Volvo broken down and "cleaned" up...

Basically, this was/is a learning experience for me. The Volvo, being a single cylinder diesel is a very simple motor for me to work on. I've never done this but the huge simple parts make it very easy to understand and work on.

Like the Johnson outboard, I just scrubbed this thing as clean as I could get it and then broke it down being careful to take lots of pictures as I went along. To my novice eyes, the major components looked to be in serviceable shape and I think I have found the rest of what I may need on line (for the right price). To have someone else do all of this would be easier but expensive and I wouldn't learn anything so it makes sense to me to tool around on this myself.


This thing in its current state could almost be taken apart a little more, dipped and painted the original color before assembly. We'll see how much that costs.

Johnson Light Twin Waterbug....

I started on the Johnson this week. Its a 1925 AB-25 Johnson Light Twin "Waterbug", one of 10,00 made. This one has only been used in the lakes of New Hampshire and they were all initially intended for only fresh water but through a nice stroke of luck this is the salt water version with the bronze lower end. Perfect. I've wanted to learn more about motors and this one is a nice simple two stroke to start on. It only has a few parts (about thirty screws and thirty separate pieces) and after a couples times it only takes about 20 minutes to break it down and put together (with no left over bits). The friend who gave this to me said he was given it when he was about 13 and at the time the motor was already more than twenty years old. When I got it was over 80 years old and a little banged up but looked to have 99% of all its original parts. Buried under layers and layers of grime, (Still looking for a picture of what it looked like before I started cleaning it) there was a perfect little motor with only one small crack on the muffler bracket, a frayed wire and a missing cavataion plate.


This is where I sat for a couple nights this week. Maya has her own camera now and is really getting into this project by taking some of the pictures too. She took this one of me taking the upper end apart.


After soaking everything with a couple cans of oven cleaner and some hard scrubbing, the bits cleaned up a pretty good. They didn't get polished but at least all the grease and grime was gone.


A shot of the pistons on the left and then all assembled on the right. You can also see where the missing plate would go on the lower end. Everything else looked good and all I had to buy was new oil, plugs, some copper tubing to make new fuel lines and I needed new paper gaskets too but couldn't find them so I made some from a paper grocery bag. I did an OK job cleaning it but could easily take it to the next step by having the dents taken out of the fuel tank and muffler, re-chroming the handle, casting a new bronze cavatation plate, buying "new" period ignition cables, polishing the rest and finally buying reproduction AB-25 stickers from that 1925 model.
For now though it looks good enough and as soon as I get the new fuel lines on I'll put it on the dory and take it for a spin with the kid.


While I was doing this, the she had a visitor from next door and they went to work cleaning the dory. We had a recent adventure which ended muddy and the boat still needed a bath. We'll post the pictures from that and other sails, launchings and projects soon.

A helpful starting place for info on this motor:
http://www.yankeeaomci.org/johnsonat85.htm

Another Volvo part 2.....

I've been a little too busy this past week to get a lot done on the boat itself and missed last weekend all together because of sailing, so I'm feeling a little behind on the project. Today was the first real chance I've had to work on the boat, although over the course of the last week, I managed to do some other boat related things such as driving up to Portland to look at another Volvo Motor.

It's a 2001 model, made somewhere around 1990 from what I can tell. Its a 9HP diesel with electric start and a hand crank. Supposedly its in great shape and used for one season. That part seems unrealistic, but the price is right so I'm interested. I went up to see the motor, I had to find the seller's little place at the end of a downtown wharf. The place was kind of run down and made me think of Cannery Row. I half expect to see some kids throwing dice up against one of buildings and guys drinking ripple. The seller drives a 65 Volvo sedan and I showed up with the Volvo wagon so I try to use the Volvo angle a little bit. He tells me the motor actually belongs to a friend of his (who he says is a felon but still a nice guy) who was given a boat. The boat was no good but the motor was. They surgically removed the motor from the boat with a chainsaw and some parts of the boat are still attached...

While I was talking to him, some wooden masts outside caught my eye. He noticed this and asks if I want to see his boat and his old motor. We start down over the edge of the wharf and I see a tired but strong looking Colin Archer, about 35 feet. Once we're down below its obvious this place is his full time home. It reminds me of when I was sleeping in my Volkswagen bus as a kid. He starts cranking on the old diesel flywheel that looks like it hasn't run for 20 years. When its going fast enough he lets it go and it starts right up and runs quiet.

Anyways we make our way back to the Volvo and I tell him I'm still interested. I ask if my friend who works in Portland can check it out for me before I buy it and that's where it stands now.

It would have been nice to restore the 1965 Volvo MD1 and I still may, but probably not by the time I want this boat in the water. It might make more sense to get one that runs, that's " a little newer" and that I can get parts for. Part of me just wants to launch the boat with an outboard on the back and get the MD1 in there when I can. We'll see.

As far as today's work on the boat, I finished glassing in the knees, cabinets and sheer clamp. It feels good to have that part behind me. Today was a beautiful day and I passed up another sail in Booth Bay to stay behind and work on the boat. I've been waiting for a nice enough day to do all that epoxy/glass work with the tarp off of the boat so I could get the ventilation. No sense in killing the braincells that survived a friends going away party last night either. If I can get some time tomorrow, I'll be able to do a little sanding and put some white paint on there. I'll post the pictures from today's work with those ones hopefully tomorrow.

"New" outboard....

Whats better than a 1965 boat in a million pieces that doesn't sail?

A 1925 outboard that hasn't worked since the 80's.

A friend very generously donated to "the cause"** by giving me his old Johnson outboard. He was given the motor when he was approx 13 by a man who was in his 80's. It ran on and off for 20 years and has sat for the last 20 or so unused. Its a beautiful little motor that I'm determined to get going by spring with a little help. By looking at the model number etc it appears to be a 2 HP Model A25, Waterbug. Almost exactly the same as the very first outboard offered by Johnson in 1922.

Year & Model: 1925 Johnson Waterbug/Light Twin
Horsepower: 2 @ 2400 rpm
Cylinders: 2 - opposed twin
Bore: 2" Stroke: 1.5"
Ignition: Johnson Magneto Point
Gap:.020
Cooling: Water by mechanical piston pump.
Weight: 35 lbs.Oil/Gas
Mix: 1/2 pt TCW-3Spark
Plug: Champion C7

The "A" series was Johnson's first outboard going on sale in 1922. Light & portable, built of quality materials and very well mannered, the Johnson A revolutionized outboard motoring in the 1920's. The Johnson "Waterbug or Light Twin" as it was called, developed two horsepower at 2200 RPM, had full pivot reverse and weighed only 35 pounds. Many of its parts were made of aluminum which was new to the marine industry. The motor was introduced at the New York boat show in 1922 with 3429 units sold that year for $140 each. In 1923 around 9000 units were sold.

I put together some various photos of other 1925 Waterbugs...


The 2 HP is a "touch" small for the Cheoy Lee but might be enough to push the old wooden dory as a nice tender.

**"The cause" is quickly becoming a pile of boats and boat parts in the boat shed that Maki keeps insisting is actually a garage.

Another Volvo

I'm taking a crash course in Diesel motors. The classes take place anytime I'm near the motor with a couple of friends and a glass of rum.

Initially, I brought the motor over to the barn, (knowing I need a lot of help with it) but I'm now thinking I'll just bring it back over here to my place and slowly take it apart in the workshop (after the cabinets and berths are built and all varnish work is done).
I have allot of time to work on this thing before the boat gets wet and have plenty of help around when I eventually need it. Until then it'll be nice to be able to work on it whenever I have a free moment rather than having to drive down the road to work on it.

Here's a few shots of the motor over at the barn and links to the workshop and owner's manuals....

Owner's manual link..

http://www.stw.fr/download/docs_moteurs/md1.pdf

Workshop manual link..

http://www.privateer26.org/pdf/Volvo_MD1-D1-MD2-D2.pdf

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What it should look like when cleaned up....

Good news: After looking around in the boat shed (garage) this morning, I found the starter and control arm.