Any Color You Want As Long As It’s Black
Published: Monday, January 27, 2020
By: Jordan Balbresky
We’ve all seen the old photos of the original outboard engines. Invented by Ole Evinrude in 1906, Ole built the first prototype and after seeing it for the first time, his fiancée, Bess, said that it looked like a coffee grinder. The first 1 1/2 horsepower Evinrude motor weighed 62 pounds and sold for $62. That was a lot of money at the time just to eliminate oars or sails. However, much like the Ford Model T automobile – which was released in 1908 – the first outboard was purely practical. Whether an outboard or automobile, over 110 years ago we purchased it because of what it could do for us: it turned fuel into the power to move us. Both were considered a reliable and relatively affordable alternative to steam, wind, or human-powered transportation.
Fast-forward to 2020; we don’t buy a car because it has an engine and four wheels. As consumers, we have moved past that. Additional features may sway our purchase, but we really purchase a specific car because of what it says to us and about us. The automobile has evolved into a symbol of personality and style. Beyond just style, the automobile industry has evolved such that, in addition to style, we now EXPECT a level of comfort, safety, and ease of use that wouldn’t have been thought of with the original Model T.
They say the original Model T was offered in “any color you want, as long as it is black.” Now, black is one of any number of colors offered by car companies and is just one of many customizable options offered during the purchase process. Though the same amount of time has passed since the car’s invention, when we look at today’s roster of major outboard manufacturers, we don’t see that same dizzying variety of options. Pull up any major outboard company’s website and find the only customization is the selection of size and color – usually white, gray, or black. There is no sense of style or personality. There is no focus on comfort and ease of use. Outboard innovation has been solely focused on developing the highest horsepower.
One outboard manufacturer that stands apart from this trend, in my opinion, is Evinrude. In the late 90s, the majority of marine outboard engines were conventional carbureted two-stroke engines. Because of the high emissions of these types of engines, the EPA began regulating them in 1998. Manufacturers started working on ways to reduce emissions in order to meet new standards. While four-stroke technology was the easiest path to take from an emissions point of view, it had challenges with respect to weight, power, and performance. That’s the direction almost every other outboard manufacturer went. Evinrude, on the other hand, added direct fuel injection (DI) to the two-stroke engine, which solved the emissions issue but there were very few other examples of production gasoline engines using DI. All of the development work needed to be done in-house and early DI systems were complex and not fully understood. As with all true innovation, there was a learning curve. That learning curve seems to have been capitalized on by diehard four-stroke fans and many will downplay the advantages of two-stroke DI engines. However, with the release of the E-TEC G2 engines, Evinrude perfected this technology. Unique from the four-stroke, Evinrude’s E-TEC G2s, actually excelled in performance, and is now the most fuel-efficient engine on the market. It also meets the highest emission standards around the world and leads the industry in torque, making for a more exhilarating experience. And that is just the tip of the iceberg!
Evinrude also approaches consumer comfort and ease of use with the idea that consumers should expect the same from their outboard as they do from their automobiles. With that concept driving their design, they built in digital shift and throttle as standard on all E-TEC G2 engines, as well as an automated trim control system – iTrim – that takes the guesswork out of trimming. They also created an adjustable power steering capability – iSteer – built into the midsection of the engine, requiring no outside pumps or hoses. They built the E-TEC G2 so it requires no break-in period, no dealer-scheduled maintenance for five-years or 500 hours, and no engine oil changes, ever. And unlike other manufacturers, rather than taking those features and scaling them up into larger engines, they are scaling them down into the sizes of outboard engines we (the consumers) actually purchase. For example, the 115 H.O., 140HP, and 150HP were recently released, which are 3-cylinder versions of their larger cousins with most of the same features.
All of the internal innovation aside, Evinrude really stands out with their attention to detail. They pay attention to each purchaser’s personal style and make it part of the package instead of an afterthought or aftermarket addition. The Evinrude E-TEC G2 is the first outboard with removeable and customizable panels. Not only does this make inspecting and working on the engine easy and accessible, it makes user customization a piece of cake. The customizable panel architecture lets the buyer choose from hundreds of color combinations to create a custom engine that perfectly matches any boat. The days of settling for white, gray, or black are over. This may not be a huge step forward in the evolution of the outboard, but after 110 years, it looks like Evinrude is finally leading the way towards embracing what car companies have done for decades. They are recognizing that we are making purchase decisions not just about power, but about ease of use and comfort, and that we have come to expect that a boat, like a car, is an extension of our personal style. Hopefully, the rest of the industry follows suit.
About Jordan Balbresky
A former public relations practitioner serving the high-tech and consumer electronics industries, Jordan Balbresky returned to the agency world following a decade of hands-on marine experience. Living in the Caribbean and working in all aspects of the marine industry — from boat building, restoration and maintenance, to charter captain and delivery crew of sailing and motor yachts — Balbresky has a first-hand understanding of the outdoor and maritime markets. Fully immersing himself in the industry, he is a licensed scuba instructor, as well as master mariner and has lived on-board a custom-built schooner while skippering charters on boats of all sizes in the US Virgin Islands.
This article first appeared in the Winter Issue (Jan/Feb) 2020 of Great Lakes Scuttlebutt magazine.
tags: Engines
