Although many of us might like to think that the Liberty engine was designed to power fast wooden boats that was not the case at all. It was designed to be the primary high-power aircraft engine of the U.S. Army and Navy Air Services during World War I, by J. G. Vincent, Vice President of…
By Geoffrey D. Reynolds, Water Wonderland Chapter Charlevoix, Michigan, has been the home of many successful ship and pleasure boat builders since the middle of the nineteenth century. Though little known today, the Foster Boat Company made its mark on the pleasure craft industry, military establishment and growing recreational consumer base. Harry G. Foster was…
The Former director of the ACBS Lake Hopatcong chapter, Edward J. Seugling, wrote a really informative article for the winter 2007 issue of ACBS Rudder on the 2005 law mandating methyl tertiary-butyl ether, as an additive in gasoline. Worth revisiting, particularly, if one is newer to the antique and classic boat hobby, Ed answered questions…
You may remember the summer 2009 article in the ACBS Rudder by New England Chapter’s Mark Mason subtitled Mahogany Time Machines. You don’t have to stand on the dock with Mark for long to know that few people have his depth of understanding of all things Gold Cup. A lifetime of collecting, restoring, and recreating legendary…
Here’s a great story of a Starcraft restoration – and a bit of history of it’s predecessor, Star Tank – straight from the ACBS Rudder archives. Vintage metal boats don’t get much attention in the Rudder. I wonder if many ACBS members know there are metal boats made by Starcraft much, much older than…
ACBS was inaugurated on January 25, 1975. Happy anniversary! By the spring of 1975, though newly formed, ACBS was already an active club with representation at major boat shows and new chapters forming. Read all about it in the very first ACBS publication, the Rusty Rudder!
(Or, for Immediate Relief, Just Get Out on the Water) Whenever I want to feel better, fast, I head straight for the water. The simple act of motoring across the bay or just floating around, especially aboard a vintage boat, is the finest therapy for anything that ails you. Whether you’re aboard a vintage runabout,…
Join the Lake Champlain Chapter for a video workshop on how to tune up a Flat Head Marine Engine. In this five-part video series, you’ll get a primer on checking engine compression, the distrubutor and water pumps for proper function and setting the timing. And, you’ll learn how to torque head bolts, about the fuel…
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…
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…
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 Conmy F. Oamek, Northern California Lake Tahoe Chapter In 1977 we were invited to Mission Bay in San Diego to film a McDonalds commercial. Well, really, our 1964 14-foot Amphicar named Our Yacht was. The commercial began with Ronald and several McDonalds characters driving on to the beach in an Amphicar, for a day…