Facts about Evinrude/Johnson racing outboards made my OMC

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John-Brenda Sheldon‎
Evinrude - Johnson outboards. Facts, history, racing and future.



Jimbo in the original Goat boat with the rotary. Provo Utah, 1973

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[techteam]

Antione Zerafa


Today I had the pleasure of seeing this stored beast in a garage where I made a delivery, I believe this Formula 1 Power boat had a world speed record of 144.7mph and it was painted yellow and had a Trimite Paint logo, does anybody have any pictures of how the boat looked in yellow?



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Lars I have some pictures of it on the Kilo when he took that record. I'm away at the moment but will post them when I get home.

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Johnnie Sanders in South Africa
#1 OZ class Scotti/Johnson Rotary.

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OMC’s STYLIST EXTRAODINAIRE - BROOKS STEVENS – one of the unsung stalwarts in OMC successes from the 40’s thru the 80’s. No other vender in the history of OMC had as much impact on our products as Clifford Brooks Stevens (1911 -1995). He was one of America’s most original and prolific industrial designers. Along with numerous automobiles Stevens designed motorcycles, railroad trains, pleasure boats, motor homes, appliances, office furnishings and, of course nearly every Evinrude Outboard and Snowmobile, plus various Cushmans and Lawnboys. In addition, he was responsible for styling all of the Gale sub-brands plus various Johnson outboard and snowmobile models. (Many of his hundreds of design illustrations & photos can be viewed online in the Milwaukee Art Museum archives.

[WaterZebra]

John-Brenda Sheldon‎
Evinrude - Johnson outboards. Facts, history, racing and future.



Jimbo in the original Goat boat with the rotary. Provo Utah, 1973

I never heard about the rotary ending up on the Goat Boat's transom. I knew the Goat saw V4 / V6 action but never the rotary. What's the story behind this match-up (Rotary John)?

[Rotary John]

I'm not sure there is or was a story. Jimbo had been running the Goat Boat a local events with a V-4. He must have talked Jack Leek into letting him run it at Provo. It was the one and only time it did. Provo was the race Merc thought they could win and came with singles and twin outboards and their 400 HP+ KT boat. Regardless what Willabe says, Barry Woods lead the race till he broke. Sander broke in the first 1/2 hr. (crankshaft), Woods broke the thru bolt after 1 1/2 hrs in the lead. II don't recall what happened to Jimbo, but he didn't finish. Posey won the race much to the chagrin of the Merc exec's. I do recall Woods and Jimbo lapping the first place Merc outboard in the first 15 min and waving at the Merc boys as they went by. Maybe Cathy McConnell knows more of the story.

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Jack Aylsworth
‎Evinrude - Johnson outboards. Facts, history, racing and future.


The Evinrude LARK SPORTSTER - In 1956, Evinrude asked Brooks Stevens to design a boat to complement the styling of the new Evinrude 35hp Lark outboard he had designed. What Stevens came up with was possibly the wildest boat anyone had ever seen up to that day - the Lark boat & motor combo. With massive tail fins, a striking paint scheme, only two seats, and a double-bubble windscreen, the Lark Sportster with its matching Lark outboard was a true attention getter.
The Cadillac Boat Company was commissioned to build the wood, fiberglass, and aluminum curiosity for Chicago and New York International Boat Shows. (It’s not clear when the switch happened but in some boat show photos the boat was called the Cadillac Sea Lark.) It is believed that Cadillac Boats built one for each show, then never built another one again. Both were apparently lost to time but there is, however, a replica built by boat builder/restorer Gary MacNorious that makes the boat show circuit.

[peterse90]

My guess is this is the Rick Frost’s Burgess boat from 1984 above.
The 1983 model used a different boat cowling.

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Here are various black & white pictures of Rick Frost's 1983 TRIMITE, sorry I could not find any colour pics in my POWERBOAT & WATERSKIING and POWERBOATS;

[lars strom]

This is from the Swedish Evinrude sales brochure.
Sorry for Swedish but its about using F1-V8 racing to sell more outboards.

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Jack Aylsworth‎

Evinrude - Johnson outboards. Facts, history, racing and future.


Most OMC veterans know that Brooks Stevens did the appearance design work for Evinrude and Gale motor covers starting back in 1935. What you may not know (or remember) is that he also designed several Evinrude ‘concept’ boat & outboard combos. Here is one of his lesser-known designs: the Evinrude LAKESTER of 1970. The photos and rendering illustrate the Lakester concept in a nutshell: a conventional fiberglass pleasure boat, more or less, that can be mated to a modular auto chassis for highway travel. A 50-hp outboard motor provides the road vehicle’s power through a power takeoff unit and coupler driving a hydrostatic CVT transmission. Integrated driving controls allow the Lakester to be operated from the same seat on both land and sea, and a handy electric winch hauls the 14-ft. hull into its docking position. An item in the March 1970 issue of Popular Science magazine describes the Lakester as using Volkswagen suspension and running gear and mentions a projected price of $2,500 “when it becomes available.” How functional the Lakester show vehicle actually was, or if it ever reached a working prototype stage, is not known.

[lars strom]

Jack Aylsworth‎

Evinrude - Johnson outboards. Facts, history, racing and future.


EVINRUDE RACE CAR by Brooks Stevens Don’t know if this was simply a concept – or if Evinrude actually went racing. Anyone know??

[Rotary John]

There was talk of building an Indy car powered by 4 V-4 engines. I don't recall if it every went beyond talk. This may have been a rendering for that project.