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…
By Gwen and Bob Mitchell members of the Michigan chapter The 2014 Mitchell Sea Ray Bow Rider purchased in July of 2014 replaced our 50 year old pristine 1964 Thompson Sea Lancer that had been shown in the 2013 Hessel & Presque Isle Michigan Boat Shows. In our portfolio of boat inventory and the need…
by Denny Trooien member of the Bob Speltz Land-O-Lakes chapter The year was 1982. My wife Sue Ahlcrona and I had a 22’, 1948 Chris-Craft utility that we used on White Bear Lake, Minnesota. We also had a six-month-old son, who was our first child. As a young lawyer I did not have much extra…
By Leeann Wickens member of the Michigan chapter The Nicodemus is a John’s Bay Lobster Picnic Yacht that was built in Maine in 1996. The builder, Peter Kass, specializes in commercial lobster boats and this was one of the first custom pleasure boats he constructed. While in Charlevoix, Michigan for a wedding, we met with…
By Erika Kleckner of the Southern California Chapter. My 1964 Glasspar Seafair Sedan was purchased from my “Grandpa”, Jack Armistead, whom we fondly refer to as Salty. While boating with our friends on the California Delta, Jack invited us aboard his Seafair for a cruise. Little did I know, Jack was looking to sell his…
by Dwain & Ginny Schuette members of the Bob Speltz Land-O-Lakes In September of 2003, while looking for a classic wood boat to purchase, I came across a farmer that had an old boat sitting behind his barn. During our conversation, he asked if I would like to see his boat collection. The next day,…
by Mike Garrigan member of the Blue Ridge chapter In 1970, my dad purchased a lakefront home in Vermilion, Ohio on the beautiful Lake Erie coast. He purchased a boat for the family, a 1969 Boston Whaler (Eastport). He used the Whaler for one summer and then passed away the following winter leaving behind, my…
by Joe Lucchesi member of the Finger Lakes chapter Growing up I was fortunate to have spent the first 18 summers of my life at our cottage on Cayuga Lake, one of the largest of New York’s Finger Lakes. Our cottage was directly across the lake from Castelli’s Marina (as it was known in the…
by David Martin member of the Northern California/Lake Tahoe chapter As a child of the 70’s, some of my happiest summer vacations were spent at Clearlake and Lake Berryessa in California with our 1959 Wizard Marlin Imperial when I learned to water ski at 6 years of age. I always loved going boating, but our…
by David Kanally member of the Southwest chapter From time to time, the Wooden Boat Association of North Texas (WBA) is honored to receive a donated boat that deserves to be nurtured back to health. When Scott Reichardt offered us his 1948 Hafer Phantom 75, we jumped at the chance. The poor little runabout had…