By Jed Lykes member of the Sunnyland chapter During several visits to Boca Grande during the 1960’s I was always fascinated and attracted to the numerous wooden boats which operated in and around the area. Not only were they physically attractive, but the ones I had the pleasure of riding in were built for any…
by Bobby Knight member of the Sunnyland chapter When I was 12 years old, my father purchased this 1964 Chris-Craft 17’ 6” Sunlounger in the outboard version and snapped on the chrome Mercury 800 from his previous Borum wooden boat. Dad, family, and friends loved Florida boating to places such as the Suwannee River, Santa…
by Larry Maloomian member of Sunnyland chapter We summered on Cape Cod and like many who did, I was a sailor. I kept my sailboat in a beautiful little harbor on Buzzards Bay. Moored nearby was a beautiful triple cockpit Chris-Craft that I always admired. Many of us “old men” try to regain our youth…
By Whitey Smale member of the Sunnyland chapter Joe Charles phoned me as I was cruising into Midland to tell me he had a 1929 or 30 26 ft Ditchburn for sale. He said he could meet me at the Midland dock later that afternoon to show me a picture of the boat in the…
by Doug & Ann Van Meter member of the Water Wonderland & Sunnyland chapters After our two kids were out of college, married and on their own we started thinking about a wooden boat. With a cottage on the lake, we had a pontoon boat but the memories of the wooden boats on the lake…
Note: Charles Mistele passed away in early March. A few weeks before his passing, Charles mailed a handwritten story to the ACBS office. We are pleased to publish this story in memory of Charles and his life long commitment as the caretaker of Miss America IX. by Charles H. Mistele member of Blue Ridge, Michigan…
by James Goodrich member of the Sunnyland chapter My ELCO 24′ electric launch is a reproduction of a late 1890s boat that, in turn, was based on larger Electric Launch Co. boats used to transport passengers on the flooded Midway of Chicago’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. In 1987 Joe Fleming and Bill Swanson planned and…
by Kenneth Ryker member of the Sunnyland chapter I have been racing r/c boats and my favorite boat has been my 30 inch electric Shovel nose hydroplane that is called the Miss K. The hull was designed from Ed Karelson’s and I like the way this boat handled the water. I decided the boat was…
by member Robert Becker member of the Sunnyland chapter Our 1964 Amphicar, made in Germany, and found about 20 years ago in Montana has been a real joy to us. It’s unusual and unique but most of all it has given us a lot of FUN. Sure, it gets a lot of attention but we…
1909 Consolidated 40-foot Launch This launch is available through the Sunnyland Chapter’s Scampy Program (an apprentice mentoring program). Price is $25,000 or best offer. All proceeds will support the Scampy Program. For more information, contact Lou Ronca at 407-493-8553 or email. Survey and pictures are available.
by Clark Oltman member of the Sunnyland chapter I have owned this boat a little over 2 years. I was looking for a boat that I could trailer and use, not requiring immediate major work. I had looked on several websites and found that Dave Bortner at Freedom Boat Service had a couple that I…
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…