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.
It all started back in 1978 when a group of folks wanted to have a boat show. The show was to feature both Vintage and recently wooden boats that had been in continuous use, a “user” boat. The show was a great success and the Village of Alexandria Bay has opened their docks for a…
Adventure lovers will remember Gene Porter’s story of a trip north along the veritable aquatic superhighway that is Lake Champlain and its appendages into the heart of old French Canada. Invited to judge the very first Montreal Classic Boat Festival. In 2008, inspired by to revisit the beauty of this country by waterway, Gene loaded…
During the month of August in 2010, Gilbert Vacheret, a founding member with a French delegation of the club Société Nautique de Bordeaux, went to the U.S. to meet with the ACBS. Lou Rauh introduced Gilbert to several chapters and one in particular, the Water Wonderland chapter, offered him the opportunity to visit the…
By Bjorn Bakken, Bay State Classic Boat Club While living overseas in my country of birth, Norway, from 2012 to 2014, a childhood friend told me: “I know of a rare wooden boat in a barn.” Many of us have heard of stories like this, but it’s like winning the Lotto when you see the…
It all started with Merl W. “Bill” Baldwin, Jr. (June 6, 1935-October 14, 2015). Known as “The Helmsman,” Bill wrote science fiction–specifically military space opera. The Helmsman Saga (8 books) was his best-known work, hence his nickname. He worked at NASA at Cape Canaveral supporting Project Mercury and later as a contractor for the NASA Manned Spacecraft…
Boating is in my blood. I have been on the water since I was eight years old, when dad bought our first family boat and a tent. Boat number two, our 18 ½-foot Weymouth cruiser, (yes, a cruiser, and Mom, Dad and three kids slept aboard), meant that every summer we’d spend family vacation time…
By Joe Frauenheim, PNW Chapter Member I grew up in Buffalo, New York, in a family deeply involved in the marine business. In 1977, fellow boaters had started the Niagara Frontier Chapter of the fledging Antique and Classic Boat Society. But, shortly thereafter, in June of 1979, I moved with my family to Bellevue, Washington,…
In the summer of 2008, a fun and fast boat line, AristoCraft, was featured in ACBS Rudder. Initially constructed of plywood, when fiberglass came on the scene, AristoCraft made the bold move to completely switch production. There is really nothing to distinguish this farmhouse from any along the road in Alpharetta, Georgia, until you see…
By Dave Rosenberger, North Coast Ohio Chapter Time to get DOWN and DIRTY, which is slang to do unpleasant things with the phrase first used in the 1940s. I’m referring to the winterization of our pride and joys, and I do not profess to be a marine mechanic (we do have those in our chapter),…
On April 30, 2004 the Glacier Lakes Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society Inc., was granted a charter from ACBS. But the chapter’s origins date back to 1974 when several boat dealers and interested parties got together at the Milwaukee Marine Dealers’ Boat Show to discuss having an antique and classic boat exhibit…
1956 26-foot Chris-Craft Continental Gary and Susan Rechcygl, Glacier Lakes Chapter “That’s my boat!” Not necessarily words you want to hear when backing out of a dock. Gary Rechcygl thought he was about to hit another boat so he put Double Trouble in neutral. Standing on the docks at the Lake Geneva boat show that…
The Chesapeake Bay has always been a place for boats, especially in the Annapolis area, where a small group of like-minded people happened to meet. In 1976, when almost all new boats were made of fiberglass, this group shared a common love for boats made of wood. They also shared their knowledge and skills, essential…