The development of the outboard motor revolutionized water transportation. Outboard motors were easy to store out of the water, easy to maintain, and easy to use, making them the motor of choice for professional fishermen, sportsmen, and recreational boaters. Around 1906, the first outboard motor using gasoline was designed by a Yale law student from Detroit named Cameron Waterman. Waterman asked the Caille Brothers, manufacturers of slot-machines, to build the first 25 outboard motors. When the motors sold out immediately, Caille began producing their own successful line of outboards, and by the 1920s were making racing outboards.

In the 1940s, outboard racer George Martin designed a radical new outboard motor using automotive-type poppet valves, which he convinced a pressure-cooker manufacturer to make for him.

The intriguing stories behind these two ground-breaking companies will be told by Larry Stevenson in an illustrated lecture, “Caille and Martin: Birth of an Industry,” Wednesday, Aug. 10, 7 p.m. at Boothbay Railway Village, 586 Wiscasset Road, Route 27, Boothbay, Maine. A donation of $5 is suggested and proceeds will benefit the Museum’s general operating fund.

West Boothbay Harbor summer resident Larry Stevenson is a Navy and Coast Guard Auxiliary veteran and a retired UPS International Industrial Engineering Manager in the international operation. He has lived in the UK, Belgium, and Germany, and has a passion for art history, industrial design, sailing, history, and collecting old outboard motors.

For information on the many special events and learning opportunities throughout the season, visit the website www.railwayvillage.org or call 207-633-4727.