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 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. I looked for a year or so to find one in…
Beginning on the Adriatic Coast of Croatia seven generations ago, the Kazulin family have a long history of boat design and building in Europe, the United States, and Canada. The Canadian evolution of Kavalk Boats as designers and manufacturers of refined runabouts dates back 40 years. From the initial concept to the final testing; all…
The Don Spring Gar Wood story…Don has always loved and worked on wooden boats. He wanted to be a Gar Wood owner, but knew he could not afford one. 13 Years ago, he found an almost dead Gar Wood in a field. All of her decks were punky. The bibs shot and mushrooms were growing…
by Steve Locke member of the Bay State Classic Boat Club chapter My passion for Cobalt boats all started back when I was a kid, where I spent every Fourth of July on Lake Winnipesaukee with my family. My mother’s cousin Neil owned a camp right on Paugus Bay where we would stay. Every year…
by Mike Yancey member of the Heartland Classics chapter Caravelle Boats began in 1966 and at the time were manufactured in Conway AR by Centark Industries which went out of business in 1982. However, the brand was resurrected, but financial issues resulted in another change in ownership in 2010, moving the company to Americus, GA…
by Ned Smith member of the Dixieland chapter Our 1960 Chris Craft was purchased new in 1960 to my parents. The boat “Belle of Shaley Shores” was named after my sister, Barbara and my mother, Nelle. Their lake house was named “Shaley Shores.” When the parents got tired of the lake house and boat, I…
by Carmen DeLeo member of the Mid-Atlantic chapter While driving home from Avalon New Jersey in the summer 1981 and passing a Marina I spotted a wooden boat. I stopped to take a look and snapped a couple of pictures. The following week I decided to visit the marina during business hours and inquire about…
by Dick & Kristen Winn members of the Columbia Willamette chapter In March 2011, I received a call from a fellow ACBS Columbia Willamette Chapter member about a “project boat” stored in a garage in Seattle. He had received an email from an ACBS Pacific Northwest Chapter member, which said: “I got a lead on…
by Roger & Sybil Smith member of the Smith Mountain Lake chapter I was always intrigued by the sport of outboard racing, ever since watching an amateur race on the Western Branch of the James River in Portsmouth, Virginia, with my new wife, Sybil, who was a Virginia native. I filed that memory away for…
by Douglas Ivester member of the Blue Ridge chapter Alleghenia is a 1924 Ditchburn. She is a 24.5′ Long Deck Launch. From all my research, it is rare to find a 24′ Ditchburn. Alleghenia was built in 1924 in Gravenhurst, Ontario for Dr. William Mann of Winnipeg, Manitoba & Minaki, Ontario. It is hull #…
by Ian Devlin member of the Okanagan chapter I am pleased to share some of my views about owning an historical antique boat and how I was able to learn some of the “secrets” that my old boat reluctantly gave up to allow me to understand what was happening. History lessons have always been one…
by Karl Dietz member of the Southwest chapter I bought this boat last August from a private collector in Traverse City, Michigan to be a little sister to my 1958 Century Coronado. I found her on an online dealer website and after several questions, emails and survey, I made an offer and a deal was…