Whether you spent a day on the water, travelling, fishing or just relaxing in the sun, thank the inventors without whom it would not have been possible! Below we will tell you five people who helped make the world of yachting as we know it.
Ole Evinrud
Ole Evinrude invented the first outboard engine after his wife's ice cream melted due to slow rowing.
Everyone on whose boat the outboard engine is installed must pay tribute to Ole Evinroud and, strangely enough, the fast melting ice cream. It all started the day Evinrood and his wife went on a picnic on Lake Okochi in Wisconsin (USA). The man swam for ice cream on a fun boat that melted before he returned to his wife. This little trouble inspired Ole, who was a mechanic and repairman for combustion engines, to create a compact engine for the boat. In 1907, the first 1.5 hp brass and steel gasoline engine, which could be installed on the transom, was born. The invention came on sale a couple of years later, in 1909.
Evinrude E-TEC G2
The engine power of the E-TEC G2 is at least 100 times greater than that of the original Evinrud model. Although most competitors choose four-stroke technology, the Evinrude two-stroke direct-injection engines produce a ton of torque while meeting modern emission standards and fuel economy and noise requirements.
To protect the fruits of his work, Evinrud sent a patent application for his invention and received it in 1911. The number of this patent was assigned to the Evinrude Motor Corporation, which was established at the same time. In 1913, Ole sold his stake in the company to a business partner and retired for five years. In 1919, he returned to his original design and, having improved it, created an aluminum hinged motor with an output of 3 hp and weight of 21.77 kg. He offered a new model to his old company, but did not want to cooperate with him there. Then Ole decided to sell his own engines and founded Evinrude Light Twin Outboard Company (ELTO).
In 1929 ELTO, Evinrude Motor Corporation and Johnson Motor Company joined forces to create the Outboard Marine Company. The new company developed the design of hinged motors and revolutionized the small boat industry. Today the owner of Evinrude is Bombardier Recreational Products. But even now the company is still a leader in the production of two-stroke engines.
Rudolf Diesel
Having thought of using gas compression for self-ignition of fuel, Rudolf Diesel. has discovered an effective way to create high torque at low revs.
Whether installed on board battleships furrowing the sea or on stepped trawlers daring to travel to distant islands, the diesel engine is a vital component for ships leaving the port for long periods of time. With the invention of the compression engine, Rudolf Diesel has changed the course of history and opened up new opportunities for the industrial shipbuilding, automotive and even aviation industries. Although the possibility to travel long distances for pleasure is just a good extra option, yachtsmen can't do without it.
Yanmar 3JH40
The direct fuel injection system («commontrale»), in which the pump injects fuel at high pressure into the general line and electronically controlled nozzles regulate fuel injection into the cylinders, has significantly reduced diesel consumption while reducing noise, vibration and emissions. The new Yanmar 3JH40 engine won the National Shipbuilders' Association Award for Innovation, the world's smallest commonald «diesel generator. The three-cylinder diesel engine has an output of 40 hp at 3000 rpm and weighs 191.8 kg.
Diesel began to work on designing a more efficient engine than the steam engines that prevailed in his days, which wasted most of its energy during fuel combustion. He came up with a compression engine. Instead of igniting the fuel in the piston with a spark, as is the case with a gasoline internal combustion engine, the diesel engine uses pistons to compress air inside the cylinder, creating intense heat from which fuel self-ignition occurs. Diesel received a patent for its idea of a rational heat engine «in 1893» and introduced to the world its single-cylinder four-stroke 25 hp engine in 1897. As Diesel himself explained, «since the air is compressed and the combustion temperature is higher, gases give more energy after burning, creating more pressure on the piston and crankshaft.
The diesel engine proved to be much more efficient and could produce high torque at low rpm, making it ideal for heavy loads over long distances. It is also perfect for pulling a 15 metre sports fisher that comes out of the bay behind the marlin.
Jim Wynn
Jim Wynne came up with the idea for a Volvo Penta tilting and tilting loudspeaker, which mounted them on its engines and changed the face of recreational yachting.
While Ole Evinrud and later Carl Kiekhaefer at Mercury Marine have made recreational yachting a mass event with the introduction of a new generation of recreational boats.using an outboard engine in the 1930s and 1950s, industry representatives and race enthusiasts changed the rules of the game again, promoting the turntable. Ridiculously enough, Wynn invented the first tilt and turn engine when he worked for the outboard engine guru Mercury Marine. According to the company, Wynn was its employee from 1953 to 1958. It is known that he secretly worked on the design of the loudspeaker under the direction of the famous executive director of Mercury Charles Strang, who actually first suggested its idea in 1948. Owner of the Mercury Marine Carl Kickheifer rejected the concept, so Strang worked on it with Wynn in secret. In 1958 Wynn left the company and began to assemble the prototype of a loudspeaker from the outboard engine parts in his garage in Miami (USA). He then went to Sweden to offer the idea to the president of Volvo Penta, who liked it so much that he signed a licensing agreement with Wynn.
Volvo Penta Forward Drive
In response to the growing popularity of wakesurfing and the demand for more affordable family yachts to sail on, Volvo Penta has turned its screws to the bow. Screws in this system pull the boat over the water, not pushing it. With the propeller, which is 53.3 cm further forward than when it is mounted on the aft rack, surfers can safely ride the waves behind any boat.
At the 1959 New York Yacht Show, Wynn introduced the first such system to the public, the Volvo Penta Aquamatic, connected to an 80 hp engine. As a yacht racing enthusiast, Wynn also worked with Don Aronow on a project that later became the respected motor yacht Donzi Sweet 16. In 1961 Mercury Marine joined the project, and the swing-suspended loudspeaker boats began to take over the market. Over the next decade, yacht racing enthusiasts began to move away from outboard motors in favour of tilt-turn loudspeakers because the design allowed shipbuilders to mount larger, more powerful engine blocks directly into the hull and connect them to the drive unit. Outboard engines simply could not compete with them in power. Soon, gasoline engines with tilt-top column became widespread both on family boats, and on mid-sized cruisers. The time of outboard engines is irrevocably gone.
Leo Benz
Designed by Leo Bentz, the first fiberglass water skiing boat revolutionized the sport by minimizing the kiln track and allowing you to follow the boat directly.
Water skiing existed even before wakeboarding, wakesurfing and all other modifications of the sport. Ralph Samuelson invented it when he was on a lake in Minnesota (USA) in 1922, and learning to pair ski behind a family boat soon became a water rite of passage. The appeal of water skiing is that you can ski on almost any boat, but to ride at the highest level, you need a special boat. And that's where Leo Benz comes on stage.
Super Air Nautique G23
After decades of trying to minimize the kiln trail for water skiing, Nautique now builds boats that leave as many trails as possible behind for wakeboarding and wakesurfing. The Nautique Surf System (NSS) creates a huge wave - just press a button to make the surfboards that increase the G23's displacement and help form waves turn around. The touchscreen panel can also be used to connect an advanced steering assistance system and control the ballast.
For decades, the best skiers have preferred to follow wooden planes with the engine inside the boat: the central position of the engine and a small draft allowed for a more even traction and a smaller kiln track. In search of a competitive advantage for the highest level of riding, Benz designed the first fiberglass boat with an integrated engine in Miami, USA, in 1957. He called it Ski Nautique. Benz proposed to evaluate the idea to a familiar shipbuilder from Correct Craft in Florida, Walter C. Meloon, who became known as the builder of military transport boats during the Second World War. Melun first rejected the project, saying (as legend has it) that he had never seen a fiberglass «tree. Benz continued working on his design Ski Nautique and turned to Melun again in 1961. This time Correct Craft agreed to buy the Nautique drawings and start manufacturing the model. In 1961, the 5.5-meter Ski Nautique, equipped with 185 or 215 hp stationary engines, was sold at prices up to $3,845. As stated in the original advertising brochure, the «special design of the Nautique case allows it to leave an incredibly small kilowater trail at speeds suitable for jumping and slalom, and an excellent wave for tricks at low speeds .
К. Raymond Hunt.
К. C. Raymond Hunt was a design genius whose creation, the «deep V»hull, made it possible to create faster gliders with better stability in marine conditions.
Probably no one has had as much influence on modern yachting as C. Raymond Hunt, the naval architect who designed the first «deep V hull. Born in Daxbari (Massachusetts, USA), he began working with the design of sailboats and omarolls in the 1930s and experimented with increasing the keel angle in the 1940s. It was he who designed in 1958 a seven-meter wooden tender with a characteristic 24-degree transom inclination, redanes and sharp cheekbones, as well as a sharper keel and lower part of the stem, which many call the first true deep V-hull. This was the start of a revolution in motorboat design, as this shape allows the water to be cut, making the boat softer and the boat more navigable.
Hunt Yachts 32 CC
Today founded by C. Raymond Hunt and his partners Hunt Yachts owns the Hinckley Yacht Company. Boats are still manufactured in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, USA. The 32 CC is a beautiful entrance to the big world of central consoles.
In 1960, Dick Bertram built the Moppie - a 9.4-meter boat, based on the original Hunt's tender, which he won in the then famous Miami race - Nissau «. Bertram turned this boat into the later famous Bertram 31, a GRP model that is still being hunted by fans of classic boats.
Bertram wasn't alone, though. Hunt was also involved in the design of the original four-metre Boston Whaler in 1957. His design agency C. Raymond Hunt and Associates was founded in 1966 in partnership with John Deknatel, who still runs the company. The agency has been involved in the development of projects at many well-known shipyards including Chris-Craft, Grady-White, Robalo, Southport, Grand Banks, Four Winns, Cruisers, Regal and many others.
