Anthony G. New and Arthur James Mayne are the team behind this early detachable electric motor. Electrical engineers, who saw advantages in electricity over gasoline or steam, New and Mayne designed and improved this motor in a flurry of activity in the 1890s.

While electric launches were not a new idea, the thought of actually having a smaller, lighter arangement that could make a powered boat affordable to people other than the really wealthy was exciting to the press. It was first designed to be mounted on the common "double sculler" gig using the existing eyebolts that mount the regular rudder. Later designs used thumbscrews. New and Mayne cleverly caught the press and the public eye when they set up one of their motors in a glass tank at the Yachting Exhibition held at the Aquarium.

By 1897 the weight of a 1/2 HP motor was 55 pounds, while a 2 HP motor was 200 pounds. The weight of the cells creating the electricity, plus the switching mechanism, was also significant.