Shrike, a 1914 “Auto-boat” launch built by Fay & Bowen of Geneva, NY in 1914. As the automobile became popular and developed into a standard format, so did motor boats follow suit. Around 1910, engines became reliable enough that they no longer required constant attention and could be placed under covered hatches. Motor boats like this were built like cars: the driver sat upright at a steering wheel on one side, passengers sat on benches under a folding top, and the engine was enclosed forward under a long sweep of deck. This was a new format for motor launches, and they were dubbed “Auto-Boats” by the growing industry for small power boats. (The operators, who were often inexperienced, were sometimes sardonically referred to as “Automoboatists.”) In the mid-teens, displacement launches like this one were made obsolete by the development of the hard-chine planing hull. Boats like this one were only made from about 1908-1918, and were sadly out of fashion by 1920. As a result, there are not many left. 

The engine pictured was also made by F&B; it is an in-line four-cylinder L-head. It was started by a hand-crank which protruded through the dash. The spark was provided by a magneto—no battery required. 

I came across this lovely example of the type at Foss Waterway Seaport, a small but growing maritime museum in Tacoma, WA. I was down there doing some documentation for the Center for Wooden Boats. Shrike was recently sold by a broker in Seattle, and is on display at FWS awaiting transport to her new owners. This remarkable boat will be going to Lake Tahoe, where she will be in good company.