The Dawn of Motorboating: Celebrating Daimler and Lurssen’s Maritime Revolution

The year 2024 marks the 138th year since the first gas-powered yacht broke new water, marking the voyage into the era of motorboating.

The remarkable story began in 1886, under the ambitious gaze of icon Gottlieb Daimler. His thirst for innovation had him approach the German shipyard, Lurssen. His request? Constructing a vessel to house his ground-breaking gasoline engine. The motor was revolutionary in itself, employing a pioneering technology patented by Daimler a year earlier that forced air into an internal combustion engine using a gear pump.

The genius of Daimler led to the 1887 trial of an improved motorboat engine. Sleek yet powerful, it was characterised by a second cylinder set at a 15-degree angle to the first. This unique design, yielding a brawny 4hp, gave birth to our beloved V-shaped engine.

Lurssen continued to cooperate with Daimler, and in 1896 their joint effort launched a 12-meter Daimler motor yacht.