Illinois USA-1962: Man Starting Motorboat Motor near Gravel Dock

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit

Fits 1960s Americana leisure documentary segments needing authentic period footage of recreational boating and everyday American summer family activity.

Period detail

Small aluminum motorboat with wraparound windshield and men in plaid and checked casual shirts are consistent with early 1960s American recreational boating style.

Home-movie behavior

Camera operator filmed from shore, capturing companions readying the boat without their awareness, lending the scene an unstaged, candid quality typical of home movies.

What appears in frame

Wooden plank dock, small aluminum motorboat with clear windshield, outboard motor, two to three men in casual shirts, calm lake, gravel and grass shoreline, dense summer treeline.

Film character

Warm Kodachrome-era color saturation, fine grain, and slight exposure variation across frames give the footage an authentic period texture characteristic of 8mm home movies.

Edit role

Works as a leisure insert or memory beat in documentary segments on postwar American recreation, 1960s family life, or summertime montage sequences.

Historical context

Recreational powerboating grew significantly among American middle-class families in the late 1950s and early 1960s; this clip reflects that accessible postwar leisure culture.

Research note

Subjects are filmed largely from behind and faces are not clearly identifiable, but standard editorial and likeness clearance procedures should still be followed for commercial use.

Research search match

1960s boating home movie, Illinois lake recreation, early 1960s motorboat footage, vintage summer leisure 8mm, American family boating 1962.

Archive pairing path

Pair first with other clips from the same Illinois 1962 reel; then 1960s recreational boating or lake footage; then general 1960s American outdoor summer leisure.