Re: 1909 Evinrude 1 of 25
OK, how did you come by this outboard? I've read several things about Ole Evinrude, and all say different things about how many he made in 1909, and about his wife, etc. <br /><br />There's some truth and some myth in all the stories, to tell the truth. I've talked to half a dozen people who told me that their grandmother lived across the lake from Ole. All of them had one of his first outboards...they thought. None of them did. In fact, none of them had one earlier than 1920. It's an old, old story, and old stories tend to get more interesting the older they are.<br /><br />The provenance of this outboard is going to be very important. Where you got it. Who you got it from. All of that stuff. Any documents you might have about it.<br /><br />See, the burden's on you, really, to prove that what you have is one of those first outboards. Few have ever seen one...maybe nobody.<br /><br />Carvings on stands are meaningless. Anyone can carve OE on a stand at any time. There are lots of people out there with old outboards who do all sorts of things to try to sell them. <br /><br />So the story behind yours is important. If you bought it from someone, based on their statement that it is what you say it is, then I'd be really, really skeptical. Lots of folks have bought such things.<br /><br />In fact, it's very possible that it's not even an Evinrude-made outboard at all. There were dozens of folks making a few outboards that copied Ole's design. Any decent machinist could do it, once they had one to examine. These are valuable, too, but they're not Evinrudes.<br /><br />I don't mean to pop your balloon, but you have no idea how many stories like yours there are out there. If you bought this from someone, it's almost certain that it's not what you think. <br /><br />If you got it from a relative who actually can trace its history back to another relative who lived near Ole back then, you might have a better chance.<br /><br />Quite frankly, anyone who actually had one of Ole's first run of rowboat motors, and could show the provenance, would not be selling it to an individual. It would be in an auction somewhere, selling for way more than you can imagine. BRP would be very interested in acquiring it. So would some very wealthy folks who collect old technology.<br /><br />That's why it's so unlikely that this is what you think it is. I hope I'm wrong, for your sake, but I doubt it very much.
