Jack Craib's Rowboat Motor Information Site Evinrude Model K #K 1458 HOME

The Model Ks were infamous because they were so poorly thought out, and patterns meant for cast iron or bronze castings were used for casting aluminum. The Model K Evinrude had the unsavory reputation of having parts break off while it was in operation. Model K aluminum parts included the transom bracket, tilt adjusting knuckle, lower unit, water pump, propeller and nut(s), mixer valve body and cover, thumbscrews and pads, crankcase, tiller handle yoke, and? I think thats most of them. They still used a cast iron cylinder, and a special exhaust manifold (without lettering) that does not belong on any other Evinrude rowboat motor, and is easliy recognizable because of the "hump" that is present in the manifold runner. The main reason I call this motor "poorly thought out" is because it was Evinrude's reaction to try and put a motor on the market that could compete with the Johnson Waterbug and the Elto Light Twin Outboard. Those two motors revolutionized the industry through their use of lightweight aluminum castings instead of cast iron and bronze. Evinrude went into panic mode, and marketed a knee-jerk reaction revision motor that was brittle and unreliable. It is not uncommon to find model K Lightweights with bronze replacement parts on them. Lower units and transom brackets were the two main items that would break and get replaced - unless they scrapped the motor altogether - which happened more than we will ever know about.  By contributor Chris Scratch - 2020 Southern Ontario Rowboat Motor Chapter