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 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 Ken Lukes member of the North Coast Ohio chapter Jeremy Goldstein (my cousin and owner of Custom Marine Inc. in Sandusky, OH.), was perusing the internet and came across an ad for the XK19 in April of 2018. We talked about it and I decided to call the owner. The ad was placed 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”…
By Richard Shorney member of the Sunnyland chapter ’59 Memories is a 1959 Crosby 16’ 7” “Custom” runabout manufactured by Aeromarine in Grabhill, Indiana. This model is called the Fish-n-Ski and its design caters to those who enjoy water skiing and open cockpit fishing. Crosby runabouts were also used for water skiing demonstrations in the…