Ole Evinrude

Ole Evinrude

Biography

Ole Evinrude was an Norwegian Immigrant, engineer, and inventor who created the first commercial outboard motor. Fabricated with the desire to give the everyday man a means of easy maneuverability on the lake without the need of rowing, the portable and compact outboard motor had sold 9,142 units within the first year of release . Today, the Evinrude Outdoor Motors company still produces and sells outdoor motors for recreational usage. Historically, Evinrude is noted for his contribution to society where he successfully created a complex and affordable modern technology for American families, while additionally improving the prominence and popularity of recreational boating and engineering.

Born on a small farm six miles away from Oslo, Norway on April 19th 1887, Ole and his family consisting of his mother, father, and eight siblings immigrated to Cambridge, Wisconsin in 1892 following Ole's fifth birthday. Living next to Lake Ripley, he spent his youth as an assistant to his father on the farm, and eventually found employment as a sorter in a near-by tobacco warehouse. It was during these years however, that Evinrude had interacted significantly with his uncle who was a sailor. It was from him that he learned a great deal about naval knowledge. Additionally, it was observed that when he traveled via ship that Evinrude would be frequently rescued from the ship's engine rooms due to his tinkering via the engines .

At the age of 15, after learning from his uncle much about general naval knowledge and having a genuine interest in ships, Evinrude had built a sailboat out of leftover wood in his father's woodshed. As the story goes, due to the hard life of living on the farm and the need to make income, his father had become disgruntled that his son was tinkering on personal projects and not assisting with farm work. He destroyed the sailboat made by Evinrude in his hope that his son will lose his appeal with boats and instead take a stronger interest in agriculture . However, Evinrude was not discouraged, and went on to build another sailboat at the age of 16. This time his father was more lenient and Evinrude was allowed to bring the boat to the lake. Curious onlookers observed him bringing the boat out for a test run, where eventually Evinrude decided to capitalize by charging a quarter for each onlooker to take a ride. This not only resulted in Evinrude earning a substantial amount of money, but also led to him developing a capitalistic mindset .

Due to the financial success of the the sailboat rides that Evinrude was distributing, his father had accepted that his son's true passion laid in naval study and mechanical engineering. As a result, Evinrude went to Madison in the fall of the same year that he built the sailboat; he obtained a job as an apprentice machinist in the farm-machinery shop of Fuller and Johnson and received a salary of fifty cents a day. Developing his trade skills at a rapid rate he eventually found work in other shops in Pittsburgh and Chicago, where for five years he hopped from job to job learning about steel rolling mills, steel manufacturing and trade, mechanical tool working, and motors. During this time frame he self taught himself mechanical engineering fundamentals during his off hours, till eventually due to experience and education he became a first-rate machinist and a self-taught mechanical engineer .

In 1900, at the age of 23 Evinrude had traveled back to Wisconsin to open up a pattern shop, where at the time he was considered a master pattern maker and a consulting engineer for the E. P. Allis Company in Milwaukee. Taking a heavy interest in combustible engines, he worked for several of the early motor companies in the area, taking up the personal task of designing and improving engines. As a result of his extensive work in building engines, he looked to market his work; however, after entering this route he had soon began to encounter financial issues. Seeking to market his products, he founded the partnership of Clemiek and Evinrude, a firm dedicated to producing combustion engines to order, while also producing spare parts and castings. The business was a success and expanded into over half a dozen shops within the process of only a few months .

Working at the firm, it was there he met his soon to be wife and inspiration for the outboard motor. Bess Carry, who was a clerk for Evinrude in the Clemiek and Evinrude mechanical engineering clinic, had entered an relationship with Evinrude while he was tinkering with combustible engines. Carry, who had a business background from studying at a local college, would later serve as the body for the outboard motor and significantly assist Evinrude in his business actions .

Continuing onward in their relationship, the story goes that on a faithful summer day both Evinrude and Carry were having a romantic picnic together on an island in the middle of Wisconsin Lake. It was a hot summer day, and Carry had asked Evinrude if he could get her some ice cream to cool off. It was the middle of August in the year 1906, and the temperature outside was a blazing 90 degrees Fahrenheit; Evinrude not wanting to disappoint his girlfriend had reluctantly accepted the chore of paddling back to the mainland to get ice cream. A five mile stretch of water, Evinrude sweated as he paddled his rowboat back to shore, and as he did so began to think to himself of ways to make the method more effective and easier. After pondering the thought, he realized that the trip would be significantly more efficient if he had a motor of some sort to propel his craft thru the waves .

After he married Carry, had his first son, and finished working on some engine projects, Evinrude had left the Evinrude and Clemiek to begin his work on what would later be called the outboard motor. Working day and night, he became addicted to his work; eventually his health was ruined and he began to suffer from rheumatism, till eventually he was physically incapable of standing on his feet. Despite this, the drawing board was brought to his bed, where he continued in sketching blueprints on the device. In 1907 he finally had finished the first design for his motor . His wife, first frustrated that he had spent the last few years sketching something that she defined as a "coffee cutter", she eventually realized the potential of the product and assumed full responsibilities for the business activities attended the the invention.

It wasn't until 1909 that he obtained the necessary parts to develop a prototype. However, despite developing the product, he was still competing with another motorboat company; named the Waterman Porto Motor, the motor was fairly similar in concept, the only real difference being that in Evinrude's design a single cylinder was placed above another cylinder. However, the superior engineering and design of the product was what differentiated it from the inferior Porto Motor. In addition, due to the Porto Motor's design that made it seem very hazardous, the only motto that was marketed from its release was "Don't be afraid of it!" Due to the ingenious business skills of Mrs. Evinrude, she had developed the slogan "throw away the oars- buy an Evinrude detachable motor", which turned to become a sensational selling point to customers that dominated over the Porto Motor motto. Additionally, in order to ward off low sales during the winter, Mrs. Evinrude had devised an international business plan. Meeting with various large firms, her and her husband had received over 1,000 offers for motors across the globe.

The Evinrude Motors company, now international, expanded tremendously within the following years. However, bad luck had sprung its trap, and Mrs. Evinrude eventually fell fatally ill. Due to her poor health, Evinrude had to sell the company in 1913, where he agreed to not enter the motorboat industry for another five years. But during his retirement, he developed an improved two cylinder engine that was superior to the single cylinder engine he originally created. Eventually after his wife had recovered, they had both formed another company named ELTO (Evinrude's Light Twin Outboard). The engine again proved to be a success, and as a result allowed for the ELTO to merge with Outboard Motor Corporation (the Evinrude Motors Company renamed), forming the Lockwood Motor Company with Evinrude .

Working within the company, Mrs. Evinrude retired in 1928 from considerable health issues, till in 1933 she passed away. Evinrude followed, passing away the same year on July 12th in Milwaukee. Their son took over the Lockwood Motor Company following their deaths, where he again in 1936 merged the company into the Johnson Motor Company to form the Outboard Marine Corporation, which has enjoyed continuing success in the outboard motor business .

Ole Evinrude's story can not only be historically viewed as a landmark for technological innovation in the field of mechanical engineering, but can also be viewed as an inspiring story: that from anywhere or anyone, no matter their origin, can become a especially significant engineer and contribute greatly to the betterment of humanity. For the outboard motor was created not from the labs of an eastern cost laboratory, but from a Norwegian inventor who had the passion to develop engines.

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