page_title: Otis R. Marston
section_title: 1951 first outboard motorboat run of Grand Canyon
hierarchical_section_title: Otis R. Marston / River running / 1951 first outboard motorboat run of Grand Canyon
caption_attribution_description: English: OTIS MARSTON RIVER EXPEDITION WITH FIVE MOTORBOATS PREPARING TO LEAVE FOR TRIP THROUGH GRAND CANYON TO LAKE MEAD FROM LEE'S FERRY WHERE THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN. PHOTOGRAPHER H.C. BRYANT. CIRCA 1951.
context_page_description: Otis Reed "Dock" Marston was an American author, historian and Grand Canyon river runner who participated in a large number of river-running firsts. Marston was the eighty-third person to successfully complete the water transit of the Grand Canyon. He spent the last thirty years of his life writing his magnum opus on the history of the first 100 Grand Canyon river runners. In researching his book, he amassed a vast collection of material on early river runners in the American Southwest, especially runners of the Green and Colorado Rivers. His collection is housed in the Huntington Library in San Marino, California.
context_section_description: Dock next turned to the question of outboard motors. In 1951, he orchestrated the first successful down-run of outboard motorboats through the entire Grand Canyon. The 1951 "Marston Motorcade" consisted of two outboard motorboats and three stock Chris-Craft Speedsters. The 18-foot aluminum hull outboard motorboat June Bug was piloted by Jimmy Jordan and the second boat of the same design, the Twin, was piloted by Rod Sanderson. The two outboards were powered by twin 25-horsepower Evinrude outboard motors. While the June Bug completed the cruise, not far below Separation Canyon, the gearshift on the motor of the Twin gave trouble,and the boat was taken in tow, much to the disgust of its crew.
caption: First outboard down-run of Grand Canyon, at Lee's Ferry, Arizona, 1951
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