Browse news articles, stories and media for the the Antique & Classic Boat Society; including photographs and stories related to ACBS International and it’s chapters.
by Karl Hoffman member of the Pacific Northwest chapter My first ACBS event was the Seattle opening day of boating 1983 with our newly purchased 16 ft. Century Resorter which is still in our family. My next project was a 55 Century Coronado which took me 8 years to complete. Then came the 1941 34…
by Andrew Barnett of Austrailia member of ACBS This Commuter was in the hands of Mr. Bennett until [Reputed] he was mowing his lawn with a newly invented lawn mower. This threw a stone into his leg and it became gangrene. The boat went through several hands including the defense force during the war. It…
by Trudy Marcoux member of the Southern California chapter When this beautiful little 1939 Chris-Craft came into our life we already had a 1956 Mercury that we had restored. The Chris craft was well taken care of but did need a little TLC. It was love at first sight so we had to do some…
by Brad Hedrick member of ACBS When I was a kid, growing up in Norfolk, Virginia, we lived very close to my grandparents. My brothers and I got to spend a lot of time with my grandfather while my father was in Viet- Nam. My grandfather had a 17’ Barbour Silver Clipper that he took…
by Bruce Collemer member of the Southern New England chapter This is a about a magical career in boating and a magical boat. I started in boats at the age of 8 yrs old living on Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. My first few years were mostly spent keeping my boats afloat. After high school,…
by Paul Graham member of the Pacific Northwest chapter In 2016 I was restoring a 1958 Dorsett Monterey and was not looking for another boat. But when I was on the water watching the Blue Angels fly during the Seafair festivities on Lake Washington, I saw a boat I would love to have. I wasn’t…
by Tom & Diane Emling members of the Water Wonderland chapter Our Gar Wood Speedster “Loon Magic” is a 2001 exact re-creation of the original 1935 gentleman’s racer. “Loon Magic” comes to current owners and ACBS Water Wonderland chapter members Tom and Diane Emling — filled with lots family stories, fond remembrances, and fascinating folklore…
by Casey DeHollander member of the Water Wonderland chapter My first memory of wooden boats goes back to my uncle’s Chris-Craft U-22 on Lake Charlevoix. She was a real head turner. Another uncle owned a cottage on Big Star Lake. I spent a lot of time there in the summers watching the fastest boat on…
by Matt Foley & Susie Becker members of the Lake Champlain chapter We live a few minutes away from the New York side of Lake Champlain, big water. Summer is the work season for us, so late afternoon – evening getaways on the lake with food and drink, often with friends, are our main form…
by Kent Volmerding member of ACBS Our 1955 Century Arabian is haul number 5502. A friend of mine found it, stored under a lean-to on the side of a building, with the back of the boat unprotected. Needless to say, the boat was in bad shape. Most of the hardware was there, but the windshield…
by Lindy Robinson member of the Southwest chapter Like many of us, my love for boats started early with water skiing and fishing on my local lake. I have always had a boat of some kind but did not really fall in love with wooden boats until about 25 years ago. Seeing all the beautiful…
by Dave Samson member of the Bayou Chapter I’ve always had a passion for vintage wooden boats, especially the “lake boats” I remembered from the 50’s. I restored my first runabout, a 1955 Chris-Craft Capri, that took first place awards at Lake Arrowhead, Lake Tahoe and most recently the Lake Pontchartrain wooden boat festival in…