by Al & Sandi McEwan members of the Pacific Northwest chapter It was mid-summer 1982 when we arrived by car at a Lake Washington waterfront home just in time to get a glimpse of a lovely, mahogany speedboat pulling away from the dock. As we owned a 1939 Gar Wood Streamliner at the time we…
by Jim Ruwaldt member of the Glacier Lakes chapter The story actually begins when I purchased a copy of Bob Matson’s book “What’s in Your Boat House”. This is an interesting book if you have not read it and includes stories about barn finds and the histories of family’s old boats. One of the first…
by Glenn Perich member of the Blue Ridge chapter Our introduction to boating started originally in 1979 with the purchase of a fiberglass boat. As time went on, children and work made us too busy to enjoy boating. We sold the fiberglass boat in 1984. Fast forward; to the summer of 2013 we were enjoying…
by Wendy Nelson member of the Columbia-Willamette chapter “It’s Only Money” has been a family motto for years and it’s now the name of our second classic boat. This 1958 15’ Chris-Craft Cavalier was purchased in the spring of 2016 to use while the “good boat” was being restored. That boat’s story is for another…
by Chris Almond member of the Long Island chapter My 1966 Eltro 16 Runabout was restored over a 5 year period by our Long Island chapter of ACBS in the Frank F. Penney Boat Shop on the grounds of the Long Island Maritime museum. The boat was completed and launched for a test run in…
by Ken Lukes member of the North Coast Ohio chapter Jeremy Goldstein (my cousin and owner of Custom Marine Inc. in Sandusky, OH.), was perusing the internet and came across an ad for the XK19 in April of 2018. We talked about it and I decided to call the owner. The ad was placed in…
by Matt Kleisler member of the Long Island chapter Having grown up on the south shore of Long Island in NY, we spent a great deal of time on the Great South Bay. My father had a wooden boat and I loved it. Summer vacations, weekends and father/son time was sent on it. She was…
By Bud Stout memeber of ACBS My “Lyman life” started in 1955 when I was 13 years old. We spent our summers at my grandparent’s home on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. That year, Father ordered a new 15 ft. Lyman outboard with a 25HP Johnson and a red steering wheel. The boat came from “Hoppy”…
By Richard Shorney member of the Sunnyland chapter ’59 Memories is a 1959 Crosby 16’ 7” “Custom” runabout manufactured by Aeromarine in Grabhill, Indiana. This model is called the Fish-n-Ski and its design caters to those who enjoy water skiing and open cockpit fishing. Crosby runabouts were also used for water skiing demonstrations in the…
by Jack Singer Jr. member of the Northern California/Lake Tahoe chapter Stardust is a 1951 Besotes boat built by George and Charlie Besotes in Stockton, CA and is the second one they built. The first one is at the bottom of Lake Tahoe. I learned about Stardust while attending a Besotes boat club event on…
by Rob Bamberg member of the Michigan chatper Sedgwick, is a 1931 Chris-Craft Model 301 18’ Split-Cockpit Runabout. This was the first year for the 301 and the only year that it came with a 6-cylinder Pontiac engine modified by Gray Marine. She is still sporting her original bottom, steering wheel, instrument panel, engine and…
by H. Jay Spiegel member of the Chesapeake Bay chapter In 2005, I decided to look for a wooden boat to enjoy on the Potomac River near my home. Finally I, saw an ad in the July/August 2005 edition of Wooden Boat Magazine for a 1985 24’6″ Zebcraft, Show-Quality Speed Boat. The boat was owned…