Jack Craib's Rowboat Motor Information Site

Tiptop #1487

Frankfurt Engine Works
Frankfurt, Germany

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. This is from the teens.

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...so it was certainly around to give a designer an idea for the tiller!

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!