Digital Photograph

Pictured here is a young Norman Owens in a miniature hydroplane boat with an outboard motor on Spa Creek in 1929. In the background a bridge and several docked boats can be seen.

A side effect of the Korean War was a restriction on the amount of non-corrosive materials that could be used for boat building. This prompted the Owens Yacht Company to begin their outboard business. This business quickly exploded as the popularity of the outboard boats grew. Jack Owens said "(…) The outboard business was growing faster than the other part of the business so we set up a separate division to make these outboard boats".

While originally made of wood, the Owens Yacht Company would eventually switch to building fiberglass boats. This change occurred in 1957 at the completion of the company's Tell City, Indiana plant. At this point in time the company had several other plants, including their main production facility in Baltimore.