by John Gambill member of the Michigan chapter It was 2010 and I had registered my 1957 Arena Craft Barracuda for the Branson Missouri International Show but what the heck, someone bought the darn boat just two weeks before show time! Reservations had been made and paid and here I was with no boat! I…
by Ryan Motter member of the Bay State Classic Boat Club chapter Bringing a new life to, Just the Beginning. I grew up in Michigan spending my summers at my parents place on Lake Charlevoix. On the lake were a few classic Chris Crafts and Hacker Crafts that would come out on calm days. These…
by Dallas Cooley member of the Blue Ridge chapter Best I can recollect, my love for boats began as a kid hanging my head over the bow of my grandfather’s Lazy Days houseboat on Lake Lanier. Watching the V-hull slice through the water with the roar of twin V-8’s was euphoric. The tradition continued with…
by Don Price member of the Thousand Islands chapter In the early/mid part of the 1900’s, Bay Head, New Jersey had a reputation for quality boat building that far exceeded the small size of the boro. A major part of that reputation came from the mind and energy of Hubert Johnson. He was one of…
by John Calhoun member of the Water Wonderland chapter I purchased a basket case hull of a 1940 Chris-Craft Deluxe Runabout (barrelback) in 2006 after searching for a respectable project where I could utilize a Chris- Craft KBL131 hp triple carb engine that I owned. I was alerted to a gray boat that was in…
by Al & Sandi McEwan members of the Pacific Northwest chapter It was mid-summer 1982 when we arrived by car at a Lake Washington waterfront home just in time to get a glimpse of a lovely, mahogany speedboat pulling away from the dock. As we owned a 1939 Gar Wood Streamliner at the time we…
by Jim Ruwaldt member of the Glacier Lakes chapter The story actually begins when I purchased a copy of Bob Matson’s book “What’s in Your Boat House”. This is an interesting book if you have not read it and includes stories about barn finds and the histories of family’s old boats. One of the first…
by Glenn Perich member of the Blue Ridge chapter Our introduction to boating started originally in 1979 with the purchase of a fiberglass boat. As time went on, children and work made us too busy to enjoy boating. We sold the fiberglass boat in 1984. Fast forward; to the summer of 2013 we were enjoying…
by Wendy Nelson member of the Columbia-Willamette chapter “It’s Only Money” has been a family motto for years and it’s now the name of our second classic boat. This 1958 15’ Chris-Craft Cavalier was purchased in the spring of 2016 to use while the “good boat” was being restored. That boat’s story is for another…
by Chris Almond member of the Long Island chapter My 1966 Eltro 16 Runabout was restored over a 5 year period by our Long Island chapter of ACBS in the Frank F. Penney Boat Shop on the grounds of the Long Island Maritime museum. The boat was completed and launched for a test run in…
by Matt Kleisler member of the Long Island chapter Having grown up on the south shore of Long Island in NY, we spent a great deal of time on the Great South Bay. My father had a wooden boat and I loved it. Summer vacations, weekends and father/son time was sent on it. She was…
By Bud Stout memeber of ACBS My “Lyman life” started in 1955 when I was 13 years old. We spent our summers at my grandparent’s home on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. That year, Father ordered a new 15 ft. Lyman outboard with a 25HP Johnson and a red steering wheel. The boat came from “Hoppy”…