By Jim Barrick, Blue Ridge Chapter
Well, as a member of the ACBS, this organization has given me great exposure to boating history. I’ve been a history guy most of my life and started boating when I was a lad. I was amazed at how great and dependable the Evinrude outboard motor was—never letting us down. Whether it were fishing, waterskiing, or just shore crawling, it was old reliable.
A handful of years ago, I restored my first outboard. As I began to show some of these restorations, I heard stories about wooden boats and realized that their engines had a place in history, too, just as important as the wooden boats themselves. In the beginning, these outboards were used on wood fishing boats, tenders, military watercraft, canoes, and other craft. At one time, there were probably 50 different brands of outboards, while today there might be a half dozen manufacturers.
Not only did I develop a fascination for these old engines, but what also interested me was the advertisements of these motors. I have collected some of the old Rudder magazines from the 1920s. The ads and graphics were absolutely as cool as the motor itself.
So, after a few years of restoring these old engines, I had accumulated a lot of leftover motor parts. Throwing out these old parts was not an option, so I repurposed unique cowlings and gas tanks with eye-catching manufacturer’s stylish decals.
I decided every workshop needs a clock, and why not one with a little history. My first clock was made from repurposed parts from a 1950s Chris-Craft Challenger, and my second clock was made from parts from a 1940s Johnson. The third came from a 1940s Wizard, which was really a Mercury. I just finished a sea mist green Johnson, and the Wizard is still a work in progress. The ACBS boating community has taken a real liking to these unique clocks.
It is my mission to salvage as many of these old engines as I can and repurpose them into functional works of art. I can’t bear the thought of these old gals being tossed in the heap after all the fun they gave us when they were running. Every time I look at these clocks, it reminds me of the fun I had and am still having with antique outboards and wooden boats.