by Mike Yancey member of the Heartland Classics chapter Caravelle Boats began in 1966 and at the time were manufactured in Conway AR by Centark Industries which went out of business in 1982. However, the brand was resurrected, but financial issues resulted in another change in ownership in 2010, moving the company to Americus, GA…
by Ned Smith member of the Dixieland chapter Our 1960 Chris Craft was purchased new in 1960 to my parents. The boat “Belle of Shaley Shores” was named after my sister, Barbara and my mother, Nelle. Their lake house was named “Shaley Shores.” When the parents got tired of the lake house and boat, I…
by Carmen DeLeo member of the Mid-Atlantic chapter While driving home from Avalon New Jersey in the summer 1981 and passing a Marina I spotted a wooden boat. I stopped to take a look and snapped a couple of pictures. The following week I decided to visit the marina during business hours and inquire about…
by Dick & Kristen Winn members of the Columbia Willamette chapter In March 2011, I received a call from a fellow ACBS Columbia Willamette Chapter member about a “project boat” stored in a garage in Seattle. He had received an email from an ACBS Pacific Northwest Chapter member, which said: “I got a lead on…
by Roger & Sybil Smith member of the Smith Mountain Lake chapter I was always intrigued by the sport of outboard racing, ever since watching an amateur race on the Western Branch of the James River in Portsmouth, Virginia, with my new wife, Sybil, who was a Virginia native. I filed that memory away for…
by Douglas Ivester member of the Blue Ridge chapter Alleghenia is a 1924 Ditchburn. She is a 24.5′ Long Deck Launch. From all my research, it is rare to find a 24′ Ditchburn. Alleghenia was built in 1924 in Gravenhurst, Ontario for Dr. William Mann of Winnipeg, Manitoba & Minaki, Ontario. It is hull #…
by Ian Devlin member of the Okanagan chapter I am pleased to share some of my views about owning an historical antique boat and how I was able to learn some of the “secrets” that my old boat reluctantly gave up to allow me to understand what was happening. History lessons have always been one…
by Karl Dietz member of the Southwest chapter I bought this boat last August from a private collector in Traverse City, Michigan to be a little sister to my 1958 Century Coronado. I found her on an online dealer website and after several questions, emails and survey, I made an offer and a deal was…
by Gene Porter member of the Lake Champlain chapter My 1959 23’ Lyman Sleeper started life as a fishing boat on the brackish Elk River at the North end of Chesapeake Bay. The fisherman had installed bait wells in place of the rear seat and had sprayed the decks with automotive undercoating to provide underfoot…
by the Lawrence Family (Bobby& Brandy)members of the Payette Lakes chapter Last summer I called a family meeting with my wife of 20 years and our three boys, ages 13, 11 and 8. The question on the table for consideration? Do we want to stay in the classic boat business? I say “business” because according…
by Kent & Audrey Lewis members of the Sunnyland chapter A few years back we were looking for a small boat for short cruises around our bay in Northwest Florida. We wanted a boat that could carry 4 adults and we liked the lapstrake look that was popular in the 1950s. We began our search…
For those who don’t know Bob Hamilton, understand that he has very high standards of excellence and he commits himself fully to those standards in any role that he takes on. For a number of years, he has not only served as our chapter’s Secretary, but as the Chairman of our well known Boat Festival.…