by Cheryl Ahlcrona 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)…
By Kevin Fitzke, member of the Land-O-Lakes Chapter I built the boat from scratch in a little over two years time. I incorporated my own styling features along with installing a small block 283cuin. engine. It’s a blast to drive and a real joy to be out on the water with.
By John Hart member of BSLOL Chapter It was a few encounters with a Thompson boat around 1965 that launched my interest in wooden runabouts. Whether as a passenger watching the water rush by during a tight turn, as a spotter monitoring the status of a skier, or as a person on the end of…
Andreas Jordahl Rhude owns many Thompson boats. Valhalla is one of them. She is a 1957 Thompson 17-foot Sea Lancer with 1957 Johnson RDEL-19 outboards. Andreas Rhude is a member of the Bob Speltz Land-o-Lakes and Glacier Lakes Chapters. Here is a Classic 1962 Dorsett 17-foot Catalina with a 1989 Yamaha 90 hp engine. Her…
Double D’s, pictured above, is a 1959 22-foot Shepard Runabout 110 owned by David and Dolores Little, Norfolk, VA. She is powered by a 440 Chrysler. She lives on Glaston Lake (North Carolina) during the summer months. Buttercup is a 1957 18-foot Lyman outboard runabout. She was purchased from the second owner in 2017 who…
By Don Knauff member of the BSLOL chapter I was looking on the internet for some information about my 1955 Chrysler Imperial and I saw a photo of a 1955 Desoto pulling a boat with large fins that really intrigued me. I knew I absolutely had to have a boat like it to pull with…
By Roger Fox member of the BSLOL chapter Vixen is a 1948 Chris Craft 17’ Deluxe Runabout, powered by a KBL Racing engine. The Boat is owned by Roger Fox of Shoreview, MN. The boat was manufactured in Cadillac, Michigan and delivered to a dealer in Superior, Wisconsin. Vixen has been seen on a Channel…
By Bill Rathburn, member of the Bob Speltz Land O’ Lakes Chapter. Our 1967 Boston Whaler Nauset was purchased as a temporary stand-in for a 1963 Glasspar Seafair Sedan having its hull restored. The Nauset came from Duluth where she’d had a long and hard career fishing Lake Superior using the radio name Green River.…
Above is a Circa 1995 “Buffalo Mini Boat” actually manufactured in Buffalo, New York. It was advertised in Motor Boat Magazine with two adult women and was said to easily navigate the “Ice Bergs” in Buffalo. Owned by Ed Dominiak of the Niagara Chapter, he finally has it registered and will look forward to having…
. By Eric Torkelson member of Bob Speltz Land-O-Lakes chapter My 1958 Thompson Sea Coaster is special to me because my father, who has now passed on, purchased the boat new from the Grueben Brothers boat dealership in Waverly Iowa in 1959. He had friends that boated on the Cedar River that travels through the…
This week’s tour features boats from 1968 The first one with the name Lot of Fun Too is a 1968 Evinrude 16-foot Sportsman with a 1968 Buick HU-16C engine. Lot of Fun Too is owned by Chuck and Nadine Breen. Chuck says, “Boat purchased in 1968 by Richard Willis of Hackensack, MN. Sold to Curt…
Many of the boats in today’s Tuesday Tour of Vintage Boats are from the Michigan area. Dennis Hansen, a member of the Water Wonderland chapter, is seeking help in finding the ownership history of his Chris Craft U-22 (Hull #U22584). The boat was originally shipped to a Cleveland, Ohio boat store that no longer exists.…