The motor has a 2 ½ inch bore by 3 inch stroke. The piston used two rings to ensure proper compression. Ignition was the battery and coil type, which was the common form until the invention of the magneto for flywheels in 1915.
Probably the most prominent feature on the entire engine is the means by which the motor has for steering. All outboard motor engines made prior to the Wright used a common tiller handle or bar that was connected to the driveshaft housing. When one moved the tiller arm left or right, the lower unit would follow in unison with said movement.
On the Wright motor, there was a crank handle mounted below the cylinder. This handle was attached to a bevel gear. On the top of the driveshaft housing, a gear that is the mate to the one on the crank handle was mounted as such that it’s center line of axis is 90 degrees from that of the gear on the crank handle.
When one wanted to turn the boat, you simply rotated the crank handle. This action turned the lower unit. Instant reverse could be obtained simply by a quick turn of the handle, no other adjustments were necessary to achieve this function. It was and still is a very unique method of turning the lower unit.
There the relatively short life span of this motor company, it is surprising to find that there are several different variations of the motor to exist. As it was common in those days, C.T. Wright must have constantly been upgrading and or changing his design for what ever reason. The resulting products are all still Wright motors, but they vary in design and appearance on certain aspects.
From this point on in the article the various differences and unique items found on the Wright rowboat motor will be discussed. When ever possible, I will use actual engine pictures as my primary source to show you the various items. In the year 2005, I was fortunate enough to be able to acquire one of these engines and it remains one of the center pieces of my small collection.
To begin the various descriptions of the engines components, we will start at the top of the engine. The flywheels used on these engines are more or less the basic cast flywheel one would expect from any engine of that time period. It has been found though, that in the 3 to 4 years of engine production, the company used 4 different types of flywheels.
The first type (fig. 7) is a cast iron piece. The 4 holes cast in the flywheel are uniquely shaped. I call these shaped holes “semi circular” shaped holes as they kind of resemble the letter D. That may not be the best method to describe them, but for sake of argument, for this articles purpose I will refer to them as such.
Another type of flywheel found on the engines is again a cast iron flywheel, but the holes cast in it are ROUND, or circular holes (fig. 8)
Yet again, another type of flywheel that has been found on a motor is cast in BRASS. Reason for this is unknown, but is believed to be correct as it came on a very original motor that seems to not have been tampered with in the least. The holes cast in this flywheel are also round or circular (fig. 9).
The last variety of flywheel known to be used is the cast iron type that has PEAR shaped holes cast in the flywheel (fig. 10).
 One small item that has been noted to have changed a few times is the wooden starting knob mounted on the flywheel. The early version’s have an ornate wooden knob that is different than any other rowboat motor I have ever seen (fig. 11).
 Moving down the engine, the next area
is the timer.
The timer levers on all known Wright rowboat motors are the same.
The timer lever itself is a plain rod that extends out and has a loop on the end of it.
On this lever, a metal tab, insulated from grounding on the engine, is placed where it will come into contact with the peg hanging down from the bottom side of the flywheel.
When the peg comes into contact with the metal tab, it is grounded and thus completes the ignition circuit and a spark is thrown through the system and into the spark plug.
When the flywheel is rotating, this peg acts as a cam and forces the points to open and close at the appropriate time.
The gas tank is a shape and design that is unique to this engine. All the known Wrights have the same gas tank.
On the few surviving engines, it has been found that there are two styles of fuel caps.
A cap found on an early version of the motor is brass and has a unique shape.
The other example from a later motor, resembles an old oil can’s cap.
 Wright engines did have a decal placed on the tank.
Original examples of the engine show what a decal looked like as it came from the factory.
Unfortunately, the back of this tank has no evidence of a decal at all. There may have been one there originally, but I just can’t say for sure.
It is not a known fact if the name WRIGHT was on the rear of the tank or not, it was indeed placed on both sides of the tank.
(Note: Since the writing of this piece more motors have been found.)
Moving on down the engine we come to the crankcase.
This item is quite interesting in that it is cast in aluminum. Aluminum was NOT a commonly used metal in the making of such motors at this timer period. Most other manufacturers were using bronze. The method used to cast was sand casting.
You could not simply use a pattern and core set up for a bronze product with aluminum. It took special care and knowledge to be able to pour a piece in aluminum that would be correct in dimensions plus still had the strength needed to operate and survive service.
The few other manufacturer’s motors, whom tried aluminum at that point in time are constantly found today with broken castings, etc…directly related to how the piece was cast and with what material.
With that said, Cass T. Wright must have done it right, as the known variations of this motor have no problems with broken aluminum castings, etc. This is another aspect that shows just how much more care was put in this motor than many others of the time. The best materials, and the best workmanship one could ask for is what the company claimed and seemed to deliver.
Getting back to the crankcase itself, nothing stands out visually to note on this piece except of course the aluminum material it is made of.
The case is cast in two halves, upper and lower just as all the crankcases on motors of this type were done. A grease cup port was machined in the upper main in the top portion of the crankcase. As was common in those days, a simple turn of the grease cup fed additional lubrication to the crank and its supportive bushing.
The lower crankcase on the early versions seems to no have had a grease cup port.
However, this port was added on later engines.
The cylinder used on the Wright engines were cast in Gray Iron, the material most commonly used for such in that time period.
One item to note on Wright Cylinders is the method in which the motors were stamped for serial numbers. On the top portion of the cylinder, located right above the spark plug hole, there is a flat spot that was cast on the cylinder. Upon this flat spot, the engines serial number was stamped.
(Note: It seems not all motors got stamped, plus the magneto mount motor seems to have had none.)
The earliest known Wright I am aware of is owned by Len Pangburn, which is motor #68.
Just the numbers are stamped, no symbols. It is a theory that in the second year of production, they started over on the serial numbers BUT added a “0” prefix on all engines that carried a two digit serial number. Once the serial number reached a 3 digit number, the actual number was used. For example, my motor is #020, yet it is a later motor than Mr. Len Pangburns.
The carburetor used on the engines differed. They changed styles as the years advanced.
A couple of the engines known have a carburetor that utilizes an arm for adjustment of the throttle. Other engines have been found with a very interesting and ornate looking carburetor.
Two engines have been found to carry this Lunkenheimer carb that had the capability of carrying an auxiliary oiler atop its casting.
One engine has the oiler, while the other was found to have the oiler port plugged with a cap.
It should be noted that compared to other rowboat motors, the placement of the carburetor is on the OPPOSITE side as is the normal placement.
I am not aware of any other forward pointing single cylinder rowboat motor to carry the carburetor on this side.
 With the fuel system on the port side of the engine, the exhaust is directly across from it on the starboard side.
The exhaust is totally unique to the Wright motors.
They utilize a brass can that is mounted horizontally parallel to the cylinder.
The back plate, which serves as the exit point of the exhaust, is supported by a bracket that connects to a crankcase bolt.
Right in front of the exhaust is a priming cup.
As was common for many engines made in those times, a priming cup was installed to help pre-prime the engine for starting.
You would simply place a little amount of fuel in the priming cup, turn the pet cock, which allows the fuel to enter the cylinder, and then close the cup, and attempt to start the motor.
The priming cup can also be used to clear the engine of too much fuel by opening it and turning the motor over several times AFTER the fuel has been shut off.
 As previously described, probably the most prominent and different feature the Wright motor has is the method in which it is steered.
Instead of a normal tiller bar, it has a crank handle mounted below the cylinder.
At the end of this handle is a gear that mates to another gear on the driveshaft housing. When the crank is turned, the lower unit moves in the desired direction of travel.
Full reverse is quite easy to attain, simply by rotating the handle until the lower unit turns the 180 degrees needed.
No other adjustments or measures must be taken to achieve this, quite an easy and practical method.
The same transom clamp was used in all the known motors. This is one of the items made from aluminum, which strays from the normally used iron material. One might note in the above picture that the pivot bolt that the power head can swivel up and down on is located on the top of the transom clamp. Room had to be made for the steering crank handle to go beneath the cylinder. So the entire power head was raised and anchored on this pivot pin, thus giving the needed room for the handle.
 The driveshaft housing is the next item to discuss.
This part is cast in bronze.
On my engine, it appears that it was entirely plated with nickel.
Other examples have been found with just a bronze casting with no plating. This component is prone to a lot of abuse as when the motor is in use, if any object is struck with the lower unit, the force generated from this can and often times breaks the driveshaft housing.
None of the known Wrights have any sign of damage or repairs in this area.
This is another testament to how well the company had their set up for pouring castings.
 The lower unit used on these motors is quite unique and different in appearance.
On the early version motors, there was no skeg on the lower unit.
Besides this lower unit being a skegless version, notice the leading edge of the lower unit, the pointed nose, and the casting where the water is fed into the water hose. This is style is unique to skegless versions only.
A variant of this lower unit has a skeg.
The leading edge is also different and has a large nut on the front.
The Water Pump fitting is also different in that it exits the lower unit via a different casting.
There is yet one more variation in lower units.
This other type also has a skeg, yet the leading edge of the lower unit has been changed again.
Now, instead of a large nut on the front plate, this lower unit has a smooth front face and the water exists the water pump on the top edge of the lower unit.
The Wright engine is one that I am proud to own and consider it to be the center price of my collection. These engines are quite symbolic of a time in our nation’s great history when men worked hard to find and fill the needs of another. A great deal of money was made and lost in this search. If it were not for men like Cass T. Wright, and the other resourceful men and women whom created engines of their own, the advancement and development of new and better ideas for engines would not have occurred as it did. Each contributed to the industry, however small it may have been. Each added a rung on the ladder of evolution for the Marine Industry, which led to the engines of today.
That pretty well covers and documents the variations I have found on the known examples of C.T. Wright rowboat motors. There are but a handful of engines known to exist and they are scattered through out our country. If not for the cooperation of their respectful owners, I would not have been able to show you many of the actual images I did.
Special thanks is rightly deserved and owed to Len Pangburn, David Ostrowski, and Michael Kwaysansoski. They own the other samples pictured in this article. Thanks also go to Jack Craib and Randy Kallevig. They helped me obtain images of engines I couldn’t travel to and photograph myself.
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In 1868, L.B. Wright died and his son, Cass T. Wright, took a quarter interest in the partnership forged by his father and his uncle. In 1880, while still operating the lumber business, Wright Bros. & Co. erected a large flouring mill. The Wright family quickly became VERY prosperous due to the flouring mills large output and great demand from the surrounding areas.
