Way
back in 1904 when I was still in school and spending each summer
vacation as crew for Billy Swan, Bob Bavier and other famous skippers in
the numerous sail boat races on Long Island Sound and in the
international Sonderciasse races at Marblehead, I remember being excited
by the exploits of a rip-roaring contraption called Fried Egg. This was
one of those new-fangled things, a motorboat, owned, I believe, by W.K.
Vanderbilt, and the sporting world was thrilled by the fact that when
her eight cylinders could be made to function in approximate cooperation
she tore over the water at the amazing rate of
around 18 miles an hour. This was at least double the speed of the
fastest boat I had known up to that time, my father's temperamental
naphtha launch, in which I piled the fattest mayor New Rochelle ever had
up on the rocks of Huckleberry Island.
And then, along came another contraption, named Standard, equally ripping and equally roaring, and beat the spots out of Fried Egg, at the almost unbelievable speed of 22 1/2 miles an hour.
A lot of water has run under a lot of bridges since then and motorboating has developed from those crude beginnings into a major activity of the American people. It is now at the birth of a new era, an era that will see the motorboat challenging seriously the supremacy the automobile as the means adopted by millions of people for enjoying the pleasures of the outdoors.
The American motorboat of today is a reliable, comfortable, safe, easily operated water vehicle. The wide-spread popularity that is coming with-in the next few years for motorboats of all types, will bring with it, however, a revolution in the manufacturing methods of most of the motorboat industry. It will force the adoption of the principles and practices of wholesale standardization of high quality products so successfully carried on by the builders of our better grade automobiles.
This revolution has already begun. It seemed better to me to have this story told, not by an out-side observer, but rather by the leading exponent of this modern idea, who is actually engaged in putting it into execution. The rest of this tale, therefore is being told you by Horace E. Dodge, president of the Horace E. Dodge Boat Works, of Detroit, who has taken the lead in applying the principles of fine car manufacture to the production of standardized motorboat runabouts. Mr. Dodge, as the son of one of our greatest motor car manufacturers, has brought the traditions of the automobile world into the realm of the motorboat. The following paragraphs are his own thoughts, as brought out by the numerous questions I asked him. They hold a deep meaning for the entire American public. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Dodge speaking.
There is no valid reason why the manufacture of motorboats should not have been conducted since the earliest days of the sport in the same efficient and progressive manner as has the production of our millions of motor cars of all price classes.
In the Dodge Boat Works we have, for the first time, established the fact that very high class motorboat runabouts can be produced in much the same manner as automobiles of the better types. Although the creation of motorboats, made largely of wood, can never follow exactly the same lines used in the fabrication of quantity-production cars, the modern methods of producing high quality boats on an economical and simple basis, as created by this company, have much in common with the methods employed in turning out our finer motor vehicles, as represented, for example, by the Pierce-Arrow, Packard, Lincoln, Cadillac and others.
Twenty-five years ago motoring and motorboating were new sports and the industries of both of them were new and inexperienced. We did not know that either of these recreational activities would prove popular. Suddenly, however, largely through the farsighted vision of such men as Henry Ford, W. C. Durant, Alexander Win-ton, Elwood Haynes, the Stanley Brothers and others in whom lay the qualities of commercial greatness, the automobile took a tremendous jump ahead. Today the result is apparent on every street and highway in the country. At this writing, there are over twenty million automobiles in use in the United States, while of motorboats there are probably more than 800,000.
It was probably inevitable that, as the son of a successful manufacturer of motor cars, I should have been born with a passion for mechanical things. Through the kindness of my father, I was allowed to spend much time in the great Dodge Brothers factory where I studied the methods of construction, shop management, company financing, the choice of suitable personnel, the make-up of the various departments, the handling of materials from their receipt in raw form to their final stages in completed vehicles.
For years I soaked up this knowledge but, strangely enough, it did not fill me with the ambition to follow in my father's footsteps in the automobile world. I had always been enthusiastic about the water and was never completely happy unless I had some sort of boat to tinker with.
Gradually the thought was forced upon me "Can the standardization methods of automobile manufacture be :successfully applied to boat building?" The answer is, as we know now, that they can be so applied and could have been adopted by boat makers 'way back in 1902. From the remarkable results we have obtained in a few short years, I feel that the Dodge Boat Works, as at present constituted, represents the manner in which the whole motorboat industry of the future must operate to supply the American public with reliable, economical, well built, standardized boats. In other words, I see ahead to the day when motorboats in this country. will be counted by 'the millions and the industry that builds them will be organized on a basis of efficiency, standardization and integrity quite similar to that of the great automobile industry. The day of the sloppy, inefficient, expensively conducted collections of rusty sheds which constitute many of our boat building plants will soon be over.
Selecting the Proper Men
The largest problem in modern standardized boat building is also the main problem in automobile manufacture-selection of personnel. The building of motorboats requires a peculiar combination of extremely scientific but sensible men with modern abilities in financing, buying of materials, factory management, and last but not least, merchandising of the finished product. It is not easy to gather together a small group combining these qualifications. I feel that we have accomplished this to a remarkable degree in our organization, the key positions being held by men who are leaders in their various spheres, to form the nucleus of what will certainly be a very large organization in the years to come. Of my own fitness for the responsibilities and activities of president I can say little, but of the men gathered around me I can speak with enthusiasm.
(Interviewer's Note: Mr. Dodge's modesty is commendable but leaves a serious gap in the history of Dodge achievement. He inherited much of the genius of his father, the late Horace E. Dodge, for executive management and factory efficiency The big strides the Dodge Boat Works has made during its short existence have been due largely to young Horace's capable application of up to date automobile manufacturing methods to the building of standardized runabouts. He is thoroughly familiar with every step in the fabrication of high class boats, their designing, their assembly, the installation of their power plants, and all the other details that enter into advanced manufacture. He is a man of extremely varied activities and abilities. He has done great things in motorboat racing and has been a most important figure in nearly every motorboat regatta since 1922, when his first boat, Baby Holo, won the International Trophy at an average speed of 62 miles an hour. He has made enviable motorboat racing history with such famous boats of his construction as Baby Horace, Miss Syndicate, Impshi, Solar Plexus, Nuisance, Baby Watercar, Detroit Water Car, and many others. His participation in marine speed contests, however, is always secondary to his interest in building high quality boats in large quantities by modern assembly methods.
One of Mr. Dodge's most interesting contributions to motorboat racing has been the presentation by him of the beautiful $15,000 Horace E. Dodge Memorial Trophy, the annual contest for which has become a classic event in the motorboat world during the past two or three years This trophy, one of the handsomest ever presented for any sport, is a solid silver replica of the model of an ancient galleon. The original model, executed by Henry B. Culver, who is the best known expert in this line in the country, adorns Mr. Dodge's office in Detroit. (Mr. Dodge has offered this prize as a perpetual memorial to his father.)
The
vice president of the Dodge Boat Works is George F. Crouch, who in the
designing of small boats and achievements with them, stands head and
shoulders above all other naval architects and designers in the United
States. He is the father of the concave V-bottom runabout, which is the
bull form of all present Dodge models. Mr. Crouch's first high speed
motorboat was designed and completed in 1901, three years before the
first Gold Cup Race. In 1905 he joined the faculty of the Webb Institute
of Naval Architecture and became the head of that world famous
institution in 1920, at the same time continuing to design boats that
bad a very great influence on the entire motorboat industry in this
country and abroad.
His first concave V-bottom craft was the famous Peter Pan IV, which he produced in 1910 and which attracted much attention among motorboating enthusiasts and other designers. In 1911, when the American-designed, English-built Pioneer came to this country and demonstrated in amazing fashion the speed superiority of the hydroplane with steps built into the bottom, Mr. Crouch turned his attention to this type of boat and his hydroplanes were among the first ever built in this country. They included, among others, Peter Pans, Nos. V, VI, VII and VIII. These speedy craft proved their utility for racing but Mr. Crouch saw that the future of motorboat runabouts lay in the displacement type, so he spent much thought designing the famous Cinderellas, which, at that time, were the fastest displacement boats ever built. One of these, with a 75 horsepower engine which weighed 1400 pounds, made the then unheard of speed of 30 miles an hour. A later model ','made 35 miles an hour with a 90 horsepower engine weighing 870 pounds. Later Crouch boats, Rainbows I, II an IV, were highly successful in various races, piloted by the skillful hand of Commodore Harry B. Greening of Hamilton, Ontario.
On leaving Webb Institute in 1923, Mr. Crouch wet wholeheartedly into the designing of racing boats an achieved the unprecedented feat of winning first, second an third places in the Gold Cup Race of 1924, at Detroit, wit Baby Bootlegger, Miss Columbia and Rainbow IV. He repeated this victory in 1925 when Baby Bootlegger retains the famous trophy against the finest fleet of race craft ever assembled in a speed contest up to that time. His other boats have won innumerable prizes in the country's greatest races. One of the most successful has been Teaser, owned by Richard F. Hoyt, which made the astonishing record c over 50 miles an hour from Albany to New York, to say nothing of capturing the 105-mile Free-For-All race of Manhasset Bay in 1925 and the International Trophy Race as well.
All four of the present standardized Dodge Watercars were designed by Mr. Crouch and, while the basic design is not changed, such improvements are made from time to time in materials, fittings and construction as may seem desirable.
The Determination of Models
Since the beginning, the motorboat industry has suffers a serious handicap, namely, the fact that a vast majority of the boats have had to be built to order. There is every likelihood that if the automobile industry had followed this method the number of cars in use today would have been many millions less than it is. The success of Ford, Dodge Cadillac, Pierce-Arrow, Packard and other popular cars has been largely due to the fact that their makers have deter mined on one or two definite chassis models and have been very slow about making radical changes in their designs Until recently this obvious recipe for successful manufacturing has been unknown in the motorboat field. And herein lies the revolutionary feature of the Dodge Boat Works. The Dodge line of motorboats consists of three hull models which cover literally thousands of boating uses. By concentrating on these models and these only, we can produce them with every luxury and advantage, but at low prices hitherto thought impossible for boats of this type
Manufacturing Facilities
Dodge Watercars are not put together in a ramshackle group of riverside sheds. They are manufactured in accordance with the most modern ideas of automobile making efficiency in a thoroughly modern brick and concrete factory which now occupies over 75,000 square feet of space on a ten acre plot in one of the most desirable parts of Detroit' manufacturing area. The value of this land alone constitute a strong company asset and it will allow for the factor: expansion which is bound to take place from year to year with the increased demand for Dodge Watercars.
This plant was built and laid out for the express purpose of manufacturing boats. Everything in it from the wet lighted offices to the heated, dustproof varnishing room and separate motor testing building, is in thorough keeping with the most up to date practice in the great automobile industry. Detroit is an ideal location for the nation-wide distribution of Dodge Watercars of which we are at present producing at an average of seven per day.
Materials in Dodge Watercars
No boat is better than the materials which enter into its production. The whole length and breadth of the business world have been searched to provide the best and most scientifically designed parts, materials and accessories on which the reputation of Dodge Watercars must stand. Over sixty companies contribute the various materials which go into our boats and their products come from all corners of the globe, as is the case in the manufacture of motorcars. The selected grained mahogany which planks the decks, sides and transoms of Dodge Watercars comes from Africa. The white oak which goes into each Watercar keel in the form of one solid unblemished piece comes from the mountains of Virginia. Our varnish conies from the fossil beds of New Zealand, the pigments of our paints from China and other distant countries and the material for the 7000 brass screws, 300 brass arid bronze bolts, the struts, shafts, propellers and other metal parts are gathered from all over the world.
The Boats Themselves
Adhering strictly to a rigid method of standardization, Dodge Watercars are made in limited quantities in three sizes, 22 1/2 26 and 30 feet long, with three engines, making five boat models in all. models 422 and 822 are the 22 1/2 footers. The beam is 5 feet 7% inches, draft 20 inches, allowing the boat to operate in extremely shallow water. The model 422, with Dodge Brothers famous engine scientifically adapted to marine use and developing 30 horsepower, makes well over 20 miles per hour. Its big single cockpit provides adequate facilities for five passengers in heavily upholstered seats. It is a particularly easy boat to drive, all the controls being centralized on the steering wheel at the operator's fingertips. The same hull, as Model 822, with DodgeCurtiss motor of 90 horsepower is a fast stock runabout with a guaranteed speed of 37 miles an hour.
The second hull size, Models 426 and 826, differing only in engines, is 25 feet 11 inches long over all, 25 feet on the waterline, has a beam of 6 feet, 7/ inches and draws 24 inches of water. With the 30 horsepower Dodge marine engine it makes 15 miles an hour and Model 826, with the 90 horse-power Dodge-Curtiss engine travels in excess of 35 miles an hour. The Model 426 is supplied on special order only. Each of these models has two cockpits. The forward one provides commodious accommodations for six people, while the big leather seats in the after cockpit provide for three. There is plenty of room in the after cockpit for extra chairs for two or three more passengers.
A New and Bigger Model
During this year's Motor Boat Show, we announced what we consider a most interesting new model. This is a 30 footer with a beam of 7 feet and 3 inches designed to provide comfortable accommodations for 14 passengers. This luxurious boat is powered with a 250 h.p., 6 cylinder Globe engine, designed by H. Alexander Johnson, which will give it a speed in excess of 46 miles an hour. The name of this new model is Watercar Senior and it will be sold complete for $7,200.00.
Uses of Dodge Watercars
Dodge watercars are not racing boats. They are sturdy craft, built for a thousand recreational and utilitarian purposes. They are so easy to operate that they can be handled by practically every member of the family, including the boys and girls in their teens. For the summer residents near the water or during the wintertime in Florida or other southern places there are innumerable uses to which a Dodge Water-car can be put-fishing, swimming, picnics, moonlight or daylight spins, transportation to the stores for provisions and countless other services. The Dodge Watercar has speed for those who enjoy the thrill of it but can be run at any slower rate desired.
While the Dodge Watercars are not built as racing boats, they provide the most exciting and closely contested races. Due to their similarity of hull design and motor installation they are very evenly matched and a fleet of half a dozen of them in one club assures their owners of some of the finest and most enjoyable one-design racing obtainable anywhere
Conclusions
I feel that in building Dodge Watercars as 'we’re
are doing, by thoroughly standardized automobile methods, but with the
limitations that motorboat construction entails, we are fully prepared
for the 
wholesale
public adoption of the water for recreational purposes. At the beginning
of this year of 1927 there are approximately 800,000 motorboats in use.
I predict that five years from now the number will have increased to
somewhere between one and three millions. And if that happens, arid
I'm sure it will, it will be because the motorboat builders have
learned by the experience of the automobile industry how to build high
class boats by standardized, limited-quantity production methods, with
an economy unobtainable any other way. In other words, the boats of the
future will be like the Dodge Watercars of today.
operated
in Winona until Gardiner sold his share in the business to an
entrepreneur from Red Wing, MN. in November 1902. The price for half
interest in the company was less than $1500. The boats and equipment
were moved to 114 Main Street, Red Wing, Minnesota. under the "Old
High Bridge" on the Mississippi River. The Red Wing Boat Mfg. Co.,
Manufacturers of Gasoline Engines & Launches, was born. This company
was unique in that they designed and built both the boats and the
engines.
engines
include the ignition timer, the lubrication system and the intake
manifold. The intake system was designed to use the 3 port or piston
port, but was converted to a 2 port or crankcase port. This was probably
done because the 3 port design was patented at the time. The patent did
not expire until 1907. The conversion allowed the company to sell this
experimental engine without violating the patent.