Dump the points. They were great in about..ohh..1960 or so. Seriously old tech. Electronic dissy upgrades are inexpensive and worth every penny.


Darrell.

Just make sure if you do dump the points dist. that you make sure the purple (+) wire isnt a resistance wire. It has to be clean 12volts.

Crusader Marine has a Prestolite Chevrolet distributor that has breakerless ignition. Looks stock and Coast Guard approved.
I also have had good luck with Delco HEI if you have the room.
I adjust the advance curve and do not use the vacuum advance.

TB 4 with the V-6 Module. simple to install, very rarely fails, and its stock Merc stuff.

My $0.02
1) Your points distributor is not the original. So it was probably not tuned or maintained well.
2) A T bolt, DUI, MSD, etc distributor will give you no improvement over a well tuned points distributor. They will not need yearly maintainence though.
3) You wont need to improve your ignition unless you supercharge or go with a REALLY big cam.

So, in terms of options (by cost/engine).
1) Buy a condenser, points and a dwell meter. Set your dwell, then timing. ($30)
2) Buy an electronic conversion kit ($150) BTW, these seem to be somewhat unreliable.
3) Buy a DUI and replace distriutor. ($300)
4) Buy a T bolt distributor and module, replace distributor ($600).
5) Buy an aftermarket hi performance istributor & module from MSD, Crane, etc ($750)
Your top speed, acceleration, idle, etc will be the same with ay of these options on your engine.

Great break down...

My experience with #2 is that they do not work for vary long.
As I stated in my earlier post, I like option #3.
MSD also makes a "ready to run" dist like DUI for about $400.

Try these folks http://pertronix.com/index.htm if not them, they will most likely be able to direct you to someone...

Kind of how I am now looking at it, I guess if I plan to leave the engines alone right now the points will be fine, I just like the idea of electronic reliability, then again, the point ignition has been in this boat for 21 yrs!

I am going to do new points next weekend, i cannot go to the boat this weekend, how do I set the dwell? I had a friend help me last time on a different boat when I did new points.

Dui

If you decide to keep the points, make certain that the shaft bushing is not worn allowing your dwell to fluctuate. Some old points distributors are pretty sloppy in this department.