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.…
by Preston Smith member of Northern California/Lake Tahoe chapter In 1998, I rescued this 1956 Chris-Craft, rotting away in a run-down slip in Norfolk, Virginia. She was shipped to California where the next three years she provided a home for hundreds of wasps. Originally, I dreamed I would restore the big Utility himself but quickly…
by Steve Lattmann member of the Sunnyland chapter Many decades ago, I grew up on the South shore of Long Island. My parents were avid boaters and over the years of my childhood they owned a number of different boats. One of those boats was a 17’ 1958 Thompson. It was the same lemon yellow…
by Cheryl Ahlcronoa member of the Bob Speltz Land-O-Lakes chapter My father, Edgar Ahlcrona, owned Tonka Bay Boat Works in Tonka Bay, Minnesota, from 1947 through 1972. They manufactured Crona Crafts and marketed these runabouts as the new style trend in the mid 50’s. Boating for my father and his brothers (Robert, Richard and Bertil)…