Help with 1954 Gale Bucc 5 hp

"Hello. I am am new to this si

"Hello. I am am new to this site, and new to owning an old outboard motor. When i was a young man i had an old 5 horse Johnson ca. 1970, but it always ran great and never gave me the slightest problem.

Wish i could say that about my newly acquired Gale 5 hp. It has a very slow fuel leak when running (a drop every few minutes) but if you turn the motor off, and dont shut the gas valve, it pours fuel everywhere.

I also have reason to believe it is only firing on one cylinder.

I am curious if this is a "johnnyrude" motor or not. I am pretty sure i can make a new gasket for the carb and teflon the connections for the fuel line to stop the leaks, but i am worried about the fire.

I understand that i should check out the condensors, and possibly replace them, as well as the points, plugs, and wires. I just don't want to spend alot of money on this motor if it isn't going to be worth it.

The lower end works fine, so i am fairly confident i can make it run but i have no outboard motor experience.

This is what i know about the motor for sure...

it is a Gale Buccaneer model 5D10B

the serial is 439695

it is a single speed, no reverse.
any info would be greatly appreciated. If anyone needs more info about the motor, feel free to ask.

thanks again, and i look forward to hanging out here and learning about this little gem!!!"

"Yes, your Gale was made by OM

"Yes, your Gale was made by OMC. It shares a lot of parts with the Johnson/Evinrudes, but they aren't always the same. 1/2 pint to gallon of fuel. J-6J spark plug (now replaced by J-6C). Plug gap .030 and point gap .020"

"thanks for the help!!

is t

"thanks for the help!!

is there a way to find out the exact year? everywhere i looked just said it was 51 to 54 or something like that. i would really like to narrow it down...

I took it out today for it's maiden voyage (with me anyway).

It surged quite a bit, but with the leaky fuel system, that's not much suprise. I think once i get the bugs worked out, it will compliment my 1961 cherokee very nicely!! Never expected to get a motor older than my boat thats for sure."

"funny story about this outboa

"funny story about this outboard here...


I got it through a trade from c-list. When i got it, the guy informed me it had a small fuel leak, and the spring loaded pull rope thingy would not engage the flywheel.

When he dropped it off, the pull rope was off of the motor and the flywheel was exposed with a nasty toothy looking thing bolted to the top. he said to me "If you can figure out what is wrong with this pull starter, you should have little problems getting it running."

I immediately noticed a "notch" in the side of the flywheel. Upon further investigation, i realized that this notch is to accomodate a knot in a rope, which is then wound by hand around the flywheel and Bob's you Uncle!!!

I grabbed a piece of a stick from the yard and cut a couple of feet from my anchor rope and fashioned a pull rope. two pulls later, the motor was running. (I like it better this way. it is a very old motor, and now it has a very old method of starting. Much more nostalgic (sp?) than the crusty recoil rope in my opinion.
plus you get the sweet slap across the back with the knot after every pull!!!)

So then it hits me, i can enjoy one hobby (woodturning) while helping another hobby (fishing) by making a real pull rope. i made a handle out of slightly figured maple (didn't want it to be too fancy as a prototype and all)
sanded, buffed, drilled, finished, and polished. plus about two feet of 200 Lb. cotton nylon blend rope, knotted and burned.

could be a good idea for those of you that have "show" motors i guess you would call it?? I know a highly figured maple, or some rosewood or something would score more style points than plastic!! i will post a pic here if i can??? or if anyone is interested they can email me and i will email a pic or two..."

"Congrats on getting it up and

"Congrats on getting it up and running!
My two sources for this motor (The Old Outboard Book and an old database) only show this motor as being a 51-54 model as well. Usually there is a s/n range that lets you know the year, but neither of these have it. As for the pull cord handle, cool. I have a couple old stick and string pull cords as well, but obviously not in the same class as what you've made. I don't show my motors, they are for personal enjoyment, but I think that is a great idea. Congrats again."