Tomahawk Day x Day - Old Outboard Motors: 1930 - Outboards

The book by Bradford Burnham these photos are taken from was published in 1930 with the title, Outboard Motor Boats and Engines; Water Thrills and Sport for Everyone.

Politically incorrect and silly sounding I enjoyed the first chapter that was written to convince you that experiencing the clean air of a mountain lake, or any water, with a boat and outboard was what you would immediately recognize as your true place in the world, surrounded by nature with the power to motor around at your finger tips! And, then he says outboard racing was invented in 1926...and the fun began.

You can read the whole book at the link given above, and here are all the photos to whet your interest. It is a very 1930's book, fuddy-duddy by today's standards, but fun to skim.

Here is a sample of the text -

The outboard engine of today is indeed a wonderful piece of mechanism. When you consider that it is expected—and does—deliver its allotted horse-power, steadily and dependably turning at an extremely high speed, without overheating, without running dry of oil, without short circuiting even when sometimes practically under water, and does this hour after hour, day in and day out, always ready to start on the instant and flexible as to speed to an extreme—we have to take off our hats to the inventive genius of the manufacturer.
The latest improvements include positive and remarkable ease of starting, and underwater exhaust which silences to a large degree the objectionable element of noise—which heretofore has made the outboard the object of much hearty cursing by all within earshot except the proud operator himself. Some of the latest models are equipped with self starting mechanism, and other refinements and labor saving devices are sure to follow.
The manufacture of outboard engines in the United States is confined to but five principal companies:

Caille Motor Company, Detroit, Mich.

Elto Outboard Motor Co., Milwaukee, Wis.

Evinrude Motor Company, Milwaukee, Wis.

Johnson Motor Company, Waukegan, HI.

Lockwood Motor, Company, Jackson, Mich.

Three of these companies, Elto, Evinrnde and Lockwood Ash recently consolidated in one holding company, the Outboard Motors Corporation, but each unit has preserved its own operating identity and dealer organization.
Another company, the Cross Gear and Engine Company of Detroit, has on the market a motor of a type radically different from the others. It consists of a four cycle radial engine of five cylinders which develop 50 h.p. at 4000 r.p.m. Its usefulness is confined to cruisers, runabouts and work boats requiring greater horsepower than can be had in the other type of outboard motors.

Although there are manufacturers of outboard motors abroad, the American companies enjoy a tremendous export business and American outboard motors are to be found in every civilized and sometimes semi-civilized country of the globe, including the dugouts of the savage tribes of Borneo, the punts of the Chinese rivers and the pearl fishing boats of the South Sea Islands.

The models, sizes, and principal specifications of the leading American manufacturers are shown in table on page 36. (Unfortunately a terrible and mostly illegible scan.) It is not our purpose here to enter into a technical discussion of the principles and operation of outboard motors. They are now made so fool-proof that expert knowledge for their proper operation and maintenance is unnecessary. Like thousands of automobile drivers who never look under the hood except to put in oil, the outboard motorist can start his motor, then forget it till he is ready to stop.