am to old to start again!

Advice/comments please...mad or what...?

[Mark75H]

A 40H is a rare beast anywhere! Definitely scale up the Wetback ... maybe even more than the plans call for, the 4 cylinder Merc has plenty of power. I think you should easily see speed in the high 50's ... and an exciting ride

You probably want the transom on the boat to be 14 inches ... you can shim it higher if it works; at 14 you will still be running much of the prop out of the water (at 16 you would have more than half the prop out of the water)

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

Finding a Merc 40H in UK was a real scoop! :) My favourite sport here is finding British Anzani parts over here in Canada and USA.

I built and ran a Wetback D with a 40H for a short while in the early 1970s. I used aircraft grade Birch plywood, which is a bit heavy. It is better built with marine mahogany plywood. It should be built as a D and no larger. I used a left sponson fin instead of a center bottom placed fin. It ran in the 60 mile per hour range with a 2 blade stainless Kamic eared hydro prop with the propshaft 1.5 inches below the bottom of the boat. Sam is correct about the 14 inch transom height. Shimming the prop height will give you best performance. I loved the engine and had 2 at the time, one for a hydro and one on a runabout. This same boat turned up with a Merc 55H on it I bought and re-sold years later in the early 1980s.

In the late 1990s the boat re-surfaced in dreadful condition without the engine or hardware so I gave it to a friends son who has rebuilt it and runs a Mercury Mark 58 ski/fish engine on it and has a great time. The Merc 55H engine turned up again in 2005 has been restored and is now on display occassionally at the marine museum in Kenora, Ontario.

Good luck, good building and enjoy! :)

[Healey75]

Hi Guys, thanks for replying now I know that the rig will actually work :) I shall be going for it as soon as I can get the other projects out of the way, but still showing my innocence here I am afraid...I am completely thrown by the 14'' transom comment, I have just measured the MK40H leg, from the top of the transom to the 'cavitation plate it is 16'' so a 14'' transom would lift the prop nearly 2'' out of the water or have I lost the plot....? or are you thinking of a ultra short leg? Lastly for the moment anyway! Re the scale up on Hal's plans, he says the D is 20% bigger than the B/C in the text, however measuring the scales on the drawing it all comes out very close to 25% larger for the D, giving a loa of 12ft - 3 1/2 inches, which makes the B/C 20% smaller (at 9ft - 10 inches) is 12ft -3 1/2 inches therefore the correct length for the D?
Thanks again, I look forward to your comments...Steve

PS re 'Anzani, there's an old single fishing engine laying around here in a store nearby, any interest? don't know how you would get back mind...S

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

At one time in those early days of Merc 4 cylinder engines like KF9, KG9, 40H where there was a longer "Q" type tower and later there was the "H" type tower where both the Q and the H were racing towers both and they interchanged with all those above mentioned Mercs but also their lower units had the different drive shaft lengths to go with the longer Q or shorter H type towers. A "Q" tower requires a taller transom which would be around 16 inches where the "H" tower would require a 14 inch type transom. In either case the whole idea is that the propshaft with prop should be about 1 inch and a bit below the bottom of the boat running a 2 blade prop of the period be it a Kamic eared or Oakland-Johnson type prop. There were also Super Oakland-Johnson props around then too that were quite respectable running. If the tower is an H or a Q is going to determine your transom building height.

Wetback hydros were named so for a reason. They would float under speed on the water quite nicely but given a burst of wind they could and did blow over real easy and really fast hence the name "Wetback". They were always the source of conversation in terms of accidents with them so many builders if they like Hal Kelly plans built "Ben Hurs" which ran good in their days as well as some super sized Hal Kelly's Jupiter which some say is still a Ben Hur??? others don't agree! If Ben Hur plans are available to you it is an easy to build cabover hydro more stable than the wetback and many a 40H was run on a Ben Hur really well. But if its Wetback then do the Wetback.

There is a reader her from UK by the handle of "Twister" who also restores Anzani engines of various kinds. He will see this but I will drop him a email and he can contact you about it. Over here there was a vibrant class A and B Anzani Alky racing group in the late 1950s and 1960s where finally by 1970 they exceeded 100 miles per hour really twisting peoples necks. Quite an accomplishment for a brand of engine that started in a big way the whole loop charged 2 stroke revolution and they started it all with cast iron block! :)

[Mark75H]

From the cavitation plate to the clamps is 11" on a 40H, KG9H, 55H and 30H. 4 more inches to the center line of the propshaft on a D.

A 14 inch transom puts the propshaft center line 1" below the boat on an H.


As John says, there is an alternate racing tower and foot that is the same length as the fishing/pleasure unit. It would be the length you are measuring ... but you are interpreting your propshaft placement incorrectly. You would be 2 more inches down with a longer motor, not 2 inches up. I also think John is right, for driving at speed, the enlarged Ben Hur is a better boat. The choice would come down to whether you intend to spend more time driving it or looking at it.

I am thinking you probably have a standard fishing/pleasure Mk40, not an H

Got a picture somewhere?

[Healey75]

Thanks for the info on the towers, Doh..!! and I am supposed to be an engineer, got my up and down about face! I'll set it all up with the centre of the shaft about 1'' below the bottom but will include some packers so I can lower the engine as we test..sorted thank you both.

I have hopefully attached some pictures of the engine, so what have I got hold off? your views please...the tiller is home made and the recoil start looks a bit 'engineered', no rear cowl but on the back above the top spark plug is a Mk55 badge on a little bracket!

I take on board your comments about the Ben Hur, I intend to enjoy the build and then run the boat as much as possible, I know also that I will want to explore the performance as far as I can, I'll chew on this, but I hear what you say... don't want to get my bus pass wet.

Look forward to hearing back, regards Steve

[mac19f]

That engine has had some major modifications. I own 2 Mk40H's and a stock Mk40. Neither the Mk40 nor the MK40H came with a tiller handle. The rewind appears to be cut from the top of a "turtle top" rewind such as a Mk55.
The tower housing appears to be a graft of the lower portion of a D quicky tower and a stock Mk40 tower to lengthen it...OUCH!

BTW: I have reproduction cowling parts for KG9-1 and Mk40 engines.

[Mark75H]

The foot is also modified ... Mk40H style water inlets with Mk55H style skeg.

The whole thing is modified to be used on a much taller/larger boat than you are building

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

The motor is a Mark 40 Merc alright. The height of the tower is a "Q" longer length with some "quiet down" built on provisions. The exhaust is supposed to be water level at the bottom big spout. Some one welded on an addition to put the exhaust right into the below water level stream to quiet the motor even more. To make it more original cut that downward snout off to where it is supposed to be water level to perform better and sound better too. Also where the top spout is, is just supposed to be a very short brass outpipe just to relieve exhaust pressure when the engine starts in the water, the main spout takes over once your off.

Some one lengthened the skeg a bit to make it more 55Hish and that gives it better control on a hydro. Stripping the paint off the prop, with sharpening its edges and polishing it will sure improve its performance though it might not be much of a hydro prop. It could be a silk purse from a sow's ear!

Of the 2 Merc 40Hs I had one on 40H on a "H" short tower with opened exhaust plate on the block and Hubbel reed valves installed and we ran it on a Ben Hur hydro back in the early 1970s and she went real well. Not one spill in her day and she ran in the mid 60s miles per hour and she sounded just Grreeeaaat!!!!! Kinda deafened your left side a bit though and upset some neighbours but she was a racing engine!!! :)

[mac19f]

Definitely not a "Q" tower. Look a the extension of the swivel bracket and the lower swivel pin bushing area. A "Q" tower has the lower swivel bushing in the same place as an "H" tower but is longer between that and the cavitation plate. Looks like this engine has had a new lower swivel bushing boss welded in.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

I took a few looks at Q towers from pics and that one looks kind of a homebuilt version at a Q length it seems. My hats off to the builder and an "A " for effort in trying to do something similar. That takes some imagination, lots of effort and some knowhow. :)

[Healey75]

Thanks for your help and all your comments re the MK40, I was all set to build a rig around the engine but now I don't know what to do with it! I'll bung it in the corner and have a think... I agree the work done to mod it has been carried out to a really high standard and as it stands you can't see it's been done, it all looks as if it's a production job..oh well.

It's a shame :(, since basically it feels a really good engine without any slack or gravelly feel to it, even the gearbox feels up together, the whole thing is cosmetically challenged for sure, but it's just a mongrel, but then you can love a mongrel!

Thanks again, all the best...Steve

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

That Mark 40 Merc motor is mean't to be cleaned up nicely and run on a nice hydro. Its NO mongrel!!! They were the runners of their day and readers around here them. Where they are deficient people find the correct parts over time, restore and run them. There is help out there with possible parts leads to help. Nothing wrong with building the hydro and restoring the engine at the same time and running it, proving out what you are doing.

On some threads here on BRF a reader rebuilt a Merc 40H to a 44 cubic inch displacement, modernized the combustion chambers, with Tillotson KC6 large bore carb upgrades and with all that plus trying to make it look the year it is based on goes 80+ miles per hour and that is just its infancy in coming back. Now that is mixing up the old with the new and you don't have to go that far to have fun and enjoying what your doing. Don't sideline it with too much thought, get on with a Wetback or Ben Hur for her and get at it! :)

[Mark75H]

The altered mid section is a mongrelization, that's why he's down. Maybe you can't see things the way everyone else does.;)

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

KG9 and Mark 40 towers were known to be thin and at times the aluminum brittle. Seen and had so many of these towers crack welded, braced and welded from 3 sides to the extreme and were still proudly used. Comparing to some towers seen that one is a good start to something not bad at all. It depends what your use to. I see a silk purse out of a sow's ear that would dishearten most only to work on it and turn it into that silk purse. I encourage even in the face of adversity. Its percevearance. :)

[Healey75]

Thanks for the encouragement...it worked! :) spent the day thinking on it, and you're right it deserves to be restored and run, I have quickly stripped the paint on the leg to try to find out what I've got...see the picture attached, between the arrows the leg has been cut and extended, you can just make out the welds in the photo, it's been done well. There's no welding that I can detect at the moment lower down, I'll get to with the paint stripper again in daylight, I think it's the casting where its been cleaned up BUT the detailing around the pivot bearing is different to the picture I have of a Mk40H, the bottom pivot bearing on mine is half way down the exhaust outlet (it should be above?) and there is no streamline plate below the pivot. So still a mystery...but it's a MK40H..it says so on the badge! and the serial number checks out, I know it could be a badge from a genuine engine but it will do for me!

I have decided to pull the engine down just enough to see what state the drive shaft is in & how has all it been modified etc, then depending on what we find would look to cut and shut the leg back to an H tower height, if for any reason this can't be done I'll leave it well alone apart from a mechanical overhaul as required and get on with the project.

Hopefully we will have the mods completed by mid December, I'll post something to update you all

Thanks again, regards, Steve

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

That is the spirit! It is a Merc 40H. From what I see in terms of the bare metal on the tower exposed it looks like crack welding was done and ground down. With the cracking I have to contend with on my KG9 and Mark 40H short towers, the ends of the aluminum cracks are so hard to deal with and it takes painstaking metal preparation to get both the inside and the outside of the tower so clean to weld it all heavily as minimum didn't work and re-cracking did occurr.

On the bottom of Lee River around 85 miles north east of here I was prop testing several class D runabout props when the 40H tower broke loosing me a Ron Hill prop and Merc 55H class D longskeg gearcase, never to be found since. Since then when encountering a cracked KG9 or 40H tower not only were the cracks welded but bracework buttress welded to each side from the cavitation plate to the engine side base of the tower but also from the water level exhaust snout to where the brass plug top exhaust outlet is just to be sure it would never come apart again. From time the Mark 40H short towers come up for sale reasonably on Ebay that have had no cracking problems. Good thing to get. I also mounted a Mark 40H on a Merc 55H tower which is much stronger and looks similar so that can be looked at too though it seems they go for a lot more money than a 40H tower does.

You still have the water level downward sloped extension to take off to get closer in look to the original.

Heally 66 - If it seems I am passionate about your 40H, when I was going on 16 years old my first raceboat was an Ogier hydro and Merc KG9, the 40Hs predecessor. Being a underfunded student and then university student I bought what I could afford to go racing so that came to be another KG9 and added a racing runabout and then later newer raceboats and 2 Merc 40Hs and so on, so I appreciate everything your facing and doing and I love to help you out anyway I can. I really cut my teeth on those Merc engines.

By the way, your nick "Heally__" kind of reminds me of Austin Heally like as in bug eyed sprite, 100-4, 100-6 and Austin Heally 3000 convert! I liked my British sports cars too. :)

[Healey75]

John, thanks for your support I'll get in contact as the project progresses no doubt. Your'e right about 'Healey.. BIG fan of Donald Healey, I took 11 years to rebuild a 100-4 from basically a bent scrap pile of parts, finished up with an alloy body and virually full race running gear but it looked standard on the outside...but it was quick! as a result of this hunted for years for and found a Healey Marine boat, a 55 then another and a 75. Combined my love of machinery and boats. We restored the 75, then fitted an MGB engine with all the Healey Marine gear and it ran well, around 30 knots, the next planned stage was to fit a supercharger (didn't happen!)... the boat was too heavy for us on our difficult drive so it was reluctantly sold on and is now in Switzerland. But instead we found and have part restored a Healey Marine Sprite, this will be finished for '09 and be fitted with a Merc 800 short shaft built up from around 4 engines! the Hydro work should start in the winter of '09, I still have to sort an engine problem on the Merc 200 on the Utility, recommision an '32 Austin 7 and keep an SP250 Dart on the road...plus I have a half share in a 1943 WW2 target boat, all 12ft of it! all the best Steve

email....carpenter@maplehurstroad.freeserve.co.uk

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

I was a Briti
sh car fan from the time I became a teen. My parents rented a house to a locally rising lawyer who had an MG-TD that lit my fire so by the time I was 15 I got an 1957 MGA to restore with my uncle's help and guidance it was on the road by the time I was 17. It was raceboats and cars from there on. I got wiped out by a drunk driver the same year I got the MGA on the street but I kept going. I had a whole series of British sports cars through the years as a weekend fun car until it finally ended with a Rover 3500 V-8 with the 3 working hood scoops in the early 1980s. After some near misses driving motorcycles too my wife had a serious discussions about my toys so she (she drove some hydro herself) encouraged me to stick with the raceboats as she saw safety on the water as opposed to concrete and some one else's iron crashing into me on the street. I have had no auto accidents since the time of what happened to my first MGA. In retrospect all those British cars I had would be worth a collectors fortune today. Now I stick to British Anzani and other outboard racing engines and theri boats as the serious hobby. Isn't hindsight great! :)

Back to your hydro and Merc. From the setup I made for myself to handle the Merc engine without having to alter its internal carb and mag throttling and hanging a very simple setup on the exterior where it should be using modified normal hookup parts cables and a dead man's throttle coupled to a lever separate shifter for engine neutral and forward is the easiest, cheapest, simplist and safest way to go. I wish I took some pictures of the on side of the motor hookup but I didn't but I did make it adjustable at side of the motor and once set you could use the setup on any size of Merc 4 cylinder from 30, 40 or 44 cubic inch range short shaft engine. (advice, stay away from Merc/Mariner 2 carb, 49 cubic inch 3 cylinder engines, they were the worst lemons imaginable you can't give away here because of their chronic overheating problems there is no way to rectify).

Why I took out reverse was a matter of safety. With little freeboard at the stern of most hydros putting the engine in reverse could toss water over the transom and even pull the transom down and under given trim conditions and weight distribution in the boat with driver, fuel load and battery for me. Being careful you will not miss reverse anyway. One other thing is that even though my hydro set up this way does mid 50 mph speeds I still wear a approved life jacket and crash helmet as you can count on yourself to take great care but it is usually some other fool in a boat that does it to you. Even here in our wide open spaces of North America there are some real idiots out there who create on water crashes so bad even killing people at times you wonder who licenced them to drive a boat, jetski or car for that matter. Last accident we just had here some fools crashed into a big bridge pier in the dark doing 40 miles per hour on the Red River here and had no lighting.

Drop me a line or email as you progress with your hookups but as I am sure as you study the normal hookups at the engine with the actions of using an old standard throttle hookup you will see just how easy it is to adapt that system easily and cheaply to you adaptation to a dead man's throttle.

If you find it hard to items like a dead mans tethered magento kill switch (uses normally open mode, when tether is pulled goes into closed mode grounding the magneto points to its frame) I can give you website into here to get what you need. The snowmobile industry is full of that aftermarket stuff.

One thing before I log out of this post is that with a hydro and your stock setup the miles to the gallon performance can unbelievably extended. Once your on plane with a decent prop I found on the 3 gallon gas tank I was running you could almost double your mileage once you got the hydro on to plane and figured at what speed you wanted to cruise it. I would carry an extra fuel can with about a gallon just for the safety of having an added reserve to get back to the boat launch area.

I hope I have helped and will continue to do so.

[Healey75]

Wise words duly noted, will keep you posted, all the best, Steve.

[Healey75]

Hi John. Attached a pictute of the Mk40H which is now 'H' height, removed the 5.5 inches that had been added, drive etc shortened as well, ready to overhaul and for cosmetics. Had a look in the transfer ports...it's been ported and gas flowed so it should make a nice motor. Not a silk purse....yet!! but not a pigs ear now...! :) regards Steve (in the UK)

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

That is a lot of nice work on the tower. Because of the top brass spout on top that identifies the tower as pre-Merc 55H. The casting is thinner and cracking prone especially where previously welded, than the thicker cast 55H so buttressing with welded on plate buttresses from just below the block to tower engine bolting with the added buttess plates being welded to the top of the cavitation plate are really required. I have had my fill of KG9 and 40H racing towers cracking and I have lost entire gearcase and prop to a midsection breakoff that had been welded that occurred when I did not add on buttressing on both sides loosing everything below the repair weld. These added buttresses can be made to look very much as part of the racing engine with clean welds and nice grinding and filling. Believe me strengthening the tower with these buttresses on each side are essential.

You are sure well on your way that is for sure. The engine is shaping up nice! And its a Merc modified! lol! :):)

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

The recoil is definitelyoff a later model Merc 4 cylinder cut and pasted to fit the Mark 40 top. Other than the housing the Mark 40 and Mark 55 early recoil systems are virtually the same so that is why the cut and paste is on your Mark 40 and would work. Mark 40s start quite easily with a rope on their recoil start basket sheeve too, so if you went that route to look a bit more Modified and racy that would be okay too.

If your overhauling the engine innards, bearings, new rings, seals etc. there are aftermarket sources for most at way less a cost than OEM stuff that is very hard to get so looking at aftermarket alternatives would be a first consideration. Nice thing about Mark 40s is that you can use later Merc Mk55-Mk55H connecting rods (even a later crankshaft can be fitted with some small flywheel and cogged belt drive) and later model flat top pistons if it does not have them already that would raise the compression a bit more giving some more performance. That Merc emblem parked in there is from the front cowl face plate of a Mark 55.

Not that long ago I saw a 4 tube megaphone Quincy pipe set and filler block for sale quite reasonably that would sure give your engine a nice racing touch but there in UK starting up a race engine on open pipes would sure get you attention that some would like making things exciting as if an F1 open wheel race was going on in town but on the other side they might hustle you off to the local jail house for a stay in solitary in a rubber room too! LOL! There are some double standards there where certain motor sports run racing exhausts and on the other side there are people like us once they hear us they just smack a inked rubber stamp on your forehead with the word "NO"! :)

[Healey75]

Great minds..I was thinking about removing the recoil and going for a rope start, at least then with a guy on the rope onshore I can turn and look out forward and be ready when she goes! Have already found the aftermarket prices are much better than OEM parts for my 80hp engine so will go that route on this one, when we get to it.

Re the noise, we run at Rallies and Classic events where noise is Good!...would really like to get hold of a 4 tube megaphone Quincy pipe set and filler block or something similar, I don't mind a bit of work, can you suggest any sources? Getting it to the UK is not a problem, I can have it shipped to Vermont first, this would make the project fantastic over here, nobody that I know runs anything like that and it would certainly generate some interest and excitement...forehead already been stamped :D

I agree with you on the cracking coming back where the leg is welded, I was thinking that a 1/8 inch thick web welded to each side down the centre from the underside of the block flange down to the cavitatin plate. It would taper down from the top to the full width of the cavitation plate at the bottom, drilled with lightening holes where possible, the inner edge being profiled to fit the leg. It could be scalloped where it butts the leg to reduce the amount of continuous weld but even this would need a lot of welding and the heat/distortion would be a real worry...do you have a picture of a modified block you could let me have? I may be going to far...? I was also looking to add a plate in the curve above the exhaust up towards the brass pipe to bridge the weld...? Having said all that the welds are full depth, the joint edges were chamfered to ensure full penetration which is eveident on the inside....plently to think on! regards Steve.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

Steve:

Your on the right track when it comes to strengthening that tower on the sides and the area from the water level snout and to the brass outlet plug. I wished I took pictures but they would have been the least ones taken. I sure didn't want a picture of what happened to me when one of my 40H towers broke where it was welded, the re-welded and it still ended up parting and loosing the lower unit and prop along with it about 85 miles from here at a place called Lee River. Your going way further in your welding and strengthening, in fact where I should have but didn't and I regret that now and always will.

Your going to need the support welding to hold a set of Quincy pipes (single 4 or coupled duals) and filler blocks due to their weight loading and extra vibration they will cause. The sound oh that sound of a Merc 4 banger roaring off at some event will vie with the attention given to some V-8 Cosworth with racing pipes!!

I think I mentioned that these Quincy type pipes sets, the same ones fit Mark40s, Mark50s and KG9s and have been sold recently on eBay as well privately on North American boards like hydroracernet and BRF here and want adds can be posted for the same exhaust systems. Most sell for $200-$300 complete but have seen some more more (chromed ones) and some for a bit less too. They are steel and welded systems with aluminum filler blocks. If I see some I will post you a link.

You don't need a carb change to use open pipes but you will have to turn out the high speed needle to richen the air/fuel through the carb and cut back timing to .275 inches before top dead center as maximum timing advance setting.

When it comes to spark plugs to use with engine with pipes or without pipes the best would be Champion J4J (earlier) or their equivilent like Champion J4C (late model) of their equivilent in NGK or Bosch etc. They are 3/8th inch thread reach sparkplugs. Mixture oil /gas rated at TCW3 is best at 12 to 1. using regular grade gasoline. Do not let anyone talk to you about lesser contents of oil in the gas mix. Mercs love mixes from 10 to 1, 11 to 1 and 12 to 1. The engine was designed around lower octane regular fuels back then so using top grade or racing gas or aviation gas is not necessary and won't change performance. Champion J6J, J6C or their equivilents in other spark plug makes were used in these engines for cruising applications as opposed to racing applications and will not foul easy being a higher heat range but in racing J4Js or equivilent are best for racing.

Your heading for making one neat engine! Leaving that hack job recoil off and using the rope basket starter up there looks and works perfectly fine. If the flywheel is unaltered in diameter, thickness and weight leaving it that way is fine. If it has been reduced to the diameter of the rope plate it would make for an engine that spins up real quick too though it does not affect the overall sound level if on pipes it all just a lot more sporting! Start a Merc 40H anywhere on pipes at some motor sports event will get you immediate attention to your raceboat rig!

Keep on doing it and post a progress report. Need me to find you something for this engine on this side of the pond email me at - catwerx@hotmail.com

Cheers :)

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

Steve:

If you want to hear the racing exhaust sounds of Mercury 4 bangers with pipes get on to Youtube and type in to search - "d mod hydro" and leading the pack is a single run by unkiemotorhead at a body of water called saltsprings. Your Merc 40H with pipes would sound very very similar to that!! Grinnnnnnnnnn!!

Off shoots from that Youtube search will also tage NBRA D-mod hydros racing as well as Super E s racing and so on. One thing really missing is a good sound and movie clip with a Quincy Flathhead 2, 4 or 6 cylinder with their 2, 4 or 6 open pipe stacks. When I was a teenager Alky Quincy-Mecs Deflector / Crossflows and Quincy Flathead loop engines made their distinct music my DSH powered KG9 would not until the exhausts were opened up. Those sounds are sweet music to a outboard racer's ears!

[Healey75]

Definately got to find a set of megaphones for this project...! :D good thought, thanks for all the advice/info, do please let me have any links or possible sites where you think I should be looking, it's all starting to come together...how did I find time to go to work...regards Steve

[Mark75H]

Pipes for the Mk40/KG9 are extremely rare. A set or two has sold on eBay during the past year or so, but I have not seen them before or since.

Pipes for the newer Mercs are seen much more often and some are still being made.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

Its true that they are not plentiful but they do pop out for sale here and there. There were even filler blocks for sale here on BRF which with them it would not be that hard to build your own 4 tube set given there is a lot of free information around to make them. It was just two years ago I sold my fully chromed set to the owner of a KG9 and have seen some half a dozen pipe sets with and without filler blocks since then to now. What are real rare when it comes to KG9, Mark40H are the newer Quincy coupled elbo pipes for those engines. I might have seen 4 engines with them on ever, so that makes them real rare. Lets help the enthusiast with any leads that pop up. That will bring some real outboard racing noise back to the UK outside of what rolls on tires. :)

[Healey75]

Everyone, please keep your eyes and ears open, hopefully something will turn up from somewhere, I'll post some wanted adverts around as well and keep you posted if we find any, I can make up missing parts and repair damage etc so if you hear of anything please let me know...thanks again Steve.

[Ron Hill]

Chris Chamberlain testing at Elsinore, Thursday 1/27/10.

[Healey75]

Everyone, please keep your eyes and ears open, hopefully something will turn up from somewhere, I'll post some wanted adverts around as well and keep you posted if we find any, I can make up missing parts and repair damage etc so if you hear of anything please let me know...thanks again Steve.

Thanks for the leads etc on these, we now have a set of Quincy stacks here in the UK, work on the engine is moving forward slowly, the mid section is back to H length and reinforced intenally and externaly, hoping to rebuild the engine and wake 'em up by the end of the season.:)

[zul8tr]

This started out as a Wetback tread so here is more on that.

I built Wetback in 1970 per the Kelly plans that I bought from him at a race in 1958 at the Miami Outboard Club (salt water race). Raced it that way (except for a modded cowl and full length traps) from 73 to 77 in 25ssh and did well with Region 5 High Points in 1975 against top racers: Jeff Hutchins, Fred Townson, Bunky Bowerman, Dave Rawson and others. But then got the bug in 1978 for a mod and revised the deck and cowl. Here is a shot after the mod in 25ssh. It was faster with this mod with quicker lift and lighter in the turns definately more fun to drive. Also raced 20ssh with the Y80 starting in 1978, it handled it well with a 32" bottom. It ran in the 63 mph range as a 25ssh and 65 mph range as a 20ss with round ear props from Pinner - 2 blade for the 25 and 3 blade for the yamato Y80.

I went to Hal Kellys home and workshop in Ft Pierce during the 70's and invited him to come to a boat race to see his stuff run. He did get to a Frostproof Fl race and was amazed at the speeds and engine heights that were running compared to his rigs in the mid fifties. He was a really nice guy to chat with and see all the stuff he had at his shop and to discuss boat racing.

I still have the hydro and the engines and props and recently restored it with some additional mods to dash, cowl and cockpit sides.

Here is a twist when I first built it in 1970 I wasn't yet into APBA so I played with what ever engines my Dad had. A 35 hp Evenrude fishing engine. Mounted it and had a blast. Even did water skiing with it.:eek::eek:

[F-12]

That is a great picture. I'm sure it changed personalities after the mods you mentioned. And you also did well mentioning the big guns from FL. All great racers. Stopped by Dave Rawson's house today while I was out and he wasn't home. Busy with what his most recent project is I assume.............

[RogerH]

Here's another one, that goes back about 44 years! Wish I still had this rig. I built this as a "C" per the instructions provided. Nothing but FUN!

[zul8tr]

Here's another one, that goes back about 44 years! Wish I still had this rig. I built this as a "C" per the instructions provided. Nothing but FUN!

Cool. :cool: What were your best top speeds with the 30H? Did you run full traps? Was it a floater?

[zul8tr]

That is a great picture. I'm sure it changed personalities after the mods you mentioned. And you also did well mentioning the big guns from FL. All great racers. Stopped by Dave Rawson's house today while I was out and he wasn't home. Busy with what his most recent project is I assume.............

------------------------------------------

Charley
Would you pass my hello to Dave. I hope he remembers the name Pete Sushinsky. I would like to know what he is up to. Does he have an email address? Maybe he can come to Ocoee this March 12-14?

Thanks
Pete

[JohnsonM50]

------------------------------------------

Would you pass my hello to Dave. I hope he remembers the name Pete Sushinsky. I would like to know what he is up to. Maybe he can come to Ocoee this March 12-14?

Pete, Your Wetback"s AwsomE. My pals got a Clark Craft kit Wetback he assembled but it isnt the same. Its probably not sitka spruce & has fir plywood, when he built it about 12 years ago the Hak Kelly written plan called for it to weigh I think 125#. Reeves beefed his up a little & it has full traps, we weight it last year & its a whopp-n 178# dry w/ hardware. The fir is RUFF compared Okuome or Sapele. I keep joke-n that as soom as he damages it a little we're gonna re-skin it but what the hey..he's happy & not racing. Now if you look at the C.C. website it states 175# as the kit weight so in retrospect they have some kool plans but forget the kits. Ive got a fair amount of wheel time in it, itll do slightly over 50 with an OMC 35 so amongst your average lake boat its speedy. Ill have to show him your pic.:cool:

[zul8tr]

Pete, Your Wetback"s AwsomE. My pals got a Clark Craft kit Wetback he assembled but it isnt the same. Its probably not sitka spruce & has fir plywood, when he built it about 12 years ago the Hak Kelly written plan called for it to weigh I think 125#. Reeves beefed his up a little & it has full traps, we weight it last year & its a whopp-n 178# dry w/ hardware. The fir is RUFF compared Okuome or Sapele. I keep joke-n that as soom as he damages it a little we're gonna re-skin it but what the hey..he's happy & not racing. Now if you look at the C.C. website it states 175# as the kit weight so in retrospect they have some kool plans but forget the kits. Ive got a fair amount of wheel time in it, itll do slightly over 50 with an OMC 35 so amongst your average lake boat its speedy. Ill have to show him your pic.:cool:

----------------------------------------------

Thanks for the response. Back in those days the hydro weighed 125 lbs with hardware and I used to meet the 365 lb min for 25ssh by a pound or two - raced real close to the min at weigh in to get every advantage allowed. Used to frustrate the other racers they would hope I was under:). I still have the hydro and it has been restored to better than when I raced it with some additional mods. If you want latest pics and any specific details for your pal just PM me.

[Healey75]

Reading these last few posts has rekindled my enthusiasm to build a Wetback maybe starting the end of this year, I run for fun a Hal Kelly Jinx Utility built and raced here in the UK in the early '60s (not by me) and the plan is to convert this to run a 14'' nominal hydro transom to take the MK40H or a Yamato 302 for this coming season which should prove to be adequately buttock clenching. Then once the Wetback is built I run either boat with either engine. You guys have loads of experiance over there so question... I have been lucky enough to be given a set of original plans (that came over here from Hall Kelly to Len Melly) ... If I build the wetback as a 'D' according to the plans a 'D' should be 20% bigger which would make around it 11ft 10'' long, this seems huge! Reading your posts I wonder if I need to build a 'D'...its only for fun do you recon I would get away with a 'C' as per the plans with the Mk40H or Yamato...driver weight is around 170lbs...wait to hear.

[Chambo]

I have wetback plans and instructions available,I am the one that this thread started over, pm me if interested, Chris PS biuld the d version,i have one i built about 1 year ago ,these are full size plans !! i am 195lbs and would not whant a smaller boat,

[JohnsonM50]

I agree with Chambo on not wanting smaller. That works as a racer on a closed course but when out for play in general traffic the B Wetback with the low cowl & coaming risks swamping or stuffing. When you encounter a large boat wake it can hit you [or you- it] several times. Keep an eye on weight as you build & the D should be cool even if you run smaller motors than design. Id also advise going with Okuome or Sapele ply. Sapeles slightly heavier & more durable, dont use the Fir that some kits offer, itll weigh alot Good Luck.

[Mark75H]

I agree as well ... it will be a lot smaller when its in the water. 12 ft is not huge for a D boat, 13 could even be good for a D ... and ... for play, BIGGER is much better

In the Pacific Northwest, they race 44ci motors like yours on 14 ft hydros

[Healey75]

Thanks guys... 'D' it is, we run on small lakes with a mix of boats and they can throw a lost of wash about so you make absolute sense, as you say for fun... big is better. I really ppreciate you all taking time to comment. One of the problems over here now is getting decent timber and ply at sensible prices to build it light, some of the so called marine ply is light but has poor stiffnes..all part of the challenge, thanks again. :D

[JohnsonM50]

Thanks guys... 'D' it is, we run on small lakes with a mix of boats and they can throw a lost of wash about so you make absolute sense, as you say for fun... big is better. I really ppreciate you all taking time to comment. One of the problems over here now is getting decent timber and ply at sensible prices to build it light, some of the so called marine ply is light but has poor stiffnes..all part of the challenge, thanks again. :D
We can get very good plywood here in several places. Closest to you would be nearly straight across the pond.. Harbor- www.harborsales.net In Baltimore. Md. Im sure expensive :eek: but free to look. :) Good Luck.:cool:

[zul8tr]

Thanks guys... 'D' it is, we run on small lakes with a mix of boats and they can throw a lost of wash about so you make absolute sense, as you say for fun... big is better. I really ppreciate you all taking time to comment. One of the problems over here now is getting decent timber and ply at sensible prices to build it light, some of the so called marine ply is light but has poor stiffnes..all part of the challenge, thanks again. :D

---------------------------------------------------------------
Just don't use fir plywood because it is too heavy, easy to bend at cross grain that contributes to checking at the stringers and it checks easily at relatively low bending stress unless fiberglassed. Use Okume (lightest and preferred) or Sepele (heavier than Okume and costs more but more durable).

For the solid pieces I have used No1 grade spruce available at lumber yards. It has staight grain and min to no knots and has good strength to weight. Certainly not as good as stika species but that wood is very costly.

[Healey75]

All good points and copied to my project file...thanks again everyone :)

[zul8tr]

Healey75

How is the project coming? Any pics to share?

[Healey75]

Healey75

How is the project coming? Any pics to share?

A lots happened over here for us since this thread started, we now have 3 grandchildren for a start!, so apart from a lot of dreaming no wood actually has been cut, but I hope to get back to it, progress though on the engines, I've lowered the transom on the Jinx to hydro height to suit both Yamato 302 and the Merc 40H. the Yamato has been rigged and we're seeing a top speed of around 50mph and I can confirm it's definitely buttock clenching, had a problem (with the 'nut' holding the wheel) when it hooked a wash a tipped me out but no harm done and lesson learned!

I've been slowly working on the MK40H and if you're interested there's a thread on the CMBA forum Merc MK40H modified http://www.cmba-uk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=280 It runs to 4 or 5 pages. hope to have it running this summer.

Cheers