by Ken Powell member of the Bob Spletz Land-O-Lakes chapter For the last 28 years, at noon on Sunday of the August long weekend, a collection of antique wooden boats assemble a half mile from the town harbour in the little town of Kenora,Ontario, Canada. It is known as the HarbourFest Annual Wooden Boat Parade.…
by Wes & Gail Van Dine members of the Southern New England chapter The 1946 Ensign is a 16 foot utility built as an entry level economy boat powered by a 93hp Chrysler “Ace”. Most of the production boat hull topsides were painted white with varnished transom and decks. Very few were totally bright because…
by Dion Johnson member of the Southwest chapter Miss Merc was home built in 1972 from Glen-L ‘Tiny Titan’ boat plans. She is a three-point hydroplane just a tad over 8 feet long weighing about 65 pounds. The two sponsons provide stability, while the air cushion rushing under the tunnel provides a lifting force so…
by Greg Walters members of the Sunnyland chapter I was nervous putting a fiberglass sailboat in the Sunnyland ACBS boat show in 2017. I didn’t know if the other boaters would understand or appreciate how cool a Sun Cat is. The apprehension was alleviated when we first pulled up to our assigned dock space, the…
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 John Gambill member of the Michigan chapter It was 2010 and I had registered my 1957 Arena Craft Barracuda for the Branson Missouri International Show but what the heck, someone bought the darn boat just two weeks before show time! Reservations had been made and paid and here I was with no boat! I…
by Ryan Motter member of the Bay State Classic Boat Club chapter Bringing a new life to, Just the Beginning. I grew up in Michigan spending my summers at my parents place on Lake Charlevoix. On the lake were a few classic Chris Crafts and Hacker Crafts that would come out on calm days. These…
by Dallas Cooley member of the Blue Ridge chapter Best I can recollect, my love for boats began as a kid hanging my head over the bow of my grandfather’s Lazy Days houseboat on Lake Lanier. Watching the V-hull slice through the water with the roar of twin V-8’s was euphoric. The tradition continued with…
by Don Price member of the Thousand Islands chapter In the early/mid part of the 1900’s, Bay Head, New Jersey had a reputation for quality boat building that far exceeded the small size of the boro. A major part of that reputation came from the mind and energy of Hubert Johnson. He was one of…
by John Calhoun member of the Water Wonderland chapter I purchased a basket case hull of a 1940 Chris-Craft Deluxe Runabout (barrelback) in 2006 after searching for a respectable project where I could utilize a Chris- Craft KBL131 hp triple carb engine that I owned. I was alerted to a gray boat that was in…
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…