By James Sanders, member of the Michigan chapter. I purchased this boat in 2003 after riding in a similar boat in some very rough water. At that time I owned a 31’ Chris Craft Commander and a few wood Chris’s prior to that. The first summer we used the boat primarily in the Algonac area…
By Ann and Bob Guldemond, members of the Michigan (primary), Bluewater, Toronto, Glacier Lakes, Indiana, and Water Wonderland Chapters. Wet Pet was created in Algonac MI. The story we have heard, it was to be a 1966, but the workers went on strike, so it became a 1967. It is a 48’ Constellation, with three…
By Gary Fesperman, ACBS Secretary and member of the Blue Ridge Chapter. Several members of the Blue Ridge Chapter, the “5200 Bottom Gang,” got together to install the outer bottom planking on two boats in three days last week. The first boat was a 1965 17′ foot Chris Craft Ski Boat owned by Lee Mapp…
By Jeff and Renee Davey, members of the Glacier Lakes chapter. Our Higgins obsession started about 37 years ago while on vacation in northern Wisconsin. We stopped at a local marina and purchased a 1947 19’ Higgins Deluxe Runabout. After sitting in storage for over 30 years, we finally decided to restore her. She is…
By Mike Noland and Cyndi Geist, members of the Rocky Mountain chapter. Our 1939 Chris-Craft 33-foot dual cabin enclosed bridge cruiser was delivered new to Wayzeta, Minnesota and she had spent her life up to that point in that region. I purchased her from a family member in 2002, had a trailer built and off…
By David Price, member of the Hudson River Chapter. I hope the title of my story proves to be not true but, as of today, it seems entirely appropriate, especially to my wife and friends. My wife Barbara and I joined the Hudson River Chapter of ACBS some 16 years ago after Barbara bought, on…
By Ken Kelly, member of the Water Wonderland Chapter. The Back Story I first became interested in wooden canoes when I purchased a 1930s built log cabin in 1993. I was looking for a summer place on an all-sports lake with the plan of getting a mahogany runabout soon there after. Already a wooden runabout…
By Dave Wrzesinski My son Scott and I have been building, restoring, repairing and refinishing boats for the past 40 years. I started building when I was 11 years old with my friend Jon Staudacher and his father Les Staudacher. Les built unlimited hydroplanes from the 1950s to the early 1970s. He built unlimited boats…
Carpe Diem is a 1967 Chris Craft owned by Ray and Lisa Tangent. Home port is Point Breeze, NY on the south shore of Lake Ontario. She has cruised the lake and 1000 Islands region extensively for the last 25 years. Woody is a 1964 Grew Cruiser, 20 1/2 ft, 8 ft beam lapstrake…
The Warren County Historical Society is making a new historical publication available for those interested in local boating history. Legend of Lake George “El Lagarto” and the Men That Made Her Great by Jon Bowers will be published in the next few weeks. Mr. Bowers “sets record straight” on the story of El Largato, the famous wooden…
By Brian Fogarty, member of the Indian Lake Chapter. I have been boating in Indian Lake in NW Ohio since I was an infant. When I was ten weeks old my parents took me in our 1968 Larson. I slept in a Kirby Sweeper box in the front of the boat. In 2005, a fellow…
The Sunnyland Chapter of ACBS was invited to show their classic boats at the Festival of Speed Show held at the Ritz Carlton Grande Lakes in Orland on Sunday, December 2nd. It was a tremendous show with over 350 exhibits including an original Ford GT 40 valued at over $15,000,000 alongside an array of classics…