The 1961 Evinrude Duck-Twin 3hp "Splash of Vintage"

Anthony Babich

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Hey All,
Figured many would like this one... so last year in my research putting together the 2023 Documentary of The Pattersquash Gunners Assoc. I reviewed hundreds of vintage images from various members and guests alike. All were relative to the period of 1950's -1960's. As each image displayed its own fascinating history there were some with unique pieces of gear, modified boats, decoys & the "latest & greatest" modern gear in that era. The club had many affluent members in its prime and this was seen with some of the footage captured & presented in the documentary by Tyson Dominy's footage on a 1968 Canon Super 8.

One of the interesting items seen was what looked like a "duck hunter's custom outboard" but made by Evinrude for that purpose.

After some research and other waterfowl addicts / enthusiasts like myself I discovered the existence of these motors produced by Evinrude called the "Duck-Twin" an identical motor to the "Light-Twin, Yacht-Twin, and from what I've found were produced 1952-1966 and deemed pretty reliable motors. Easy to work on and with a 2 piston block the 3.0HP produced enough power to navigate, tow & was light enough to take in / out of car or boat with ease. The design also featured a weedless prop & fold-up lower unit on some that was offered with a factory suit-case.

At that time Evinrude was catering various models specific to uses in the industry for speed boats, water-sports, etc... and the option for duck-hunters was explored. Producing the "Duck-Twin" in factory marsh brown with the signature Duck-Twin logo accompanied by a drake mallard taking flight with another smaller scale in the background.

A few weeks ago, after some messages sent to me about this "vintage style power artifact" I decided to reach out to the owner who lived just outside Harrisburg, PA now. Ray now 72 explained to me this specific motor was his grandfathers. A Mr. Dorsey Rany Burkey 1900-1973. Mr. Burkey lived in Nanty Glo, PA and at the time this was the power to have on the water as many gazed in awe as not too many were available in that part of the country.

I came to find Mr. Dorsey, purchased new in 1961 a Model 3048 after his retirement from the coal mining industry. He purchased it at a local bait & tackle store and used it a handful of times to navigate the rivers for hunting, fishing & cruising around. Since his passing the motor spent the rest of its life in retirement as well leaned up against the back wall of the family's shed.

After exchanging a few messages and running the serial #'s I discovered this model was actually made in Belgium July 1961. At this time a handful of the Duck-Twin motors were produced there. It looked in good shape based on the photos and after some talk with friends, the decision was made to purchase and put on display at the annual Long Island Decoy Collector's show in March. This will be presented for display nearby the newly added "Model Duck Boat Exhibition"!

After making the trip down to Maryland, I stopped and picked up the motor from Ray Burkey who presented me with a photo of his grandfather and him. This will also accompany the display along with the original paperwork, sales brochure, manual and a limited edition record produced by Phil Olt, Jr. "How to Call Ducks" a 45 record that I plan to digitize...

Overall a great find! Glad to preserve this neat history and look forward to showing you all at the March 2025 event!

I took it out on the Great South Bay this past weekend to give it a spin after its tune-up of new plugs, fresh fluids, new fuel lines & carburetor cleaning. Runs Mint!

Here's a few images in use along with a quick video clip: Watch The 1961 Evinrude DuckTwin Here!

The Boat Pictured Is A 12' WaterFeather Roto-Molded Sneakboat Proudly Veteran Owned: Visit The WaterFeather Boat Shop

Enjoy

-A

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Very Cool!

I believe the town he was from is probably Nanticoke, PA. Its a coal mine town on the Susquehanna River, which makes sense.
 
Anthony

You come across some of the neatest duck boats and associated items as anyone I know. Thanks for sharing the background story. Great photography as usual too. It really brings out the story and cool factor of that little outboard.
 
Never knew they were air cooled and not water cooled. Reminds me of the old 4hp Sears motor I started out with on a little 12' skiff. Maybe it was a bit latter but Evinrude also made a weedless Model outboard that was sought after.
 
Very Cool!

I believe the town he was from is probably Nanticoke, PA. Its a coal mine town on the Susquehanna River, which makes sense.
Not terribly duck related, but my mother grew up in Nanticoke. My grandfather (her father) and his five brothers worked in the mines. At least one was killed, and my grandfather survived a mine gas fire which killed many of his coworkers.

I believe there really is a Nanty Glo in PA, I think it's out west near Pittsburgh.
 
Not terribly duck related, but my mother grew up in Nanticoke. My grandfather (her father) and his five brothers worked in the mines. At least one was killed, and my grandfather survived a mine gas fire which killed many of his coworkers.

I believe there really is a Nanty Glo in PA, I think it's out west near Pittsburgh.
My grandfather worked in the mines in the far northeast end of of the Anthracite Belt, in Vandling PA.
He died of black lung at 54.
He made sure none of his sons, my dad or uncles, ever stepped foot in a coal mine.
 
My grandfather worked in the mines in the far northeast end of of the Anthracite Belt, in Vandling PA.
He died of black lung at 54.
He made sure none of his sons, my dad or uncles, ever stepped foot in a coal mine.
Mine had black lung, but lived until about 80. When I was little he took me to one of the closed mines, a 1/4 mile across the road and then railroad tracks, from the house he grew up in. You could walk in horizontally about a hundred feet or so to where the elevator shaft was located. The primary anthracite seam they worked was at roughly 1,500 ft.. I was, and still am, to claustrophobic to make it to the elevator. My grandfather was the person who enlightened me to what the term "sharp stick in the eye" meant. He led the blinded donkeys pulling coal carts before he was old enough to actually mine, around 1905-1910.
 
Anthony,
Thank you for sharing your find.. I have a 1965 vintage "light twin" you speak of. When I was a young lad My father put it on a small pram and I would zip around the marsh with it. I put it on a skiff a couple of years ago, ran like a champ.
 
Very nice find especially with all the literature and duck calling record.
I have a 1966 Folding Ducktwin. Before I acquired Go-Devils I sought out Johnson and Evinrude 3 HP motors with the 'Anglematic' weedless drive for use at my cottage and duck club marsh which are very weedy. I bought several Johnsons including a Belgian-made one before finding a Ducktwin. They were never offered in Canada but I hunted for one on Craigslist about 15 years ago and located one in Austin TX. The seller agreed to ship it to a duck hunting friend of mine who had moved to the US, who brought it up to me on a visit back home a few months later.
Mine was built in the USA, runs like a top. Only issue I ever had was a broken shear pin thanks to a hidden log. Parts are generally available. BTW the motor is water cooled - the spent water sprays out the back of the motor leg.
If anyone is looking for one be careful - there used to be several vendors in eBay who would take a Lightwin and paint it with an incorrect brown (even glossy!) paint, slap on the decals and pass it off as a Ducktwin for a much inflated price.
 
Hey All,
Figured many would like this one... so last year in my research putting together the 2023 Documentary of The Pattersquash Gunners Assoc. I reviewed hundreds of vintage images from various members and guests alike. All were relative to the period of 1950's -1960's. As each image displayed its own fascinating history there were some with unique pieces of gear, modified boats, decoys & the "latest & greatest" modern gear in that era. The club had many affluent members in its prime and this was seen with some of the footage captured & presented in the documentary by Tyson Dominy's footage on a 1968 Canon Super 8.

One of the interesting items seen was what looked like a "duck hunter's custom outboard" but made by Evinrude for that purpose.

After some research and other waterfowl addicts / enthusiasts like myself I discovered the existence of these motors produced by Evinrude called the "Duck-Twin" an identical motor to the "Light-Twin, Yacht-Twin, and from what I've found were produced 1952-1966 and deemed pretty reliable motors. Easy to work on and with a 2 piston block the 3.0HP produced enough power to navigate, tow & was light enough to take in / out of car or boat with ease. The design also featured a weedless prop & fold-up lower unit on some that was offered with a factory suit-case.

At that time Evinrude was catering various models specific to uses in the industry for speed boats, water-sports, etc... and the option for duck-hunters was explored. Producing the "Duck-Twin" in factory marsh brown with the signature Duck-Twin logo accompanied by a drake mallard taking flight with another smaller scale in the background.

A few weeks ago, after some messages sent to me about this "vintage style power artifact" I decided to reach out to the owner who lived just outside Harrisburg, PA now. Ray now 72 explained to me this specific motor was his grandfathers. A Mr. Dorsey Rany Burkey 1900-1973. Mr. Burkey lived in Nanty Glo, PA and at the time this was the power to have on the water as many gazed in awe as not too many were available in that part of the country.

I came to find Mr. Dorsey, purchased new in 1961 a Model 3048 after his retirement from the coal mining industry. He purchased it at a local bait & tackle store and used it a handful of times to navigate the rivers for hunting, fishing & cruising around. Since his passing the motor spent the rest of its life in retirement as well leaned up against the back wall of the family's shed.

After exchanging a few messages and running the serial #'s I discovered this model was actually made in Belgium July 1961. At this time a handful of the Duck-Twin motors were produced there. It looked in good shape based on the photos and after some talk with friends, the decision was made to purchase and put on display at the annual Long Island Decoy Collector's show in March. This will be presented for display nearby the newly added "Model Duck Boat Exhibition"!

After making the trip down to Maryland, I stopped and picked up the motor from Ray Burkey who presented me with a photo of his grandfather and him. This will also accompany the display along with the original paperwork, sales brochure, manual and a limited edition record produced by Phil Olt, Jr. "How to Call Ducks" a 45 record that I plan to digitize...

Overall a great find! Glad to preserve this neat history and look forward to showing you all at the March 2025 event!

I took it out on the Great South Bay this past weekend to give it a spin after its tune-up of new plugs, fresh fluids, new fuel lines & carburetor cleaning. Runs Mint!

Here's a few images in use along with a quick video clip: Watch The 1961 Evinrude DuckTwin Here!

The Boat Pictured Is A 12' WaterFeather Roto-Molded Sneakboat Proudly Veteran Owned: Visit The WaterFeather Boat Shop

Enjoy

-A

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Great photography!
 
Seering video I assumed motor is air cooled because couldn't see a stream from tattle tale. Someone mentioned they were water cooled. Where does the tattle tail dump stream at?
 
Hey All,
Figured many would like this one... so last year in my research putting together the 2023 Documentary of The Pattersquash Gunners Assoc. I reviewed hundreds of vintage images from various members and guests alike. All were relative to the period of 1950's -1960's. As each image displayed its own fascinating history there were some with unique pieces of gear, modified boats, decoys & the "latest & greatest" modern gear in that era. The club had many affluent members in its prime and this was seen with some of the footage captured & presented in the documentary by Tyson Dominy's footage on a 1968 Canon Super 8.

One of the interesting items seen was what looked like a "duck hunter's custom outboard" but made by Evinrude for that purpose.

After some research and other waterfowl addicts / enthusiasts like myself I discovered the existence of these motors produced by Evinrude called the "Duck-Twin" an identical motor to the "Light-Twin, Yacht-Twin, and from what I've found were produced 1952-1966 and deemed pretty reliable motors. Easy to work on and with a 2 piston block the 3.0HP produced enough power to navigate, tow & was light enough to take in / out of car or boat with ease. The design also featured a weedless prop & fold-up lower unit on some that was offered with a factory suit-case.

At that time Evinrude was catering various models specific to uses in the industry for speed boats, water-sports, etc... and the option for duck-hunters was explored. Producing the "Duck-Twin" in factory marsh brown with the signature Duck-Twin logo accompanied by a drake mallard taking flight with another smaller scale in the background.

A few weeks ago, after some messages sent to me about this "vintage style power artifact" I decided to reach out to the owner who lived just outside Harrisburg, PA now. Ray now 72 explained to me this specific motor was his grandfathers. A Mr. Dorsey Rany Burkey 1900-1973. Mr. Burkey lived in Nanty Glo, PA and at the time this was the power to have on the water as many gazed in awe as not too many were available in that part of the country.

I came to find Mr. Dorsey, purchased new in 1961 a Model 3048 after his retirement from the coal mining industry. He purchased it at a local bait & tackle store and used it a handful of times to navigate the rivers for hunting, fishing & cruising around. Since his passing the motor spent the rest of its life in retirement as well leaned up against the back wall of the family's shed.

After exchanging a few messages and running the serial #'s I discovered this model was actually made in Belgium July 1961. At this time a handful of the Duck-Twin motors were produced there. It looked in good shape based on the photos and after some talk with friends, the decision was made to purchase and put on display at the annual Long Island Decoy Collector's show in March. This will be presented for display nearby the newly added "Model Duck Boat Exhibition"!

After making the trip down to Maryland, I stopped and picked up the motor from Ray Burkey who presented me with a photo of his grandfather and him. This will also accompany the display along with the original paperwork, sales brochure, manual and a limited edition record produced by Phil Olt, Jr. "How to Call Ducks" a 45 record that I plan to digitize...

Overall a great find! Glad to preserve this neat history and look forward to showing you all at the March 2025 event!

I took it out on the Great South Bay this past weekend to give it a spin after its tune-up of new plugs, fresh fluids, new fuel lines & carburetor cleaning. Runs Mint!

Here's a few images in use along with a quick video clip: Watch The 1961 Evinrude DuckTwin Here!

The Boat Pictured Is A 12' WaterFeather Roto-Molded Sneakboat Proudly Veteran Owned: Visit The WaterFeather Boat Shop

Enjoy

-A

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Had two sitting at my buddies garage shop for parts, he passed and never knew what happened to them. I had a newer 9.9 [ power ]. Still used they for crabbing, slow and steady all night
 
Seering video I assumed motor is air cooled because couldn't see a stream from tattle tale. Someone mentioned they were water cooled. Where does the tattle tail dump stream at?
it sprays out of several holes from back of motor leg a little below the motor cowling - not a single stream like modern motors
 
it sprays out of several holes from back of motor leg a little below the motor cowling - not a single stream like modern motors
Thanks, I've never seen a water cooled motor that didn,t have a steady stream from tattle tale but then again I've never witnessed a duck twin running till video.
 
Been a member of the Antique Outboard Motor Association for quite some time. That's a nice little motor, and that slanted prop was designed to cut weeds and grass in shallow water. Just have a lot of shear pins with you! As a side note, the case for that motor sometimes sells for at least 3 to 4 times the cost of the motor! You didnt say if you had the carry case. Anyway, great find, enjoy.
 
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haha wow I saw one of these at the Memphis bass pro pyramid waterfowl museum a few months ago and felt a strong urge to break the glass and make a run for it. So cool to see the video of a live one! Congrats!
 
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