The Submerged Electric is a motor you don't forget after seeing it once.
If you like polishing things, this is the motor for you!
The Wisconsin based company started up around 1900 and folded in 1909.
There seems to be no chart that can assign a year based on the serial number.
However, the earliest have the skeg that does not curl up and protect the prop. I have seen a cast date of 1899 on one of them once. (See article from 1901 at bottom of page.)
Nickel plate, a popular finish around the turn of the century, was used on these motors. It resists oxidation quite well but was never expected to keep a mirror finish like chrome plate.
When you examine the unrestored Submerged Electrics it looks like the harder life of a motor in water takes its toll.
When in good condition, nickel plate's warm, more subtle reflective qualities are prized by many old motor enthusiasts over the modern hard chrome finishes.
The company advertised a gasoline powered version, but to the best of my knowledge, none have ever been found. An ad for it is at the bottom of this page.
Battery technology has improved, to say the least, since 1895. When these motors were new they required a hefty boat to safely carry the heavy batteries. For a 16 foot boat the batteries would weigh between 100 and 336 pounds. Lithium ion, anyone?
Invented by Tracy B. Hatch of Chicago, he assigned it to the Submerged Electric Motor Company.
View the patent.
