Quote Originally Posted by SeaRay View Post
I had a 1984 Johnson 35 engine and it was the sweetest cranking and running engine I have owned. I put a CMC trim and tilt on it mainly because I often needed to lift the motor when fishing in stumpy areas. To my surprise and delight I gained an additional 4-5 MPH by being able to trim out the motor at WOT. You are correct about the gas economy. I have a 40HP 2stroke Yamaha now and it is a great engine but it use about twice the gas the 35 used. The boat is much heavier than the on the 35 was on but it still seems to like the gas pump.
Glad to hear from another 35 OMC owner. I've fixed and rigged 35's for customers, and they always praise these motors. That is what prompted me to try the 35, when I had a sweet 50 HP I was going to use. I'm glad I chose the 35. The 50 is a much heavier motor, and would definitely drink more fuel. This motor feels really balanced on this boat, and I don't have to try to shift weight around as I have on others in the past.

I finally bought some more gas today. I still had about a gallon left. I tend to run four or five miles, fish with the trolling motors, and then run the 4-5 miles back, and it seems that I use about a gallon or so per trip. With my 25 HP, I calculated that I got about 7 MPG. So far, this one is looking the same, or perhaps even a little better, with a little more speed, to boot.

This is turning to be one of my favorite aluminum boats of all time. Not the fastest or prettiest, but comfortable, economical, and very fishable.

-TH