Gale Products, Inc., was a subsidiary of OMC which made Johnson and Evinrude outboards.  Prior to WWII, Gale, manufactured refrigerators and room air conditioning units.  These products were never a real success. Johnson and Evinrude outboards, however, were coming into their own.  So after the war OMC decided to add to what they did best - more brands of outboards and drop the ref/ac mfg.  They manufactured outboard motors for outside companies including Wards, Spiegel, Gamble and Goodyear.  Then, they added their own economy line under the name Buccaneer. 
Gale products was so successful that in 1948 they sold over 100,000 outboard motors, more than all other manufacturers including Mercury, Johnson and Evinrude! 
Later, in the 1960s, OMC dropped all Gale built outboard models feeling that the Johnson & Evinrude brands would pick up the loss.  Of course, it never happened that way as the Gale built models primarily served a different market and OMC suffered financially for that decision.

The Gale and Buccaneer real outboard motors were OMC's economy line of engines.  OMC's premium engines were Evinrude and Johnson.  Since most kids were looking to buy the more common Evinrude, Johnson and Mercury toy motors the Gale and Buccaneer motors did not sell as well.  That means that they are very rare today, with the exception of the 1957.  The rarest of all the motors is the 1960 Gale Sovereign 60 HP.  In fact, it's the rarest and most sought after toy outboard motor commanding thousands of dollars.

A special thank you for the above information to Marco, who joined Gale in 1951 and spent the next 31 years with OMC.  He was the marketing head of the Gale Division all thru most of the 1950s and 1960s. 

Click on an image to enlarge.


1.  1957 Buccaneer 25 HP. A very common motor and easy to find. Has a big problem with the  "checkerboard" side plates falling off.  Poor quality glue was used.  If you get one that way call Bill Arick or contact Ron Hoffman who make a perfect reproduction side plate (see my reproduction K&O parts page). I'm willing to bet 40% of all motors out there today have these repro side plates on them and no one knows the difference!  This is a good motor to start off with because they are nice looking, not hard to find, and inexpensive. Thanks to Joe Cain for the first picture.

1957 Gale Buccaneer.jpg (42677 bytes)    1957 Buccaneer Box.jpg (59055 bytes)

2.  1958 Buccaneer 25 HP. A rare motor, though not as rare as the next two.  This motor always seems to come with decal problems, especially the top decal on the sides, including the one I have.  This is a pretty nice looking motor in person with it's pure white lower unit and top of the cowl nicely accented with the teal colored lower cowl.  I'm looking for a mint one of these so please let me know if you have one for sale or trade.  It uses the same box as the 1957 Buccaneer.
An interesting side note: Gale/Buccaneer made the exact same motor for two years. It was the top of the line motor in 1958 and the second motor in 1959 behind the 35 HP Gale Sovereign seen below.  Did K&O make it for both years?  Not sure, but considering how rare they are I would have to say no.  It was only made in 1958.
I've included a picture of Wayne Bearce's 1959 Buccaneer 25 HP, and two ads, one from 1958 and the other from 1959, to show this.

  1958 Buccaneer.jpg (31462 bytes)  1958 Buccaneer1.jpg (34899 bytes) 1958 Buccaneer2.jpg (38560 bytes) 1958 Buccaneer3.jpg (25847 bytes) Buccaneer box.jpg (25983 bytes) Buccaneer boxA.jpg (25656 bytes)  1958 Buccaneer Wayne .jpg (74552 bytes)  1958BuccaZ.jpg (58024 bytes)  1959 Gale Buccaneer ad (Medium).jpg (44940 bytes)



1.  1959 Gale Sovereign 35 HP motor.  EXTREMELY rare.  This motor is only four and a half inches tall.  Comes in a colorful box.  This motor has wonderful decals on it and displays great.  The wires are the small K&O wires and are often very brittle and easily breakable so if you have that problem contact Joe Cain for reproduction wires to bring your motor back to life again.  
Note: Don't over tighten the transom screws!  The transom brackets are not very strong and break easily on these motors.

Gale35HP.jpg (38833 bytes)  1959 Gale Sovereign3a.jpg (33813 bytes)  1959 Gale SovereignA.jpg (24568 bytes) 1959 Gale Sovereign2a.jpg (23400 bytes)  1959 Gale Sovereign4a.jpg (37145 bytes) Gale35.JPG (44405 bytes)

2.  1960 Gale Sovereign 60 HP
"THE HOLY GRAIL OF TOY OUTBOARD COLLECTING"  That's the best way to describe just how EXTREMELY RARE this motor actually is.  In conversations with collectors we have only been able to locate 16 of them so far.  There's more out there!  Find them!  I know people willing to pay thousands for one!  Let me know if you have one and you'll make good money!
A pretty cool looking motor in person with it's all white look and black and gold accents.  It's the only V-4 in the K&O Gale/Buccaneer line.

 0b23_3.jpg (51194 bytes)  Gale60.JPG (53317 bytes) Gale Sovereign.jpg (32151 bytes)  Gale Sovereign1.jpg (34063 bytes) Gale Sovereign2.jpg (30708 bytes)  Gale Sovereign3.jpg (28059 bytes) b152_3.jpg (46572 bytes)  08e1_3.jpg (53735 bytes) f3c7_3.jpg (56659 bytes)  galemin002ms.JPG (44779 bytes)  galemin003.JPG (23509 bytes)  galemin004.JPG (16241 bytes)  galemin011.JPG (31357 bytes)  galemin012.JPG (22572 bytes)  galemin014.JPG (30631 bytes)

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© 2006 Mikee and Bob McDonald