Hey Lincoln: Great looking boat. The interior is very similar to Daniels twin rig. I knew of a boat with similar Curt Gowdy graphics up in Canada that went on the market a couple years ago. Might still have the pics. It was running a four-blade aluminum with a 350 CID Chevy for footing but the instrument cluster was diffrent than your boat. I would be interested to know if your boat had was converted from a Chevy 258 I-6. I co-owned a 258 I-6 and the engine cowl had a bump out for carb clearance similar to yours. My 1975 HD T-skier has a taller engine cowl but no bump out (see attached pics). Not a big deal. Enjoy and preserve. Kevinb-
To second PJPs remarks: Leaded fuels are not available (except avaition fuel) at the commercial retail gasoline stations. Make sure you are using the appropriate octane and also using a lead substitute additive. Your powerplant will shread those soft valve seats if you don't use the addatives. Opps.... Also For got to mention, the 1975's engine cowl is for a 351 cid mercruiser i/o and the carb is centered on the manifold, unlike the I-6. I'll see if I can dig out the pictures of thr sister boat to yours. Kevinb-
Took a quick look. Attached are the pics of the 77 that went for sale a couple two or three years ago and the email string that we shared back in 2001 (where does the time go). There is a bit of history about the 75 as well. Looks like he had a carb bump out for a 305 cid must have been a universial mold. This is not your boat but the same color and metal flake. If you read the email, this boats interior was redone/updated by Tom Miller. Here is the email exchange associated with the 77 dated back to February 2001.... Hi! Your Dyne is a great boat with a great history. I have included some photos of my '77 dyne which is similar to yours except for the metalflake. My boat was originally equipped with a MerCruiser 898 (305 Chevy with 198 HP), but a marina was careless in the storage and the block was destroyed by freezing. It now has a MerCruiser 260 (350 Chevy with 260HP) and power steering. What a dream to drive. It is used mostly for barefooting, and has performed beautifully for years! I don't want another boat, but I would like a windshield. I understand these are really rare. <<dyne-77.jpg>> <<dynelft.gif>> <<dyneobl.gif>> <<dynergt.gif>> <<dynetop.gif>> Back to your story. I believe the intended original owner was named Ken Tibado (spelling). If this is the person, he was a skier in Cypress Gardens. He was also involved with barefooting, and if I recall, was the first person to perform barefoot beach starts. This would have been in the 50's. He was also a kite flyer. By the way, I took my Dyne to Indiana to have it refurbished about 5 years ago, and Ab Crosby's son-in-law (Tom Miller) was still making the 18' outboard version. He can't use the Hydrodyne name anymore, and was manufacturing them under the name Dynaski. The models were the 1800 & 2000 for 18' and 20' respectively. The 20' version is used by many show teams, and are usually in Wisconsin. The 20' version holds the record for most skiers pulled up (38 I believe). It was a triple 150 HP rig! He (Tom) was nearing retirement at that time, and I haven't spoken to him in about a year now, but his business name was "Fiberglass Products & Boat Repair" in St-Joe, Indiana. Keep the Dyne alive! Mike Strubble Montreal, Quebec More to the story.... My 75 was originally built/ordered by Ken Tibado (well known Cypress gardens footer and kite flyer) but was stolen from the Spenserville, IN plant before it was delivered. The 75 has duel throttle's and a third speedo mounted aft for kite flying so that the spotter could control the flat kite (these preceeded hang gliders and did not have any lift...i.e fell out of the sky like a box of rocks if they were not moving). I had a great conversation with Ab Crosby Jr. 8 years ago and he told me that he recovered the 75 back in the day while at a sales tour through FL.
Wow, that is some great info, history, and pictures. Thank you for sharing! My boat was purchased from Mitchell Hunter. I was told he was an avid barefooter and that he had the boat built for him by Ab Crosby.
My I/O was a V-8 and it had the bump cowl. A lot of them did. 16 initial sounds like a lot to me. I don't know what the total should be but 30 does not seem out of the ball park. That motor is so quiet that you should be able to hear any detonation. I had a manual for that motor and I am still looking for it. This is what I would do: Check the centrifugal advance and see if it is traveling like it should with no binding. Put a dial indicator or a tdc gauge down the spark plug hole and check if the tdc mark on the damper is accurate. They slip sometimes which means the damper should be replaced and your settings are off. (sounds likely) I am pretty sure that I have run lead free gas in a Mercruiser 888 which is the two barrel 302 with no problems. Fuel with ethanol in it is a different story. If you are forced to run that you will need to update the fuel system components to the alcohol rated stuff: Lines Pump Carb Essentially anything that the fuel touches. It will clean out old fuel tanks and the trash will either get caught in the filter/separator or in the jets. Nice boat. jim
WOW! great boat. what kind of hydraulic steering do you have on it? pics maybe? ive tried to add power steering, but the merc. cylinder wont fit. Kevin, how is yours set up?
That is interesting about the inline 6. My father had a 1975 Century boat with a 165 HP OMC inline Chevy 6 cylinder. It ran great, can't say as much for the OMC outdrive, frequent problems, especially with the tilt/trim mechanism. The boat was a 17.5 foot, runabout, with a closed bow. It performed very well. I would think that the inline six would perform just as well or better in a Hydrodyne.
Hi, Does anyone have any family history with the Min-Aqua Bats? There is or was a family who had a very nice home on the lake almost straight south of the Aqua Bowl. Their family name was Pittman and they had a 18' Hydrodyne with a jet drive. Their kids were active members of the Bats. I have heard of flattops being fitted with jet drives, but not another 18 except for that one. Who knows where it ended up. So, how does this tie in to the current thrread? I do not know of the engine the JetDyne had in it, but it did have the bubble cover. I remember it fairly clearly and the fact that the Pittmans were having trouble with it. This boat was possibly from the late 60's or the very early 70's. Please respond if you remember this boat. Thanks, Tim
