Bilge Blowers

I lift the box before backing off the trailer to make sure the drain plug is in place.

I had to cut the 3 holes in my 64 for the vents also...nervous times...but worked out ok.. I just wanted to make sure they looked era correct when I did do it. ....nobody has ever said they dont look original..

Im not sure, but I think bilge blowers were a dealer installed item on these early boats?

As for the bench seat , I also like it...I still "con" my wife into setting next to me and love it! ( the floor shifter doesnt hurt anything either )

as for a gas leak like you had, I dont think a blower would have done a whole lot extra...sometimes good ol luck wins out!

63,
I just installed a blower in my 64 American Skier earlier this summer. I always lift the cover on initial start up also.(to turn my gas valve on). But,I always use the blower in any slow/no wake zones .. and turn it off at cruising speed.

As for mounting.. I installed two vents facing rearward on the stern. The blower is mounted directly below one of them,next to the gas tank, via a 3" hose. I then ran a hose from the opposite end of the blower, below the floor, to a bracket I made at the rear of the engine compartment...by the trans. you can just see one of the vents in this pic...


Up front -I searched a long time , but found a chrome scoop on ebay to mount on the hull,behind the bow light, again with a 3" hose that runs below the floor into the front of the engine compartment.


As for blowing up in the early years.. I worry about what 40 plus years of wear and tear could do today...Nothing is for sure, but when it comes to safety, why not do the best you can?

My 67 mustang does'nt have a blower either, and I lift the cover before starting.. Where do you mount the blower, anywhere in the engine compartment, and it just sucks the air and blows it out through a duct? First time boat owner and I'm not familar with these things at all.

The only time Ive opened the motor cover and smelled gas was when I had a leaking fuel inlet on the carburetor. Under normal conditions I dont think its a big deal to run the blower before starting, though it is certainly a good safety practice. Once the motor is already warm, Ill admit I rarely use it.

I would put a blower in it and run it the entire time I am skiing, knowing the boat will be shut down and restarted often. That way, you'll find a fuel leak by seeing it rather than by having the boat blow up first.