OLE EVINRUDE AND THE OUTBOARD MOTOR

Abstract

OLE EVINRUDE AND THE OUTBOARD MOTOR1 BY KENNETH BJ0RK Ole Evinrude was several things at once that carry weight with the American public. A self-made inventor, engineer, and businessman, he also lived the success story par excellence . Though of humble immigrant origin he founded in his adopted country, after years of hardship and disappointment , a new and important industry. Big and genial - a veritable mountain of a man - he graciously attributed all success to his frail wife, Bess, who was also his partner in business. But more important still, he won the enduring gratitude of thousands of hunters, fishermen, and vacationers, who were freed by him from the drudgery of rowing a boat. For Evinrude designed and produced the first practical outboard motor, which must be considered a piece with the automobile and therefore a part of this motor age. He belongs to the saga of the out-of-doors, of sports, and of fun, but he also has written his name large in the story of the American economic revolution. The fact that for a great many people "Evinrude" and "outboard" are synonymous is proof that no detailed description of the outboard is necessary. The many thousands who each summer fish the inland lakes and rivers of America, the hunters who lie in wait of ducks and geese, the crowds who watch the outboard races in the newsreels, or the fishermen in salt water whose livelihood itself in a large measure 1The information contained in this article was derived from a number of sources. Chief among them are the articles " The Put-Put," in Fortune , 18:56^59, 108, 112, 115, 118 (August, 1938), and "He Invented a 4 Fool Novelty' That Founded a New Industry," in American Magazine , 105:37, 148, 151-153 (February, 1928); the biography of Evinrude in the Encyclopedia of American Biography , new series, vol. 5, p. 216-219 (New York, 1936); articles in Tidens tegn (Oslo), July 16, 1934, and Skandinaven (Chicago), July 20, 1934; and an interview with Mr. Ralph Evinrude in Milwaukee on April 22, 1941. 167 168 STUDIES AND RECORDS depends on the performance of their motors - all these know the outboard. For those, however, who may never have seen one, it is a two-cycle, internal-combustion engine that burns a mixture of gasoline and oil and is usually attached by clamps to the rear of a rowboat. One starts the outboard by wrapping a knotted cord around a groove in the flywheel and pulling the free end. In the recent motors, one merely pulls at a handle which internally is connected with the flywheel . Once started, the motor's speed is regulated by a lever. Steering is simple; a tiller arm is easily held in one hand, and when moved from side to side, it turns the whole motor. The noise of the early outboards has been reduced in the new models by placing the exhaust under water, just above the propeller. While some of the largest models will push a boat at the speed of thirty-five miles an hour, the average small model does well if it attains to a speed of ten miles. In price the outboard is within the reach of the average man. Fortune speaks of the "put-puts" or outboards as the petite bourgeoisie of the nautical world, and well it might. One can buy an Evinrude Mate for $34.50, f.o.b. Milwaukee, and prices go up, not too speedily, from this figure. Attached to an ordinary rowboat, the outboard will do what the average person wants it to do - take one across a lake or up a stream to a favorite fishing spot or spin one smoothly over the water on a cooling ride. It is light enough to be carried by hand and compact enough to fit into an automobile trunk. In short, it meets the needs and ability to pay of the typical American who takes a two weeks' vacation and wants to spend this time doing other things than rowing. The inventor of the first practical outboard motor was born April 19, 1877, on a farm about sixty miles north of Oslo, Norway. The father took...