14
WATERFRONT
storing his first engine years ago, his collection
grew quickly. He always looks for rule-break-
ing, mechanically mystifying engines, such as
the Flambeau on display. The engine is split
vertically (most outboards are split horizon-
tally), so that it could be assembled all at once.
The outboards in Lincoln’s collection may
have poured in from myriad sources, but
carefully arranged in the museum, they tell
a little-known history about industrialization
and mechanical progress. A walk around the
museum is a walk through decades of change
and improvement.
It is not Lincoln’s collection alone that
has brought me to Stetson & Pinkham. Ev-
ery Tuesday night, Lincoln hosts a group of
antique outboard aficionados, helping them
with restoration projects.
When members arrive, the first order of
business is dinner. Everyone congregates on
plastic stools around pizza boxes while they
catch up on the past week and banter about
those who have yet to arrive. Fosty the dog
trots around our ankles, excitedly devouring
discarded pieces of crust.
“I’ve got the cold beverages,” one guy says,
placing a cooler on the floor. I expect to see
beer inside but the cooler is full of seltzer.
One member has opted for milk from a
Gatorade bottle instead. This isn’t a typical
men’s club; everyone has come to work.
As the pizza disappears, the group opens
up about their ongoing projects. “For each
motor, you have to have at least one boat—
that’s the goal,” jokes Joe “The Plumber.” Joe
has currently fulfilled half of his goal: He
owns 10 boats and 20 outboards.
The Pine Tree Boat Club is the Maine
chapter of the Antique Outboard Motor
Club. “If you want to run outboards and
have fun, you come here,” David Kelley, the
group’s president, says. The Maine chapter is
unique because it focuses both on restoring
motors and running them. During the sum-
mer, the club hosts wet meets, during which
they run the outboards they restored overDavis not only has a near-photographic knowledge of each outboard in his museum, but he can pull any one off the wall and start it up.