Evinrude was founded by Ole Evinrude, a Norwegian-American inventor who mass-produced one of the first practical outboard motors in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1907. His light, detachable motor made it easy for ordinary boat owners to add power to a rowboat, and the Evinrude name grew into one of the most famous in boating. Ole Evinrude later left his first company and returned to outboards with a new firm in the 1920s, and the family name stayed tied to marine power for the rest of the century.

Evinrude became part of Outboard Marine Corporation and remained with the company until OMC's bankruptcy in 2000; Bombardier acquired the brand in 2001. Evinrude engines ranged from small fishing motors to large V-8 outboards, and the later E-TEC direct-injection two-stroke design won the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Excellence Award in 2004. During the mid-1960s OMC also built snowmobiles under the Evinrude Skeeter name, alongside the related Johnson Skee-Horse.

Evinrude workshop manuals contain complete factory procedures for engine overhaul, fuel, oil-injection, and cooling systems, ignition and electrical work, and lower unit and gearcase service, including water pump replacement. Manuals provide wiring diagrams, torque specifications, diagnostics and troubleshooting, and scheduled maintenance tables with fluid capacities and wear limits.

Boat owners, marina technicians, and restorers of classic Evinrude outboards rely on these manuals, and they also serve collectors keeping the rare Evinrude Skeeter snowmobiles of the 1960s running. Evinrude motors were sold around the world in huge numbers, and many of them are still running today.