The Blackhawk Chapter proudly received its Certificate of Charter on January 22, 1986. Covering northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, we’re all about celebrating the love of classic boats and good times on the water! We’re best known for the iconic Geneva Lakes Boat Show in Fontana, Wisconsin, held every year on the last full weekend…
By Paul Miller, Blackhawk Chapter In March of 2015, my friend Peter Mueller sent me an email with a picture of a very unusual boat listed for sale with the suggestion that we buy and restore it. The listing had current pictures and a few original photos said to be from 1947 or 1948. Mention…
By Tony Boudos, Blackhawk Chapter My grandfather owned a marina on the Calumet River in a suburb just south of Chicago and, of course, he had a boat, a 36-foot 1964 aluminum Chris-Craft Roamer called the Sta-Shu III. So, it’s no surprise that our family was into boating. We took many boat trips on Lake…
This week’s Tuesday Tour of Classic Boats is led by a 1941 Chris-Craft 19-foot Custom Barrelback, The boat is owned by Rob Wilkinson, Pacific Northwest Chapter. Rob restored the boat is his carport over the past twenty-two years with a new bottom and a few planks here and there plus a thousand other projects, wiring,…
This week’s Tuesday Tour of Classic Boats is led by a 1969 Lyman 22-foot hardtop purchased in 2013 from the estate of the original owner on Lake St Claire, Michigan. Wood Stock was restored by Chris Cushman of Androscoggin boat Co. in Maine. Her main port is Halls Boat Co. on Lake George, NY. She…
By Greg Adams, Blackhawk chapter I had always wanted an antique wood boat, and once we started renting a house on Northern Michigan’s Walloon Lake, I knew it was time to starting looking. I decided early on that I wanted something that was uncommon and possibly something with a connection to our family. My wife…
Double D’s, pictured above, is a 1959 22-foot Shepard Runabout 110 owned by David and Dolores Little, Norfolk, VA. She is powered by a 440 Chrysler. She lives on Glaston Lake (North Carolina) during the summer months. Buttercup is a 1957 18-foot Lyman outboard runabout. She was purchased from the second owner in 2017 who…
By Edward Cox, Blackhawk Chapter Our Streblow V Drive “The King” came to us from Indiana in the spring of 2019, just in time for a summer on the water. Measuring 28 feet and weighing in at 8,000 pounds, everyone agreed that he surely would be “The King” of Geneva Lake. Already 20 years old,…
By Ken Buck, ACBS member My parents were avid boaters on the Long Island Sound. Dad had a few runabouts and graduated to a Chris-Craft Express Cruiser followed by a small Connie. I was the person in charge of Springtime: Sanding, Scraping, Painting, Varnishing and Polishing. College, Career, and Marriage came next. Boating faded away.…
by Steven Dahlgren member of the Blackhawk chapter I recently acquired my dream boat, a 1959 Chris-Craft ski boat. I began waterskiing at the age of 5 at my cousins lake house in Whitewater Wisconsin and continued to enjoy boating on the Fox Waterway in Illinois, my family owned a Yamaha Waverunner and later a…
by Gerald Petersen member of the Blackhawk chapter My 1912 Morris canoe was built for my father, Waldemar Petersen, when he was a youth living in Dundee, Illinois. My grandfather was a family physician living very near the Rock River in downtown Dundee. He had a large lot with a barn for his horses which…
By Kenneth Boeschen member of the Blackhawk chapter I went about the restoration of a Chris-Craft U-22 sportsman in my garage. I did not attempt a historical restoration, I just wanted a wooden boat pretty enough that when people saw it, they would say,” Wow, what a beautiful boat”! After removing all the internal components…