Water bug

[Tinman]

Hey guys, I just picked up in Old Boat Motor today and I have no idea of what year this thing is. It says water bug on the tank. The serial number is A11170. An old Johnson been in the family since new. It’s had some rough years it looks like but for the most part is all original I think except for the transom clamp. This one looks homemade. Any info would be a great help. Thanks!

[seakaye12]

Interesting Motor!  I just did a search on the “Members Only” Search page and there’s 3 pages of threads listed there using the keyword “Waterbug”.

Mumbles posted a serial/year Chart and I copied it here:

 

 

[stanley]

Your 1924 A model is a unique engine.That model was the first year for stamped and soldered aluminum gas tank,brass drive shaft tube,brass steering rail,only year for the brass tiller tube and several other details that became standard in the A25 model.

[Tinman]

Thanks!

[seakaye12]

Can anyone shed some light as to why that model Johnson was adorned with a name like “Waterbug”???

Seems that all the other early models were just referred to by a simple letter and number…..

[stanley]

As I understand it,Johnson used the name in advertising for at least the first four years of production while they were making only one model,the “A”.In 1925-26 as new models appeared,they started referring to the small opposed twins as “Lightwins” to differentiate them from the P30 “Big Twin and the single cylinder J25.

[Tubs]

The magazine ads people try to sell on eBay mirror
Stanley’s recollections. Sea Horse seems to have first
appeared in 1929. Water Bug was likely Marketing.
The company ( or someone with a lot of pull in the
company) thought it would help sell motors. It
appears it fell out of favor rather quickly. Light Twin
and Light Single had an even a shorter span. Sea Horse
went on to last for decades.
Tubs.

A "Boathouse Repair" is one thats done without having tools or the skills to do it properly.

[Tinman]

Thanks everyone!!

[Author]

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