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The story goes that the first outboard motor—in the sense of an external propulsion system for boats—was conceived through the experiments of a certain Cameron Waterman, a young engineering student at Yale. It is said that he built a four-stroke engine; the year of the patent is believed to have been between 1903 and 1905.
Production didn’t begin until a little later—in 1907, to be precise—with a couple of dozen models built. Production then continued for another five years at a slightly faster pace. Reports from that period, however, are unclear, so much so that the creation of the first true, efficient, and marketable outboard motor is attributed to the Norwegian-born American Ole Evinrude, who, between 1909 and 1912, built thousands of engines and achieved considerable success with the 3 cv model. Evinrude Outboards Co. was later sold, and Ole Evinrude continued the business with another company called Elto.
1909 The first outboard motor was made in the U.S. It was an Evinrude. The first outboard motor ever built consisted of just a few components, all of which were exposed. And to think that Ole Evinrude designed it more out of personal necessity than out of any ambition to go down in history as the father of outboard motors. The story goes that Ole, a great engineering enthusiast, came up with the idea of “speeding up” his lake crossing when one day he showed up at his girlfriend’s house with an ice cream that had melted by the time he reached her, having rowed all the way there. Within a couple of years, that young man’s idea, born of love, had grown into an industry that has expanded worldwide over the course of more than a hundred years.
Tutta colpa di un gelato sciolto! Così è nata la leggenda del motore fuoribordo
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Initially introduced for the Japanese market, where orders opened in March 2024 through the Toyota Marine network , the Lexus LY 680 represents the evolution of the LY 650 and is now also available internationally. Production is handled by Taiwan’s Horizon Group, which specializes in superyachts and has integrated its construction expertise with the methods
It has just won theIBEX 2026 Innovation Award in the Deck Equipment and Hardware category, and it’s a light that’s sure to delight many boaters. Thanks to Scanstrut SystemOne wireless technology, this new light fixture solves one of the most common problems with traditional mast-mounted navigation lights: corrosion of the electrical contacts and the resulting
Speed and luxury aren’t two worlds so far apart. Proof of this is the Brabus AB110, a project born from the collaboration between AB Yachts—a brand of the Next Yacht Group—and the renowned German design house BRABUS. This partnership combines the “One Second Wow” design philosophy with AB Yachts’ engineering and aerospace expertise in the
Not everyone experiences the sea in the same way. Some people want to know right away what’s new in the boating world; others prefer to watch a test sail or a video directly on their smartphone; and still others love to go back in time to rediscover the boats, people, and stories that have shaped
