For the past 5 years or so, ABM has been courting the Norris family to donate Atosis, probably the best-preserved pre-1910 racing motor boat in existence. It is a fascinating boat, built like a wood-canvas canoe, with a design thoroughly seated in the semi-displacement theory. Though wide and flat in the stern sections, Atosis is double-ended on deck, a wild shape shared by some other boats from the period, none of which are extant. (One of these is the Unadilla, the crumpled remains of which reside in a barn in western Washington.)
Atosis has never been restored, unlike all of her remaining contemporaries. When she showed up at the ABM boat show in the 80s, floating on her original canvas, she made quite an impression. My father Everett Smith (The Everett Boat Works, Number Boats) remembers a conversation between himself, the Norris family, and Mark Mason (New England Boat & Motor, Baby Bootlegger) in which they both urged the Norris’ not to restore the boat. This was quite against the fashion of the time and indicates a rare impulse towards preservation over use among raceboat enthusiasts. A pretty strong indication of the rarity of the boat and its condition.
I had some correspondence with the Norris family when I worked at ABM some years ago, I thought I had some other pictures around here but I can’t put my hands on them. I’m glad they decided to donate the boat, can’t wait to see it!
I drove a boat in an exhibition race of historic launches from 1910 this summer in the Thousand Islands. The event was covered by North Country Public Radio, the local NPR affiliate, and the story just came out.
The boats are “Number Boats,” the first one-design racing class for motorboats conceived by and built for the members of the Thousand Islands Yacht Club in 1909-10. For a bit more, see this previous post and this website.
