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Last Updated:
22 December 2006
| | Styling and Design of Evinrude Boats, No Accident
The unique, award-winning style of the original 1964 -
1965 Evinrude boat line was directly attributed to long-time,
Milwaukee-based, industrial design consultant, Brooks
Stevens. Mr. Stevens (1911 - 1995) had a long and successful industrial
design relationship with Evinrude, dating back to 1936. Between
1956 and 1962, Stevens designed seven imaginative "concept" or "dreamboats" (often called "shriekers"
because they shouted "look at me!" at annual national boat shows) boats for Evinrude.
The most famous of these designs was the patented, tall-tail-finned,
1956 Evinrude "Lark," runabout featured
on the cover of Newsweek magazine. A year later, this
trend-setting boat design entered production as the Cadillac
Sea Lark. View original brochure
here.
When Evinrude entered
into production of fiberglass boats in 1964, it utilized the patented gull-wing hull
design of marine architect, Richard
Cole. But the colors, unique windshields, interiors, helms and top deck design
details (from the gunwales-up)
were the work of Brooks
Stevens, FIDSA.
To learn more, view the Brooks
Stevens Milwaukee Art Museum online exhibition.
Brook Stevens Design wins design award for new Evinrude
gull-wing boats:
Industrial Design, Volume
11, Number 12, December, 1964,
11th Annual Design Review Awards
This
glass fiber motorboat has a gull wing hull configuration with
molded sponsons and a blunt nose for stability and a smooth
ride. The blunt nose also serves to keep water spray from coming
over the bow. An innovation is the fold-down window shield ( a
hook behind the running light anchors the window down) which has
an extruded aluminum frame that doubles as an air-vent along
the bottom edge. This is a good detail in southern climes where
boat riding can be very hot. The deck has a slip-resistant
pebble grain pattern. The boat, which comes in Gray with Red
accents or Blue with Blue accents, has smoothly molded lines. The
absence of chrome strips, flashy crests or outlandishly shaped
fittings puts this design in a rare class.
Designer:
Brooks Stevens Associates, consultant
Maker:
Evinrude Motors Corporation, 4143 N 27th St., Milwaukee,
Wisconsin
For
your further reading enjoyment, may we suggest:
Industrial
Strength Design: How Brooks Stevens Shaped Your World
by
Glenn Adamson
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