Shady Lady is owned by Tim and Deb Salt, members of the Big Sky Chapter. The following description of the boat was submitted for the ACBS membership files. Shady Lady, 66 years old and still dancing, is a 1955 22-foot Chris-Craft Continental Sedan Hardtop. She is powered by the original 200 HP Chrysler Imperial Special…
Steve Benz, New England Chapter One evening in the summer of 2020, Cheryl and I were sitting on our deck looking out over Lake Opechee, NH and our neighbor waved to us from his 1953 Lyman runabout. She turned to me and said “You should build us a wooden boat”. Why not, since we had…
By Jeff & Char Appel members of the Big Sky chapter We found the boat in a field in an abandon farm in eastern Montana. Took almost 3 years to finalize the sale. Almost 5 years to restore it. The boat was originally built for Yellowstone Park, for rides on Yellowstone Lake. That is why…
On December 4th, Wine Country Classic Boats, Inc. on Keuka Lake in the heart of the Finger Lakes Region of New York State held their Annual Meeting and Christmas Party. A highlight of the event is the awarding on the Annual John Ford Spirit of Boating Award that was presented by Bill Olmsted, Commodore of…
By member Walter Legett, Bayou chapter I looked at the boat on the internet for about three years and read Danenberg’s book on restoration of wooden runabouts. After the third time reading the book, I decided to purchase a wood boat. When I was growing up in Gulfport, Mississippi, the rich folks had these boats…
by Dave Samson, Bayou Chapter I’ve always had a passion for vintage wooden boats, especially the “lake boats” I remembered from the 50’s. I restored my first runabout, a 1955 Chris-Craft Capri, that took first place awards at Lake Arrowhead, Lake Tahoe and most recently the Lake Pontchartrain wooden boat festival in Madisonville, Louisiana. This…
by John Bush, Dixieland chapter In 2006 my wife, Carol and I began searching for a “wood” boat to use at our home on Lake Jordan near Titus, Alabama. Neither of us had any prior experience with “woodies” but owning one was on Carol’s bucket list. As we began our search, our brother-in-law told us…
On Saturday October 16th, the Long Island Chapter members were treated to a tour of the Historic Weeks Yacht Yard in Patchogue, NY on the Patchogue River, along with a catered buffet dinner afterwards. Our gracious host, Kevin Weeks took members on a tour inside several of the buildings, and throughout the yard & dock…
by Rick Watson member of the Allegheny chapter In the Spring of 1975, I was 12 and my life changed dramatically. My mom remarried and we moved to Conneaut Lake. I had a new home, in a new town . Bob Moss, (Mom & Bob are pictured above), began the process of stabilizing and molding…
You’ve got to love this photo of Green Pearl with captain Alan Miklos about 10 years ago. Photos of Green Pearl along with this story are supplied by Frank Miklos, president of Allegheny Chapter. Back when my son was 7 years old, I offered to give him the boat if he would row it across the lake…
by Dave Gordon member of the Allegheny chapter As I drove across a bridge over the Allegheny River during the Easter weekend of 1995, I noticed a large old boat sitting inside a steel mill building below. When I inquired about the boat, the owner was more than eager to sell, as he stated that…
by John Beekley, Adirondack Chapter Better Already is a 22 foot 1947 Chris-Craft Sport Utility, but her story actually begins in 1929. That is the year that my great-grandfather built a unique and wonderful boathouse on northern Lake George. While visiting my aunt and uncle, who had owned the place since 1969, my aunt mentioned…