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| The Racine Boat Mfg. Co. Racine Wisco... |
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denis_rouleau
Advanced Member
Username: denis_rouleau
Post Number: 47
Registered: 08-2011
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - 07:52 pm: | 
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Here are several pictures of a single cylinder "Racine Boat Mfg. Co." marine engine I picked up today.
The flywheel is 3 inches wide and 13 inches in diameter.
http://buzzcoil.brinkster.net/MARINE/page104.html
To bad the carb is gone.
Denis Rouleau |
jb_castagnos
Senior Member
Username: jb_castagnos
Post Number: 1102
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - 08:45 pm: |
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Denis, Jim Fehl restored a later Racine Pierce, similar looking engine. He borrowed my mixer and duplicated it, I believe he had an extra cast. Looking at your engine I would think they were from the same family, yours is early with the pedestal base. |
denis_rouleau
Advanced Member
Username: denis_rouleau
Post Number: 48
Registered: 08-2011
| | Posted on Thursday, October 01, 2015 - 07:05 am: |
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What I like about this little marine engine is that it has retained its cast brass name tag. For this reason there is no doubt as to the name of the company and where it was situated.
The name "Racine Boat Manufacturing Company" in Racine Wisconsin could have only been found on engines built between 1895 and 1903. In earlier years of that period the Racine Boat Mfg. Co. were building steam engines. Their gasoline engines were made in the last few years of the time period.
It is not known if their first engine started with a steam engine serial number 1 and progressed to their gasoline engine serial number 1596+. Are there any other known (steam or gasoline) engine with a Racine Boat Mfg. Co. built in Racine Wisconsin? It would be interesting to know how high the serial numbers ran on a Racine Boat Mfg. Co. Racine Wi. engine. |
ScottP
Visitor
| | Posted on Thursday, October 01, 2015 - 01:58 pm: |
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Hi Denis and friends,
Racine Boat Manufacturing Company lost its plant in Racine, Wisconsin in May 1903. When it was unable to acquire additional land for expansion, it moved to Muskegon, Michigan, the following year and established a large plant on the lakefront. According to Michigan Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics, in 1905 it produced 3,005 boats valued at $300,000, and it employed 322 people. It merged into the National Boat & Engine Company in 1910-11, which promptly went bankrupt, and the salvageable pieces reorganized as Racine-Truscott-Shell Lake Boat Company, which in turn failed in 1915. This would place a Racine Boat Manufacturing Company engine labeled as being built in Muskegon at between 1904-1910. Their foundry later became the startup of Campbell-Wyant-Cannon.
Scott Peters |
ScottP
Visitor
| | Posted on Thursday, October 01, 2015 - 02:04 pm: |
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Forgot to mention that the loss of the plant in Racine was due to fire, and that the Muskegon Chamber of Commerce offered them lakefront property and $20,000 to move there. I wrote about them briefly in my new book, Making Waves: Michigan's Boat-building Industry, 1865-2000, University of Michigan Press, 2015...And thanks to all the folks who participate on this site who helped make it possible!
Scott |
denis_rouleau
Advanced Member
Username: denis_rouleau
Post Number: 49
Registered: 08-2011
| | Posted on Friday, October 02, 2015 - 07:39 am: |
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According to this "Motor Boat" magazine article the Racine Boat Mfg. Co. plant in Racine Junction was completely destroyed by fire on May 31, 1903:
http://buzzcoil.brinkster.net/MARINE/19050110racine.jpg
By April 1904 the Racine Boat Mfg. Co. was recently back in business from their newly completed factory in Muskegon, Michigan:
http://buzzcoil.brinkster.net/MARINE/190401racine.jpg
Seems to me that Racine Boat Mfg. Co. was much more than selling motors:
http://buzzcoil.brinkster.net/MARINE/19050325racine.jpg
Denis Rouleau |
denis_rouleau
Advanced Member
Username: denis_rouleau
Post Number: 50
Registered: 08-2011
| | Posted on Saturday, October 03, 2015 - 09:15 am: |
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I started cleaning my 1900-1903 Racine Boat Mfg. Co. marine motor. Seems like the original color is dark green as seen on its sub-base of which I've included a few pictures:
http://buzzcoil.brinkster.net/MARINE/racine91.JPG
http://buzzcoil.brinkster.net/MARINE/racine92.JPG
http://buzzcoil.brinkster.net/MARINE/racine93.JPG
http://buzzcoil.brinkster.net/MARINE/racine94.JPG |
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