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 Bill & Jan Stephenson members of the Michigan chapter A long time ago in the early 70’s I worked for a brief time in sales at Donzi Marine in North Miami Florida. The Donzi factory was next door to the Magnum factory which at the time was owned by Bobby Rautbord (a well known…
by Bill Watson member of the Northern California/Lake Tahoe chapter In the early 20th Century, flamboyant Captain George Whittell, Jr. was a very wealthy young man having many extravagant hobbies and obsessions, including acquiring the best machines that modern technology had to offer. He owned multiple airplanes, Duesenberg luxury motorcars, and a small fleet of…
by Steve Shehadi member of the Finger Lakes chapter “Skim Boating is the newest fad at cypress gardens.” – Popular mechanics magazine April 1950 The Hansen Skim board was developed by Emil Hansen from Bryn Mawr Pennsylvania and was an early predecessor to the very popular Jet Ski you see today. This project started with…
by John Peck member of the Toronto chapter In the summer of 1920 on Lake of Bays in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada, my father had just been given his first boat at the age of five,a rowboat (Bay) of his own to experience the freedom of exploring the lake at will. From my conversations with him…
by John Maddox member of the Southern California chapter This particular boat is interesting in that a 28′ model Hackercraft was not officially offered for 1928. A raised-coaming, wood vee-windshield Dolphin DeLuxe was offered one-year-only in 1927. For 1928 the Dolphin DeLuxe was stretched to 29′ and had a completely flush deck with a flattened…
by Steven Perkins member of the New England chapter Gray Owl is a very original 1928 22′ Chris Craft, Model 1, hull # 1509. It was delivered new by train to Irwin Marine on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. In 1936 my grandmother’s uncle purchased Gray Owl from Downing’s Marina for $600 and it has…
by Douglas Hansen member of ACBS Escapee, my “built strong for the Southern Ocean” sailboat for the past 38 years, is far from home and those waters. In 1940, she was commissioned in Sydney, Australia by Henry M.T. Lehmann (more on Henry later). Two years later she was re-registered in Vancouver, BC. In 1946 Henry…
Watch your postal mail for the Spring issue of the ACBS Rudder magazine (in mail mid-April). The ACBS Window Decal is returning! After an extended hiatus, the much-loved window sticker that tells the world (or the water) that you’re a proud member of ACBS will be making a grand re-entrance inside the magazine’s poly bag……
by Susan Rodriguez member of the Northern California/Lake Tahoe chapter Rumba is a 1927 triple cockpit 26’ Baby Gar, Jr., a model that was built only one year and was showcased in January 1927 at the New York Boat Show in the Barclay Hotel. She is #41 out of 75 runabouts that were built. Interestingly,…
by Robert Black member of the Southwest chapter I had never seen an Aristo Craft before I went to a boat show in Mt. Dora, Florida. The boat is made in Atlanta, GA. and most of them have been sold on the east coast. They were made in the 1950s in a family business and…
by Mark Smith member of the Water Wonderland chapter What do you get when you combine an artist, engineer, and a craftsman? Answer: My dad Chris. Like all boats he has touched, our Rocket turned out to be a jewel of a boat. Quite different from what was delivered from the factory. Our very good…
by Paul and Marge Morris members of Heartland Classics chapter As a young lad during the early and mid 1950’s, our family’s residence was on the edge of the harbor at Hyannis, Mass. on Cape Cod. Today, the property is part of a large parking lot for one of the seasonal excursion boats to Nantucket…