I just found this information on the Dodge Water Car. It leaves out a lot of information like engine type and the drive system but interesting nevertheless.
THE DODGE WATERCAR
This is part two of George W. Sutton Jr.'s interview with Horace E. Dodge originally published in the February 1927 issue of Motor Boating in which the two discuss in more detail Mr. Dodge's ideas ion the building of boats using the mass production techniques that had recently been developed by automobile manufacturers like his father. dodge ad
Since the beginning, the motorboat industry has suffered a serious handicap, namely, the fact that a vast majority of the boats have had to be built to order. There is every likelihood that if the automobile industry had followed this method the number of cars in use today would have been many millions less than it is. The success of Ford, Dodge Cadillac, Pierce-Arrow, Packard and other popular cars has been largely due to the fact that their makers have determined on one or two definite chassis models and have been very slow about making radical changes in their designs. Until recently this obvious recipe for successful manufacturing has been unknown in the motorboat field. And herein lies the revolutionary feature of the Dodge Boat Works. The Dodge line of motorboats consists of three hull models which cover literally thousands of boating uses. By concentrating on these models and these only, we can produce them with every luxury and advantage, but at low prices hitherto thought impossible for boats of this type.
Manufacturing Facilities
Dodge Watercars are not put together in a ramshackle group of riverside sheds. They are At the clubmanufactured in accordance with the most modern ideas of automobile making efficiency in a thoroughly modern brick and concrete factory which now occupies over 75,000 square feet of space on a ten acre plot in one of the most desirable parts of Detroit's manufacturing area. The value of this land alone constitutes a strong company asset and it will allow for the factory expansion which is bound to take place from year to year with the increased demand for Dodge Watercars.
This plant was built and laid out for the express purpose of manufacturing boats. Everything in it from the well lighted offices to the heated, dustproof varnishing room and separate motor testing building, is in thorough keeping with the most up to date practice in the great automobile industry. Detroit is an ideal location for the nation-wide distribution of Dodge Watercars of which we are at present producing at an average of seven per day.
Materials in Dodge Watercars
commuterNo boat is better than the materials which enter into its production. The whole length and breadth of the business world have been searched to provide the best and most scientifically designed parts, materials and accessories on which the reputation of Dodge Watercars must stand. Over sixty companies contribute the various materials which go into our boats and their products come from all corners of the globe, as is the case in the manufacture of motorcars. The selected grained mahogany which planks the decks, sides and transoms of Dodge Watercars comes from Africa. The white oak which goes into each Watercar keel in the formof one solid unblemished piece comes from the mountains of Virginia. Our varnish comes from the fossil beds of New Zealand, the pigments of our paints from China and other distant countries and the material for the 7000 brass screws, 300 brass and bronze bolts, the struts, shafts, propellers and other metal parts are gathered from all over the world.
The Boats Themselves
Adhering strictly to a rigid method of standardization, Dodge Watercars are made in limited quantities in three sizes, 22 1/2, 26 and 30 feet long, with three engines, making five boat models in all. Models 422 and 822 are the 22 footers. The beam is 5 feet 7 inches, draft 20 inches, allowing the boat to operate in extremely shallow water. The model 422, with Dodge Brothers famous engine scientifically adapted to marine use and developing 30 horsepower, makes well over 20 miles per hour. Its big single cockpit provides adequate facilities for five passengers in heavily upholstered seats. It is a particularly easy boat to drive, all the controls being centralized on the steering wheel at the operator's fingertips. The same hull, as Model 822, with Dodge Curtiss motor of 90 horsepower is a fast stock runabout with a guaranteed speed of 37 miles an hour.
The second hull size, Models 426 and 826, differing only in engines, is 25 feet 11 inches long over all, 25 feet on the waterline, has a beam of 6 feet, 7/ inches and draws 24 inches of water. With the 30 horsepower Dodge marine engine it makes 15 miles and hour and Model 826, with the 90 horse-power Dodge-Curtiss engine travels in excess of 35 miles an hour. The Model 426 is supplied on special order only. Each of these modboat raceels has two cockpits. The forward one provides commodious accommodations for six people, while the big leather seats in the after cockpit provide for three. There is plenty of
room in the after cockpit for extra chairs for two or three more passengers.
A New and Bigger Model
During this year's Motor Boat Show, we announced what we consider a most interesting new model. This is a 30 footer with a beam of 7 feet and 3 inches designed to provide comfortable accommodations for 14 passengers. Thisuxurious boat is powered with a 250 h.p., 6 cylinder Globe engine, designed by H. Alexander Johnson, which will give it a speed in excess of 46 miles an hour. The name of this new model is Watercar Senior and it will be sold complete for $7,200.00.
Uses of Dodge Watercars
Dodge watercars are not racing boats. They are sturdy craft, built for a thousand recreational and utilitarian purposes. They are so easy to operate that they can be handled by practically every member of the family, including the boys and girls in their teens. For the summer residents near the water or during the wintertime in Florida or other southern places there are innumerable uses to which a Dodge Water-car can be put - fishing, swimming, picnics, moonlight or daylight spins, transportation to the stores for provisions and countless other services. The Dodge Watercar has speed for those who enjoy the thrill of it but can be run at any slower rate desired.
While the Dodge Watercars are not built as racing boats, they provide the most exciting and closely contested races. Due to their similarity of hull design and motor installation they are very evenly matched and a fleet of half a dozen of them in one club assures their owners of some of the finest and most enjoyable one-design racing obtainable anywhere.
Conclusions
I feel that in building Dodge Watercars as we're are doing, by thoroughly standardized automobile methods, but with the limitations that motorboat construction entails, we are fully prepared for the wholesale public adoption of the water for recreational purposes. At the beginning of this year of 1927 there are approximately 800,000 motorboats in use. I predict that five years from now the number will have increased to somewhere between one and three millions. And if that happens, and I'm sure it will, it will be because the motorboat builders have learned by the experience of the automobile industry how to build high class boats by standardized, limited-quantity production methods, with an economy unobtainable any other way. In other words, the boats of the future will be like the Dodge Watercars of today.
