Yesterday Today

The Evinrude Flying Saucer Fishing Boat, 1957

The Flying Saucer fishing boat was designed by maritime company Evinrude and was said to be the work of Brooks Stevens. It was the first of its kind to be built and had seen trial runs, reportedly on Milwaukee River and had even graced the 1957 New York Boat Show, but was never commercially manufactured.

While the U.S. military had experimented on flying saucer flying contraption without any obvious practical success, this Evinrude outboard fishing boat, aptly named Flying Saucer outboard, was the opposite.

It was built at a cost of $14,000, a princely time at that time (which based on inflation, would be over a 100 grand), with the intention of encouraging boat builders to think outside box. The flying saucer-like watercraft was powered by two outboard motors of 18 horses each and could ferry an entourage of up to eight persons. It was without doubt, the most radical design of its time by today’s standard and should be worthy the namesake of “fishing saucer.”

Unfortunately, the law of physics do not quite allow anything too radical that will contradict good hydrodynamics. It was a nice discovery for us and we appreciate the fact that the 1957 Evinrude Flying Saucer Fishing Boat had tickled our dream of a The Jetsons-like future, once.

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20 Black and White Portraits of a Young Charlie Watts in the 1960s and 1970s

Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician. He was the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021.

Originally trained as a graphic artist, Watts developed an interest in jazz at a young age and joined the band Blues Incorporated. He also started playing drums in London’s rhythm and blues clubs, where he met future bandmates Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones. In January 1963, he left Blues Incorporated and joined the Rolling Stones as drummer, while doubling as designer of their record sleeves and tour stages. Watts’ first public appearance as a permanent member was in February 1963; he remained with the group for 58 years until his death, at which time he, Jagger and Richards were the only members of the band to have performed on every one of their studio albums.[1]

Nicknamed “The Wembley Whammer” by Jagger, Watts cited jazz as a major influence on his drumming style. Aside from his career with the Rolling Stones, Watts toured with his own group, the Charlie Watts Quintet, and appeared in London at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club with the Charlie Watts Tentet.

In 1989, Watts was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame with the Rolling Stones. He is often regarded as one of the greatest drummers of all time.