Former boat mechanic here. I really appreciate the fact that all it needed to run was to burst into flames. The fire fixed the wiring and unstuck the floats.

I've owned about a half a dozen boats with Force motors over the years and as a mechanic I can say that overall they seem fine. They are essentially just carried forward Chrysler outboards and while their design was pretty rudimentary back then these days all old two strokes seem rudimentary. They're generally pretty simple fairly reliable and parts are usually cheap and easy to get.

I lost my dad this past Christmas Eve. Rude, right? Anyway, every one of my childhood summers involved my dad and our Bayliner he was endlessly working on. We could gauge what kind of summer it would be on what the boat was doing 😂 Lots of time stranded on the lake. I’d love to be stranded on a lake with my dad right now, no question. Thank you for letting me hear that boat start up again. I cried 😂

Sorry so long but here’s one of my dad’s jokes. dirty so scroll away if you’re sensitive
He was a big dude with an on and off big belly. He’d tell people he was pregnant with a baby elephant and ask if they wanted to see the trunk.

One more thing - our boat is currently sitting on our property in northwest Michigan. Certainly rotting. I know it’ll be painful. I’ll take pics. Maybe you can come get it for a video. Haha

You don't need a parachute to go sky-diving. You need one to go sky-diving twice.

I really enjoyed the engine fire.

It started right up after the engine fire! I laughed so hard.

So that initial screw on the foot is a big “DO NOT REMOVE” screw for anyone who has these outboards. It goes into the gear linkage I believe. He got lucky but normally if you take it all of the way out you’ll have to take the entire foot apart to line everything back up and it’s quite a pain 😂 use the bottom screw!

Oh my man Mechanic of 46 years and you are awesome. I love watching your videos. I think you’re very skilled. I love everything that you do including a wonderful sense of humour. Please make more videos.

Darn, I was excited to see you restore the boat.

8 grand to fix it, then you'll have a 3 thousand dollar boat!😅

I’ve had this same model boat in my yard for close to 2yrs now and I gave up because I was not willing to dump more morning in it. Not to mention selling shit on FBM can get annoying asf. After watching this, I decided to give it another chance. Thanks for the motivation dawg

This popped up on my feed after watching countless boat fix-ups....I like your approach to things like VGG does with cars and trucks...subscribed ❤

That one is worth fixing. An outboard, so a bad engine can be removed and a better one bolted on. No outdrive issues with the usual I/O setups. And if the floors are rotted, they can be replaced. There arent many cuddy cabins on the market like there are bow riders. So if that's desired, the market is small.

Hi...my name is Frank...folks call me "frank the boat guy".....here in Florida ...if someone left that thing in my yard....I'd pay to have it hauled away....but the video was darned entertaining....thanks 99.

I got an 88 Bayliner Capri with a Force 85 for 450$. Has been bullet proof for years. The outboard vs inboard is a real bonus. I don’t recommend used inboard outdrives.

I used to detail boats, and if you have to start with a shovel, that's bad.

The best question to ask with any project boat is, "Can I get papers on it?"... Because if you can't register it, you can't use it... I don't know what the regs are wherever you are, but here in Louisiana, if you don't have a signed, notarized title, and signed, notarized bill of sale from the registered owner, it's nothing but a parts boat...

Hey love your sense of humour with your projects😂 keep up the great work

I always thought of making an enclosed trailer or mini home using the bottom of a fiberglass boat for the top.
Mark the outline of the boat on plywood base and run 2X4s up for framework for 5he side walls.

I'm alway amazed at the numbers of people who buy boats and can't be bothered to cover them with a tarp, winterize, etc - tons of boats like this in Oregon - same with old trucks.