Jack Craib's Rowboat Motor Information Site

Tip-Top


Frankfurt Engine Works
Frankfurt, Germany

"In 1913, the Motorenwerk Frankfurt GmbH opened its business. The company's managing director was the engineer Carl Mayer.

In the same year, the single-cylinder two-stroke outboard motor "Tip-Top" with 2 HP was released.

In 1914, another single-cylinder motor with 5 HP followed. Both (single-cylinder) engines were advertised throughout the war and afterwards until 1919."

Ads have been found after 1919 for the Duplex.

Tip-Top Duplex, #1487
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The amazing bent wood tiller handle is one of those artifacts from a past age of carriage making working
its way into the modern mechanical world.

If you are into antique furniture at all this tiller handle will remind you of a Thonet chair.
One chair that has the bent wood top, the No. 14 chair, alone sold 40 million copies between 1859 and 1939.
It was certainly around to give a designer an idea for the tiller!


Tip-Top Simplex
   

 

Another 1913 ad...

Tip-Top is an outboard motor that can be easily attached to any rowing boat, sailing yacht, dinghy, etc.

Tip-Top is the result of extensive experimentation and thus has a very perfect, simple and strong construction.

Tip-Top is equipped with magneto ignition through a watertight magneto. This means that malfunctions due to water splashes, weak electric batteries, etc. never occur.

Tip-Top is valveless and goes forward as well as reverse,
its maintenance is very easy, and it can be safely left in the hands of minors.

Tip-Top weighs a total of 24 kg.

Tip-Top costs 500 marks at the nearest railway station.

Order in time through the
Finnish Yacht Agency.
(Includes: Geitlin & Brandt).
V. Henriksgatan 16. Tel: 91 45.
Helsinki.
3963
General agent for Finland.

1919 above
1925 below

 

Below is an illustration from a 1921 book on practical boat building by W. Ernst. It only mentioned outboards in passing and had this, and one other, illustrated just so you would know they work well on some small boats.
"There are little motors from 2 to 5 horsepower, built for the sake of simplicity as a two-stroke engines. Motor, shaft, prop and accessories are combined into an easily movable apparatus. They are in use by means of a clamping device on the beltline of the boat used, so that the shaft of the screw dips into the water. If the motor is not used, it is stored in an appropriate place in the boat."
This is a rough translation....I wonder about "beltline" :-)

I don't know who this is, but he obviously is having a great day!