By Bob Schoepe, Penn NE Harveys Lake Chapter My stewardship began unexpectedly in 2018. Her name is August Belle. Oh my! I am the fortunate recipient of previous efforts that I knew nothing about at the time. The pictures you see here were all taken before I came along. She is hull #52535, a 1940…
By David Dickens, North Coast Ohio Chapter As I kid, I had the good fortune of spending the summers at my grandparents lake house on Lake Geneva, WI. I vividly remember going to bed at dusk and hearing my parents head out to the end of the pier as a boat would arrive to pick…
Ted Valpey, New England Chapter (written by Ed Valpey) Herkananda The 1941 Chris Craft 25’ Semi-Enclosed Cruiser, also known as the “Green & White”, was introduced as the U.S. boating industry was struggling to recover from the Great Depression. The retail price of $1,695 was nearly twice that of the average automobile, which may have…
By Ken and Cynthia Miller, Blue Ridge Chapter July 2018, while RVing in New Hampshire, we heard about ”The 18th Annual Vintage Boat and Car Auction” at New Hampshire’s Boat Museum in Wolfeboro. Sounded fun, so we attended and enjoyed the day. Afterwards, we started searching for similar events. We found “The 54th Annual Antique…
By Robert Greco, Sunnyland Chapter It started with a garage sale. I have been collecting old Johnson outboards for a few years, eventually gathering up the whole 1956 lineup, from 3 to 30 HP, my favorite motors. A friend of mine spotted an old Johnson outboard at a garage sale not far from my house,…
French Vanilla is a 1954 Correct Craft Atom, 15-foot with a Gray Marine 4 cylinder 95 hp engine. French Vanilla is owned by Mike and Linda Stevens who are members of the Columbia Willamette Chapter. Mike and Linda Stevens also own this 1957 Higgins 18-foot Speedster. She is aptly named 57 Again. She is…
By Rich and Joan Garvin, Michigan chapter My wife Joan and I both learned to water ski behind a mahogany Century and after going to the wooden boat show in Hessel Michigan in 2016, we decided to keep an eye out for a Chris Craft or Century boat. As is usually the case, according to…
By Donald Drexler, Finger Lakes Chapter It all started in early November 1981 when I was driving down the West Lake Road on Conesus Lake in New York. Sitting on a cradle with a for sale sign, was a 17-foot Century Resorter needing a lot of work. There was no question the style was extravagant,…
By Laurence G. Kolk member of the Blue Ridge chapter It was this particular motor launch that master boat builder Bryan favored to replicate; the classic integrity of batten seam construction was his inspiration. But he added new technology on power with a Honda four stroke outboard. Harry’s vision was to explore the limits of…
By Robert and Dayna Gibson, Heartland Classics Chapter This tale begins many years ago at The Mahogany and Chrome Boat Show on Grand Lake of the Cherokees in Northeastern Oklahoma. The boat was owned by Guy McCollum who attended that show. We became friends and Guy began to immediately identify that I had a real…
By Jody Lapham, Lake Champlain Chapter Foreword: It looked and smelled a lot like firewood. When I was a boy, my brother and I spent a great deal of time on Lake George at my aunt and uncle’s camp there. I will never forget the parade of elegance that began at dusk most every night.…
By Jamie Rogers, Lake Champlain Chapter As a young child spending my summers on Silver Lake with my family, water activities were always a part of the day. Three canvas canoes were used throughout the summer months, one solid red, another solid blue, and a bright yellow sail canoe. Over time these boats fell into…