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…
by Glenn Perich member of the Blue Ridge chapter Our introduction to boating started originally in 1979 with the purchase of a fiberglass boat. As time went on, children and work made us too busy to enjoy boating. We sold the fiberglass boat in 1984. Fast forward; to the summer of 2013 we were enjoying…
by Wendy Nelson member of the Columbia-Willamette chapter “It’s Only Money” has been a family motto for years and it’s now the name of our second classic boat. This 1958 15’ Chris-Craft Cavalier was purchased in the spring of 2016 to use while the “good boat” was being restored. That boat’s story is for another…
by Chris Almond member of the Long Island chapter My 1966 Eltro 16 Runabout was restored over a 5 year period by our Long Island chapter of ACBS in the Frank F. Penney Boat Shop on the grounds of the Long Island Maritime museum. The boat was completed and launched for a test run in…
by Matt Kleisler member of the Long Island chapter Having grown up on the south shore of Long Island in NY, we spent a great deal of time on the Great South Bay. My father had a wooden boat and I loved it. Summer vacations, weekends and father/son time was sent on it. She was…
By Richard Shorney member of the Sunnyland chapter ’59 Memories is a 1959 Crosby 16’ 7” “Custom” runabout manufactured by Aeromarine in Grabhill, Indiana. This model is called the Fish-n-Ski and its design caters to those who enjoy water skiing and open cockpit fishing. Crosby runabouts were also used for water skiing demonstrations in the…
by Jack Singer Jr. member of the Northern California/Lake Tahoe chapter Stardust is a 1951 Besotes boat built by George and Charlie Besotes in Stockton, CA and is the second one they built. The first one is at the bottom of Lake Tahoe. I learned about Stardust while attending a Besotes boat club event on…
by Rob Bamberg member of the Michigan chatper Sedgwick, is a 1931 Chris-Craft Model 301 18’ Split-Cockpit Runabout. This was the first year for the 301 and the only year that it came with a 6-cylinder Pontiac engine modified by Gray Marine. She is still sporting her original bottom, steering wheel, instrument panel, engine and…
Above Photo L-R: Herb, Barbara, Betty & George G. Hall | November 2012 | Photo Credit: Wayne Mooers “In 1976 we set out to buy a classic boat at Sierra Boat Co. Somehow… we ended up buying the whole company.” George G. Hall, December 2012 ACBS NC/LT Chapter Historian Wayne Mooers interviews and presents George…