The Cleveland E. Dodge Memorial Launch Building features two exhibits: The National Motor Boat Show on the lower level and Outboards! The Motor that Changed Pleasure Boating on the mezzanine level. Boats are occasionally rotated in and out of storage for display as part of the The National Motor Boat Show. In 2023, the Outboards! received a refresh. To learn more about each exhibit, read below. For a sneak peek at the Launch Building and the exhibits as they were in 2020, check out The Wooden Boat Experience’s episodes from the Tour of the Galleries Scott Ouderkirk took us on during our virtual opening.
The National Motor Boat Show
The National Motor Boat Show displays some of the most notable powered pleasure boats, runabouts, cruisers, and their engines that have put the Antique Boat Museum on the map. The exhibit highlights the evolution of boating as a pastime in North America through the lens of a period boating trade show.
A new activity in 1900, by 1950 motor boating was an important cultural marker, and remains so today. Central to the growth of this industry were large, aspirational trade shows, where the public came to explore what motor boating was
all about. The largest of these was the National Motor Boat Show, begun in New York City in 1905 and still held every year. More than earlier ways of boating by sail and oar, motor boating was a facet of modernism, a celebration of personal freedom and opulence through technology.
Steam yachts in the mid-1900s were the first recreational powerboats, but scale and complexity restricted them to a wealthy elite. Smaller, simpler power plants evolved in the 1880s, and by the early 1900s the gasoline engine brought power boating within reach of many more people. Soon an industry sprang up to sell motor boats through standardization and advertising. This new industry faced the challenge of educating the public about boating, as well as pushing brand selection. Trade shows such as the National Motorboat Show were created to give manufacturers a forum to display their new products and educate interested consumers. These shows were aspirational and lavishly decorated, inviting people to take part in a new and glamorous activity.
Outboards! The Motor that Changed Pleasure Boating
It is hard to pinpoint when exactly the first outboard motor was created. There were various designs for
something resembling it from the early days of motorized pleasure boating. During this period, boats with motors were reserved for the upper classes who could afford the expensive machines. Those with rowboats had to propel themselves manually. The idea of a motor was on the minds of many tinkerers and engineers. The first designs for outboard motors appeared in the 1880s, and it was not long before several industrious people brought designs to the mass market. To say outboard motors changed the face of powerboating is an understatement. From an economical way to get out on the water to the modern V-12 outboards and everything in between, every boater has a cherished connection to an outboard motor. The 2023 refresh features updated graphics and boats and motors that have not been on display previously. The refresh is co-curated by Peter Hunn.
