|
Welcome to the December 2002 issue of Outboard News, an electronic newsletter for the outboard enthusiast.
Season's Greetings and Happy Holidays from Laing's Outboards. This month will be an abbreviated version of Outboard News. INDUSTRY NEWS Not much happening this time of year. Next month we will present some of the issues in the debate between 2-stroke and 4-stroke outboards. SERVICE DEPARTMENT Next month we will continue our discussion of the carburetor. HISTORICAL This month we present in brief the story of the first outboard made, the Waterman, as told by Mr. Cameron B. Waterman himself at a Mercury Marine dealer meeting at the 1950 New York Boat Show. (This presentation was arranged by Carl Kiekhaefer to debunk the story of how Ole Evinrude invented the outboard motor). In 1903, while a student at Yale Law School, in New Haven, Connecticut, Cameron Waterman undertook to clean and overhaul his motorcycle engine. Upon completion of this task, he clamped the engine to a desk and ran it on lightning gas from an overhead gas jet connected to the carburetor. The thought occurred to him that here was a portable power plant that could be used to propel a boat and end the task of rowing, so he immediately made sketches of such a device and filed them away for future use. In January of 1905, after having graduated from Yale Law School and having returned to Detroit to practice law, he showed his sketches to George C. Thrall who owned the Taylor Boiler Company in Detroit. Thrall, also very tired of rowing, agreed to work with Waterman in the development of the Outboard motor. They purchase a Curtis air cooled 3 horsepower motorcycle engine, rigged it up with the necessary shafts and tested it in Mr. Waterman's backyard and then in February, 1905, Mr. Waterman, accompanied by Mr. George Thrall and Mr.R. McDougal Campan actually operated the engine on a boat in the Detroit River. Very much encouraged by the results of their tests, they contracted with Caille Brothers Company of Detroit to build 25 units and by early summer of 1906, had sold 24 of them in various parts of the United States. In the winter of 1906-07, Waterman changed the design from air cooled to water cooled. In the spring of 1907, they began advertising in several national magazines. The outboard industry was well on its way when the 1908 season sported a carburetor instead of a mixing valve, and in 1909 when the next competitor entered the market, business increased considerably. In December of 1916, Mr. Waterman sold his company to the Arrow Motor and Machine Company, and in 1917 was commissioned a Captain in the US Army. After serving in Europe as Chief of Transportation of the Air Service, AEF, he was promoted to Major, Air Service, US Army in 1919. Mr Waterman is now retired, enjoying the sunshine and fishing of Florida, his boat being propelled by a quiet, smooth Mercury Super 5. The theme of the 1950 dealer meetings was dispelling myths. The Ole Evinrude story was myth no.1, effectively dispelled by Mr. Waterman. Carl Kiekhaefer also got the press involved, as evidenced by a story in the New York Herald Tribune by Red Smith entitled "The Outboard Heresy". Myth no. 2 was that sales for 1949 were down 40%. Kiekhaefer reported that sales in fact were up by 21%. The message to dealers was: "Don't let all the talk about gear shifts scare you!" Myth no. 3 was that a large motor was required to water ski. Kiekhaefer showed that a Mercury Super 5 will pull a skier along at a good clip. Next month we will start on the Elgin outboard. There is a lot to tell, so it may take several issues. Source: Laing's Outboards
|
Laing's Outboards Newsletter January 2003 
