By Mark Handelman, Adirondack Chapter In the spring of 2000, my family decided we needed a ski boat to tow our avid water skiers. While kayaking in Dunham’s Bay on Lake George, New York, I saw the perfect boat for sale … a 1982 Century Coronado in like new condition with only 225 hours on…
By Ken Muscatel, Pacific Northwest Chapter It remains one of the most popular unlimited hydroplanes ever built. To this day, the deck-to-deck duels between “The Pak” and “The Bud” remain legendary. Dave Heerensberger’s Pay’n Pak was as revolutionary in its design and construction techniques as it was popular for the futuristic wing on the back…
By Steve and Wendi Herzog, Niagara Frontier Chapter Our Chris Craft adventure began at the Western New York Boat Show, February 2015. Steve always attends the boat show with his brothers – Mike, the genius mechanic and Bill, the consummate salesman. Only the men are allowed. They take their time, check out all the engines…
By Jeff Hamilton, North Carolina Coastal & Piedmont Chapter The family history with Lyman Boats began when my Grandfather bought a 13-foot Lyman just after WW2. We used that Lyman (which my sister currently has) and our 1969 18-foot model up at our family cottage on the Upper French River in Ontario Canada. About 10…
By Steve Murphy, Heartland Classics Chapter My wife and I own and maintain a 1971, 31-foot sedan style Chris Craft Commander. It’s powered by twin 383Q’s (formerly 327Q’s) and has a flybridge. We’ve enjoyed Edelweiss for 9 years on Table Rock Lake in Southern MO. After months of searching for the “right” boat, we found…
By Jun Morris, Bellevue, WA (photo above – Jim (dark hat), Diane, and grandson Eric) Our very good friend James A. Holler of North Tonawanda, NY passed January 17, 2021. He was born March 8, 1928 in Lima, Ohio. Jim’s father was employed by the Indian Lake Boat Company of Lima. Jim had been around…
By Anthony Montabon, Land O’ Lakes Classic Boat Club Dancing Queen is a 1964 IMP (Iola Molded Plastics) Apache. It sports the original Mercury 65hp four cylinder two-stroke engine, original controls, and gas tanks. The horn is the original two-tone air horn powered by an air pump that sounds better than anything produced in the…
By John and Kirsten Lents, Michigan Chapter Taurus is a 1940 Chris-Craft 18’ Deluxe Utility, Hull # 81169. One thing that makes it unique is that it was ordered with a straight windshield. In 1940 Chris-Craft started putting split windshields on their utility’s, so Taurus looks more like a 1938 or 1939 boat than a…
Jennie Dahlby, Pacific Northwest Chapter I purchased a 1958 Larson Thunderhawk last year from ACBS member Maren Finzer. The story of the boat in the PNW begins with Maren, in her words: It was the Corvette tail fins that caught my attention on the shiny red and white 1958 Larson Thunderhawk. I had just moved…
By Tom Rusert, Niagara Frontier Chapter My wife Peggy and I joined ACBS Niagara Frontier Chapter in 1978 and have been active members ever since. In 1981 we were looking for a boat bigger than our 16-foot Starcraft to accommodate our growing family. We found a 1963 Roamer Silver Comet that was sound but cosmetically…
by Mike Czuprenski, Michigan Chapter Shortly after our first child was born in 1981, my wife and I decided it’d be a whole lot easier to go camping if we had a trailer to load up all our supplies. Mentioning that to one of my old college roommates, he remarked how his family used to…
By Bill and Bobbi Vogel, Sunnyland Chapter My wife and I are avid boaters. We spend time on the Florida waterways many times each week. Whether it is investigating backwater paths on local rivers, cruising on one of the many lakes or shelling on saltwater coves and islands, our fondest memories always seem to include…