Despite being from Norway, I doubt if Ole Evinrude had traveling-across-snow on his mind when he invented the first gas-powered outboard boat motor in 1907. It would be six decades later before the company’s first snowmobile was introduced, almost 30 years after Ole’s passing. Are there shocks on the skis? I can’t tell, but I don’t believe they would have had them from the factory. This last year 1972 Evinrude Skeeter is listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Custar, Ohio and they’re asking $800. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Ted for the tip!
Anyone who grew up fishing and general outdoors’ing knows the name Evinrude. Their outboard motors are legendary, or they were until recently. Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) landed Evinrude way back in 1935, one year after Ole Evinrude passed away. Another change in ownership came along, this time with the famous Canadian company Bombardier taking the reins, but then bankruptcy followed in 2000. Bombardier shut down the Evinrude name in 2020. As if 2020 wasn’t a bad enough year already. The company got on board with hundreds of other companies in the 1960s when they introduced their first snowmobile, coincidentally, it was an Evinrude Skeeter, and 1972 would be the last time the Skeeter would be sold new. The 1972 Skeeter snowmobiles were mainly leftover 1971 models, and Evinrude would get out of snowmobile production entirely after 1976.
The Skeeter name makes me think they should be small, lightweight budget machines – they aren’t. This one-family-owned Skeeter, as most of them did, has reverse and it also appears to have electric start. They offered both pull-start (E-2010) and electric start (E-2015) as in this example. The seller has provided a video of this sled cruising around, but it’s not on YouTube so I can’t put the link here. Please check it out if you want to see and hear it in action. The Skeeter in this era – they were made from 1965 through 1972 – has a 20.5-inch track, much wider than a normal machine and it made them quite stable. Sadly, they only uploaded three photos (sigh). It sure seems like sellers could get more offers if they included many more photos in their listings, it doesn’t cost any more, so why not?
The reverse handle is on the bottom left, below the compression release knob. On the left-center is a switch for lights (high, low, off), and next to that is the ignition (off, on, start). On the right side top is a “warm-up control” (choke), and below that is the primer bulb. On the right side in the center is a knob called “neutral lockout”, I believe to put the machine in neutral in case it has to be towed, but Howard or one of the other snowmobile gurus may know what that’s for. Sadly, there are no engine photos, but here’s one from a similar Skeeter that sold at a Bigiron Auction. It’s an Evinrude (OMC) 437-cc two-stroke twin with 30 horsepower. It appears to run well in the video. Have any of you heard of this model?
Howard we are all waiting.
The classic Evinrude colors. Rugged small outboard motors. Never knew they made a sled ❄️ Cool find. Thanks Ted, and good write-up Gilbertson.
Awwwww shucks! Thank you, Stan! It looked really interesting!
Everyone made a snowmobile in the 60’s and early 70’s John Deere, Wheel Horse, Ariens and Bolens were from lawn equipment side. Mercury Outboard. Yamaha and Harley. From Bowling AMF. The Big three were Arctic Cat Ski Doo and Polaris. At one point more than 50 companies.
Thanks as always, Stan, and keep sending in those tips, Ted!
Thanks, man!
Our first snowmobile was an Evinrude Skeeter, not sure on engine size but it was beyond slow.
I had one when we were stationed at Wurtsmith AFB in the mid 80s. Heavy, loud and slow. Reverse was nice when you got it stuck. I did like the electric start.
Just when BFs is getting stale( for me) and then along comes Scotty with yet another jabber worthy post. The Evinrude Skeeter, or the Johnny Skee Horse, was the ubiquitous 1st sled for many. Once again, Milwaukee takes the bow there, as they were made in Milwaukee. I remember deals that had 2 Skeeters and a trailer, for like $795. That was cheap family winter fun, my friends. Many went unused. Since I doubt a manufacturer would boast a “neutral for towing”, I read, it was more for ease of starting, and I suppose better for towing. The motor, an opposed twin of OMC design, was actually a very dependable motor. Had low end grunt, and top speed , of about 35, but was not a concern. The Skeeter/Skee Horse was considered one of the first “modern” snowmobiles and many learned how to jump snowbanks with these with no real damage. Since it doesn’t snow anymore, perhaps the folks in the Fla. panhandle might be interested,,,what, too soon?
Oh, also, those are shocks on the skis, my Yamaha had those, and were only on the later Skeeters. They had a habit of getting warm on rough(all)trails,and then would freeze.
On any Evinrude post, it’s important to note another Wisconsin engineering pioneer, Carl Kiekhaefer began working for Evinrude, but a clash of personalities had Carl telling Ole where to cram it, and started his own company, Mercury Marine.
Thanks, Howard! I always use my snowmobile trilogy bibles volumes 1, 2, and 3 (#1 in the case of Evinrude) for vintage snowmobile details and history and it didn’t show shocks on the skis for any Skeeters, weird.
https://www.snowmobilemuseum.com/index.php?page=Online_Store&group=Books&id=000079#Snowmobile
Hey SG, most of the images of Skeeters do not show front ski shocks. I seem to remember a kit from you know who, Dennis Kirk, the absolute guru of snowmobile stuff, and could add them. They did little, really, on a sled liken this. They did help with stability as speeds increased, however.
Thanks for helping keep our memories alive!
Oh yeah, that makes sense, I have seen other Skeeters with ski shocks but not in a brochure. Dennis Kirk was right up there with the Sears, Wards, and JCWhitney catalogs as a kid!
My dad was a OMC dealer and we also sold Johnson outboards. Johnson and Evinrude were very similar, if not identical as I recall. Johnson also made snowmobiles for a time. I think a lot of the manufacturers (and retailers) were desperate to find products to offer year-round and snowmobiles seemed a good fit for the winter months. Good read, Scotty!
Thanks much! The photos weren’t the best but there’s nothing I’d rather research.
This looks like the OMC Sno-Cruiser that Dad had all those years ago. I heard that OMC punched out a lot of identical machines with different names and color schemes. We drove the hell out of it–when there was snow. In the Chinook Belt your chances of having snow anywhere other than the ditch throughout the winter were slim to none. The spring of ’67, when we got six feet of snow, gave us a lot of pleasureable miles on the Sno-Cruiser. It was never a powerhouse but it was reliable. I might add that the engine was a boxer type. No big deal; it did the job…
Hey, Geo! Yes, sir, great eye as always. Evinrude, Johnson, Trade Winds, and Snow Cruiser were all part of the OMC family, basically the same with different paint. The sold-in-Canada Snow Cruiser was discontinued in 1971, sadly.
I remember snow banks above my head as a kid, but I was only six feet tall back then…
SnoCruiser only in Canada? I know ours came from a guy in a town about 10 miles north of the border. But there was a slug of them that came from a dealer in Conrad, MT, and another one out of East Glacier, MT. We got all of our parts in Conrad. I remember the dealer in East Glacier, showed up in Essex with one that was equipped with electric starter and reverse…
Nice to see another snow machine on here. I live in Canada 100 miles north of Toronto and a lot of people sold their machines last year due to lack of snow Lots of snow this year. What a difference! Enjoy Barn Finds so much
John
Thanks, John! I have a great college friend in North Bay, what a beautiful area.
Hi Scotty
I have a brother lives in North Bay which is 100 miles north of Gravenhurst where I am. Have a great day!
John
In 1972 my dad bought two brand new E rudes at 35 HP each with electric start and reverse, and , WANKLE power as a divorce present to himself. They were a blast and fast by those standards. Even the tracks were like 4 inches wider that the norm. Now they hafta be 150 mph twin turbos bla bla bla.
They were lots more fun then. Slow yes, but also safe. So many deaths today due to the fact that at 80+ mph turning the skies does not necessarily mean the sled will go in the direction the skies are aimed! When I got mine – in 69 – the pleasure was plowing through the snow, making a bow wave like in a boat. No manicured trails on which to ride, so it was more fun IMHO. High speed was reserved for crossing a lake or open field.
Good comment I think Kenn 👍
Does a 1/2 ton truck need 400hp ?
That gas tank position makes a Pinto look positively safe lol. But I guess no difference from any motorcycle.
On some of the older sleds, the motor was exposed and the carb intake was at crotch level. Since many didn’t have air filters, one had to be careful not to have your scarf sucked in the intake. Many also had little if any guard for the drive belt. Years ago, belt technology wasn’t what it is today, and shredding a belt was a common thing. Without a knife and a spare belt, the fun stopped there.
Thanks Scotty for the museum link-very cool sleds!
The OMC snowmobiles were very dependable and well built but seemed like the industry was wanting sporty and fast sleds and the Johnson/Evinrude were not. They had features many other manufacturers did not offer like electric start, reverse, primer, neutral and compression release. They built their own engine and was the only company to build a Rotary engine the US. Overproduction and several poor snow years in the early 70’s killed the snowmobile industry and only a few survived.