A Sunday Morning Walk

[DalesSpeed]

Decided to go for a walk with the wife and twins on Sunday around the neighborhood and ran into an old customer who had just launched his boat at the lake. His wife was holding on to the dock while he parked the truck and trailer. I thought, what a cool looking boat. Never have I seen one of these before, and never have I had an outboard before. So, I decided to ask a few questions and couldn’t believe that this was a boat that the guy has had since 1971. He was actually taking it out for its last trip as he and his wife decided to sell and he wanted to make sure it still ran okay before anyone bought it. Within an hour I’m taking it for a spin around the lake, and an hour later it’s in my driveway.

The story is pretty cool. The owner had it since 1971; bought it when he and his wife were 19. Has kept it indoors it’s entire life. Had it repainted in the mid 80’s. He mentioned numerous times how he has had this thing longer than anything else including his two kids. He had many stories including one of buying folding chairs for he and his wife’s first apartment living room furniture so that they also had river furniture as well.

The pictures of the boat can describe it better than I. He gave me original paperwork from the late 60s and everything he could find that went along with the boat. As I said, my experience with outboards is zero. It fires up with a little choke, drips gas out of the carbs, runs around 35 as propped, but more than anything looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun on our little lake in the mornings and evenings. Our 270 doesn’t fit on this lake so this seemed like a perfect second boat.

It’s a 1968 Schuster Tahiti with a Merc 1250. Wanted to share this little boat as I am sure others can appreciate and relate to the history and care of this boat.

 

[Riverbound]

Cool story.

 

[RCDave]

@old rigger

 

[scouter]

Wow, what a great time capsule.....

 

[fmo24]

We had that same boat when I was growing up. I don’t know how many hours my dad had pulling myself and my three brothers skiing. Seems like he only got out for lunch and his afternoon nap. Lol. Always have loved those hulls

 

[DWC]

Great find. That looks like a lot of fun. Turns out a walk was a really good idea that morning.

 

[wallnutz]

Decided to go for a walk with the wife and twins on Sunday around the neighborhood and run into an old customer who had just launched his boat at the lake. His wife was holding on to the dock while he parked the truck and trailer. I thought, what a cool looking boat. Never have I seen one of these before, and never have I had an outboard before. So, I decided to ask a few questions and couldn’t believe that this was a boat that the guy has had since 1971. He was actually taking it out for its last trip as he and his wife decided to sell and he wanted to make sure it still ran okay before anyone bought it. Within an hour I’m taking it for a spin around the lake, and an hour later it’s in my driveway.

The story is pretty cool. The owner had it since 1971; bought it when he and his wife were 19. Has kept it indoors it’s entire life. Had it repainted in the mid 80’s. He mentioned numerous times how he has had this thing longer than anything else including his two kids. He had many stories including one of buying folding chairs for he and his wife’s first apartment living room furniture so that they also had river furniture as well.

The pictures of the boat can describe it better than I. He gave me original paperwork from the late 60s and everything he could find that went along with the boat. As I said, my experience with outboards is zero. It fires up with a little choke, drips gas out of the carbs, runs around 35 as propped, but more than anything looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun on our little lake in the mornings and evenings. Our 270 doesn’t fit on this lake so this seemed like a perfect second boat.

It’s a 1968 Schuster Tahiti with a Merc 1250. Wanted to share this little boat as I am sure others can appreciate and relate to the history and care of this boat.
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Truly a clean one owner. Nice find.

 

[sprintcvx]

Great find.. Have fun with it.

 

[AzMandella]

My brother had the same boat . He had gotten it from his father in law that had it since new . His wife grew up in it . He sold it 15yrs ago to get a bigger boat . Take it in and have the motor gone through and play with props . My brothers would run just under 50mph . Same 125 Merc . Was a great little ski boat .

 

[RodnJen]

Really fun boats. Those were all over Parker in the late ‘60’s and early 70’s. That Merc will run strong once you get the mixture right and get to know it a little better.

We had the same motor on a 17 ft. Fantasy hull that my Dad bought in 1969.

 

[Runs2rch]

Nice find! What's the suspension setup on your truck?

 

[WhatExit?]

Beautiful old skool boat. But that trailer will never win over the inmates - it's missing at least 2 axles

 

[DalesSpeed]

Great find.. Have fun with it.

Will do!

 

[ltbaney1]

talk about being in the right place at the right time. great find, enjoy it.

 

[JDKRXW]

Really nice boat.
I'd be thinking about replacing all the fuel and vacuum lines on the tower of power...since you've got a few fuel drips already. My fil had one and it seems like I was always chasing down drips and a vacuum leak can cause big problems.

 

[lbhsbz]

I love the old red stripe mercs...they just look so cool.

A guy we used to go to the river with had that same boat...but with a bit later blue stripe 1150 on it. With a ski prop, it should run right around 40 or so. Cool find.

 

[OLDRAAT]

What a deal, you guys have fun. Those old towers of power are great. They require a little maintenance on the fuel systems now and then.

 

[DalesSpeed]

My brother had the same boat . He had gotten it from his father in law that had it since new . His wife grew up in it . He sold it 15yrs ago to get a bigger boat . Take it in and have the motor gone through and play with props . My brothers would run just under 50mph . Same 125 Merc . Was a great little ski boat .

Nice find! What's the suspension setup on your truck?

Thanks! Icon upper control arms, keys, rear Belltech shackles, Icon 2.5’s in front and 2.0’s in rear.

 

[DalesSpeed]

Beautiful old skool boat. But that trailer will never win over the inmates - it's missing at least 2 axles

That’s the truth. Both of my boats are missing an axle or two in this case.

 

[charlyox]

Sweet boat. That thing is really clean. Nice history too. Congrats.

 

[sirbob]

Love the interior. I like the brown / square quilt / layout etc. the wood steering wheel is classic also!

Nice for a little sunset booze cruise

 

[Havasu Surfer]

Dope. Amazing how things will last when given a good home. Njoy


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[boatdoc55]

Pop the cowling off the engine and check the wiring harness. Those are known to loose their rubber coatings. They are available after market. To much of a squeeze on the bulb will blow the seats open in the float bowels. This is a good time to look for those leaks. Water pump??? Lower unit lube?? Those were around when we had good gas and I would burn the best you can find with Quicksilver oil at 50 to 1. Any questions just ask, I worked on 1000's of those inline 6's, as a matter of fact I own one right now of the 115 version.

 

[stephenkatsea]

Our very first boat was a Tahiti made by Schuster Boats of Bellflower CA. Just a great boat, 140 HP Mercruiser 4 cyl IO, ran all day on 12 Gal of fuel.

 

[RiverDave]

Very cool story and great find! I am sure the guy is happy it is staying in the neighborhood.

I have considered going and getting an old sea swirl or something and restoring one just to have a fun little cruiser boat

 

[DalesSpeed]

Pop the cowling off the engine and check the wiring harness. Those are known to loose their rubber coatings. They are available after market. To much of a squeeze on the bulb will blow the seats open in the float bowels. This is a good time to look for those leaks. Water pump??? Lower unit lube?? Those were around when we had good gas and I would burn the best you can find with Quicksilver oil at 50 to 1. Any questions just ask, I worked on 1000's of those inline 6's, as a matter of fact I own one right now of the 115 version.

Thanks for the info! First thing he had to do was grab a new harness for the exact reason mentioned. He found a good used one. He also threw an impeller in it at the same time. He mentioned 50:1 and that he would do just over 16 oz for each 6 gallon tank. Seemed pretty close based upon some simple math.

If I do over squeeze the bulb, will the seats open and drip fuel out of the bowl and straight down the engine. / carbs? The top carb drips the most.

Any suggestions on where to commonly source parts?

 

[Sherpa]

My parents bought our Tahiti boat from the LA Boat show... probably mid 60's... Ours was gold metalflake with black stripes, and a black tuck-n-roll interior.
Mom made terrycloth seat covers since black in the sun would literally about kill you.......
Dad didn't like the way the boat handled when loaded trying to pull up a skier, so he had a bow mounted tank installed... worked great. ours had a Merc 95 on it.
Our whole family learned to ski behind the boat. Ours also had an over-the engine ski tow on it which worked great, and was much better than using a bridle.

good times.......... The boat was sold in the summer of 1980 as we had pretty much all outgrown it, and between my 2 older sisters, and myself, I had just turned 18,
it was time to go.........

we boated all over California with it, but primarily our summer vacation was 2 weeks at Shasta in August at Sugarloaf... (there used to be camping there, before
everyone was only into houseboating.)


that boat was awesome.

--Sherpa

 

[stephenkatsea]

Our Tahiti was also gold metal flake. With black tuck and roll. You're absolutely correct, that black vinyl was brutal. Our 6&9 year old daughters learned real quick about using wet towels etc. My older brother never did catch on. You could hear him screaming and cussing from the other side of Lakes Mead and Mohave every time he'd sit down on that blazing hot black vinyl.

 

[boatdoc55]

Thanks for the info! First thing he had to do was grab a new harness for the exact reason mentioned. He found a good used one. He also threw an impeller in it at the same time. He mentioned 50:1 and that he would do just over 16 oz for each 6 gallon tank. Seemed pretty close based upon some simple math.

If I do over squeeze the bulb, will the seats open and drip fuel out of the bowl and straight down the engine. / carbs? The top carb drips the most.

Any suggestions on where to commonly source parts?

The carbs are going to make a mess back there anyways when you tilt the engine up to trailer. Leave the cowl off, put some water to it and see if that top carb leaks while running. If it drips out the air intake side the float level is just a midgeon to high, common mistake. Better a midgeon low than high.

You can get all the common service parts online from anybody. Don't be afraid to look at ebay to source then also. Sierra marine parts are good parts and many times the same part that comes in Mercury wrapping. Tons of engine parts lists online also.

If not there already put a spin-on water seperator on the boat somewhere back there wherever you have room unless you like rebuilding carbs every year from the shit they call gas now days.

All the service work is very easy to do but intimidating to the new comer. It will save lots of money to do it yourself. If you don't have them, 1/4 speed handle and wobble sockets are going to be your best friends while doing your own work. I didn't have them when I started at the outboard shop but had them the next snap-on day.

Good luck and have fun

OH and one last thing. If you start snooping around under the cowl and take the dizzy cap down, don't think those wires pull out just like automotive, they're screwed in. Also, don't try to take the rotor off to clean it, it's part of the shaft and you REALLY don't want to get into that, MONEY wise and labor wise.

 

[DalesSpeed]

The carbs are going to make a mess back there anyways when you tilt the engine up to trailer. Leave the cowl off, put some water to it and see if that top carb leaks while running. If it drips out the air intake side the float level is just a midgeon to high, common mistake. Better a midgeon low than high.

You can get all the common service parts online from anybody. Don't be afraid to look at ebay to source then also. Sierra marine parts are good parts and many times the same part that comes in Mercury wrapping. Tons of engine parts lists online also.

If not there already put a spin-on water seperator on the boat somewhere back there wherever you have room unless you like rebuilding carbs every year from the shit they call gas now days.

All the service work is very easy to do but intimidating to the new comer. It will save lots of money to do it yourself. If you don't have them, 1/4 speed handle and wobble sockets are going to be your best friends while doing your own work. I didn't have them when I started at the outboard shop but had them the next snap-on day.

Good luck and have fun

OH and one last thing. If you start snooping around under the cowl and take the dizzy cap down, don't think those wires pull out just like automotive, they're screwed in. Also, don't try to take the rotor off to clean it, it's part of the shaft and you REALLY don't want to get into that, MONEY wise and labor wise.

Thank you again for the insight and help. Looks like I’ll keep my hands off the distributor!
Took it out yesterday and the carbs didn’t leak nearly as bad. I would have to say it was probably over primed as you mentioned when they were dripping badly. We cruised around the lake for a few hours and it ran nice.

It is time to find a prop though. Does a 13 x 19 3 blade seem about right for this thing? The prop on there is in pretty bad shape. It says it’s a 13 x 19. I was cruising just under 30 around 4200 rpm. What RPM should this engine turn? It will rpm past 5,000 but I’m not sure where it should run.

 

[boatdoc55]

Thank you again for the insight and help. Looks like I’ll keep my hands off the distributor!
Took it out yesterday and the carbs didn’t leak nearly as bad. I would have to say it was probably over primed as you mentioned when they were dripping badly. We cruised around the lake for a few hours and it ran nice.

It is time to find a prop though. Does a 13 x 19 3 blade seem about right for this thing? The prop on there is in pretty bad shape. It says it’s a 13 x 19. I was cruising just under 30 around 4200 rpm. What RPM should this engine turn? It will rpm past 5,000 but I’m not sure where it should run.

Couple of things before we get to props. Take the cowl off and put the engine at FULL throttle, engine NOT running. Go back to the engine and make sure you can't open the cabs up anymore. There's an arm on the top carb, make sure it is opening ALL the way and long verticle arm is not against the throttle stop. The carb butterflys should all be open all the way, those are the brass plates in the throat of the carbs. They should be straight forward and back. If not you need some adjusting done.

Are you sure the tach is right to a degree. Is it idleing at 800 to 1000.

That engine in my eyes should be propped at 5500-5600. I've ran tower of power's at well over 6ooo on the dyno and never had one go to shit. Take it back out after checking for wide open throttle and give it hell, wide open throttle and report back.How bad is the prop, are we talking a nick or two or really screwed up. To start propping we need to know where were at.

Remember GOOD gas and good oil or you'll detonate her to death. That's not an nowadays 87 octane engine.

 

[DalesSpeed]

Couple of things before we get to props. Take the cowl off and put the engine at FULL throttle, engine NOT running. Go back to the engine and make sure you can't open the cabs up anymore. There's an arm on the top carb, make sure it is opening ALL the way and long verticle arm is not against the throttle stop. The carb butterflys should all be open all the way, those are the brass plates in the throat of the carbs. They should be straight forward and back. If not you need some adjusting done.

Are you sure the tach is right to a degree. Is it idleing at 800 to 1000.

That engine in my eyes should be propped at 5500-5600. I've ran tower of power's at well over 6ooo on the dyno and never had one go to shit. Take it back out after checking for wide open throttle and give it hell, wide open throttle and report back.How bad is the prop, are we talking a nick or two or really screwed up. To start propping we need to know where were at.

Remember GOOD gas and good oil or you'll detonate her to death. That's not an nowadays 87 octane engine.

I will take a look tomorrow and run it again before I do anything. Not knowing these motors, I wasn’t sure if 5 grand was max rpm or 6 or where it should be. It idles in gear in the water right around 800. The aluminum prop looks like it has been run through the sand many times and has hit a thing or two. Nothing terrible, but not great either.

Just to clarify, 4200 rpm was not full throttle. I was just cruising with plenty more to go.

 

[76sanger]

What a "BEAUTIFUL" little girl!

 

[old rigger]

Decided to go for a walk with the wife and twins on Sunday around the neighborhood and ran into an old customer who had just launched his boat at the lake. His wife was holding on to the dock while he parked the truck and trailer. I thought, what a cool looking boat. Never have I seen one of these before, and never have I had an outboard before. So, I decided to ask a few questions and couldn’t believe that this was a boat that the guy has had since 1971. He was actually taking it out for its last trip as he and his wife decided to sell and he wanted to make sure it still ran okay before anyone bought it. Within an hour I’m taking it for a spin around the lake, and an hour later it’s in my driveway.

The story is pretty cool. The owner had it since 1971; bought it when he and his wife were 19. Has kept it indoors it’s entire life. Had it repainted in the mid 80’s. He mentioned numerous times how he has had this thing longer than anything else including his two kids. He had many stories including one of buying folding chairs for he and his wife’s first apartment living room furniture so that they also had river furniture as well.

The pictures of the boat can describe it better than I. He gave me original paperwork from the late 60s and everything he could find that went along with the boat. As I said, my experience with outboards is zero. It fires up with a little choke, drips gas out of the carbs, runs around 35 as propped, but more than anything looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun on our little lake in the mornings and evenings. Our 270 doesn’t fit on this lake so this seemed like a perfect second boat.

It’s a 1968 Schuster Tahiti with a Merc 1250. Wanted to share this little boat as I am sure others can appreciate and relate to the history and care of this boat.
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Not sure how I missed this before this but just got a message from a friend telling me about the thread.

Nice old Tahiti!

If I can ask you a favor, would it be possible to get a nice scan of the Tahiti brochure/flyer and a clear pic of the ID plate? Would love to see if dad rigged it.

Just for fun, here's a Boathouse bulletin on the Tahiti 16 from July '66. 55 mph was pretty impressive with a 110 Tower of Power.

The 16 Tahiti came out the year before.

 

[DalesSpeed]

Not sure how I missed this before this but just got a message from a friend telling me about the thread.

Nice old Tahiti!

If I can ask you a favor, would it be possible to get a nice scan of the Tahiti brochure/flyer and a clear pic of the ID plate? Would love to see if dad rigged it.

Just for fun, here's a Boathouse bulletin on the Tahiti 16 from July '66. 55 mph was pretty impressive with a 110 Tower of Power.

The 16 Tahiti came out the year before.

View attachment 877963

Thank you @old rigger!

I will scan the flyer tomorrow and take a photo for you as well.

 

[AZmike]

That was my mom and dad's first boat as well. When I was a newborn they would stuff my underneath the dash in a car seat and cruise around Lake Elsinore. That was in 1977 when Elsinore was suitable to boat in!

 

[DalesSpeed]

Not sure how I missed this before this but just got a message from a friend telling me about the thread.

Nice old Tahiti!

If I can ask you a favor, would it be possible to get a nice scan of the Tahiti brochure/flyer and a clear pic of the ID plate? Would love to see if dad rigged it.

Just for fun, here's a Boathouse bulletin on the Tahiti 16 from July '66. 55 mph was pretty impressive with a 110 Tower of Power.

The 16 Tahiti came out the year before.

View attachment 877963

 

[old rigger]

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Thank you very much!!

No info in the ID plate so my guess is that it was rigged by the dealer who was a Mercury Dealer.