OLE EVINRUDE
With outboard power exceedingly popular aboard all types of
recreational boats, every boater owes a debt of gratitude to Ole
Evinrude and, apparently, to melted ice cream. The story goes
that Evinrude had been picnicking with his wife on Okauchee
Lake in Wisconsin, when he rowed to shore to get her ice cream.
By the time he returned to their picnic spot, it had melted, in-
spiring the machinist and combustion-engine tinkerer to create
a small boat engine. In 1907, he came up with the fi rst transom-
mounted gasoline outboard motor, a 1.5 hp rig made of brass
and steel. He fi rst started selling them to the public in 1909.
Protecting his ef orts, Evinrude applied for and received a
patent for his invention in 1911 — U.S. patent number 1,001,260,
awarded to the newly formed Evinrude Motor Corporation. In
1913, he sold his share of the company to his business partner
and took a fi ve-year hiatus from building engines. Then, in
1919, he returned to improve his original design, developing a
3 hp outboard made of aluminum that weighed in at 48 pounds.
He tried to sell the idea to his old company. When they de-
clined, he formed the Evinrude Light Twin Outboard company
to produce it.
Ole Evinrude and ELTO joined forces with his old busi-
ness and the Johnson Motor Company to form the Outboard
Marine Company in 1929, which pushed outboard design to
create a small-boat revolution. Today, Bombardier Recre-
ational Products owns Evinrude, which is still the leader in
two-stroke outboard technology.MODERN MARVEL
THE EVINRUDE
ETEC G2
The E-Tec G2 engines
produce at least 100
times more horsepower
than Ole Evinrude’s
original outboard, ranging
from 150 to 300 hp. While
most of the competition
has embraced four-stroke
technology, Evinrude’s
direct-injection two-stroke
engines produce a ton of
torque while still meet-
ing modern emissions
standards and, according
to our test data, matching
fuel economy and
sound levels.The story goes
that Ole Evin-
rude conceived
of the fi rst
outboard after
slow-going
rowing caused
his wife’s ice
cream to melt.PHOTOS: COURTESY BRP EVINRURE
BOATINGMAG.COM | JUNE 2018 | 85