A Moment to Express our Appreciation to the Laenen Family of the Michigan Chapter By Ann Guldemond, Michigan Chapter If you attended the “Boat the Blue” International Show in September, you saw Rick Lanenen and his family at the docks. Rick and Diane, his wife, spent many hours preparing for, and executing a docking system…
by Kathryn Klos, Michigan Chapter The Island Calls. Hog Island it was once called; a place where pigs ran freely and fattened without falling prey to anyone or anything. Today, Belle Isle as it is now known, sits in the middle of the Detroit River with the city of Detroit on one side and…
By Bill Berger, Michigan Chapter In March 2004, my home phone rang. “Hello,” I said. The answer: “Do you still want to buy my boat?” I did not understand, so the caller tried again. “This Don Diem. Do you still want to buy my boat?” I still did not know who this was and what…
Wuzz a Fuzz, Tom Flood’s 31-foot Custom Runabout By Dave and Connie Willis, Water Wonderland Chapter Sunk in a canal off Lake St. Clair. Ice had chewed through the hull. Not the best start for a classic boating story! Tom Flood rescued this 31-foot Hacker police boat and trucked it to his workshop in Florida…
By Tom Flood, Michigan & Sunnyland Chapters John Hacker’s primary interest was in designing and building wooden boats. John was born in 1877 in Detroit, Michigan. He spent his boyhood days in Detroit, where he roamed the many boat yards in his spare time analyzing the design of the wooden craft of that era. His…
Charter Date: November 11, 1978 Chapter History On September 2, 1977, when ACBS was just three years old, president Bill Willig and director, Bil Morgan visited Port Huron and Sandy Duffy who knew of a Hacker Dolphin that Willig wanted to see. During their visit, the future of ACBS was discussed including the possibility of…
By Gregory Rice, Michigan Chapter For over thirty-five years, I have been scratch-building Radio Controlled boats. Since 2008, I have focused on the unique designs of John Hacker. When I was growing up in the 60s, like many boys at the time, one of my hobbies was model building. My work was nothing special, but…
By Bill and Jan Stephenson, Michigan Chapter Bill Stephenson has been a big Donzi fan since he was in his early 20s. Back then he worked for the company and bought his first Donzi in 1969…55 years ago. Today, he and wife Jan have three Donzis. Their oldest is an 18-foot 1968 Corsican with the…
By Steve Tuzinowski Welcome to our 39th annual boat show at the Algonac Harbor Club, “Where it All Began”. This year we are featuring Gar Wood Boats over 100 years. This will be a judged show and we welcome all makes and models of antique and classic boats. Our pre-events kick off on Friday morning, June…
Note: Charles Mistele passed away in early March 2020. A few weeks before his passing, Charles mailed a handwritten story to the ACBS office, and this story was first published in memory of Charles and his life long commitment as the caretaker of Miss America IX. Now, we have recently learned of Diane Mistele’s passing…
By Gary Cunningham, Michigan Chapter, and Mark Gelders Loon is a 1949 Hinckley 34 SW sailboat which is in the process of undergoing a complete restoration in Macatawa, Michigan at the Eldean Shipyard. She is a very unusual Hinckley sailboat because she has never been in salt water. Loon was taken directly from the Hinckley…
BOAT THE BLUE ANTIQUE AND CLASSIC BOAT SHOW RETURNS TO DOWNTOWN PORT HURON SEPTEMBER 8-9, 2023 Fun for the whole family! Join us as antique boats from around the Great Lakes will be gathered at the James C. Acheson Marina on September 8-9, 2023. In addition to seeing vintage boats of all sizes, there will…