The Allegheny Chapter of ACBS was formed in 1996 to serve Western Pennsylvania, but our 31 members hail from Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and West Virginia. Members can boat on any of Pittsburgh’s three rivers (the Monongahela, the Allegheny, and the Ohio), the Beaver River, and the Youghiogheny River, among others. For those who prefer lakes, we have Lake Erie, Edinboro, Conneaut, Pymatuning, LaTonka, Moraine, Deep Creek, the Youghiogheny Reservoir, the Alleghany Reservoir/Kinzua, Shenango Reservoir, Raystown Lake, and Indian Lake in the Johnstown, Pennsylvania area. Never realized how much water was in Western, Pennsylvania? Pittsburgh itself has 446 bridges – the most in the world – and although not all of those bridges cover water, many of them do!
For many years, our chapter hosted the Conneaut Lake Classic Antique Boat Show at Conneaut Lake. This show averaged 25-50 boats every year and was held from our inception in 1996 until we lost our venue as a result of COVID. In addition to the show, we typically host one or two river runs every year, where we traverse the Allegheny, Monongahela, or Beaver Rivers down to Pittsburgh for lunch somewhere along the Ohio River, and then home again. These river runs include locking through one or more of the several locks along our rivers. If you’ve never locked through structures built to accommodate fully-loaded coal barges while in a 20’ runabout, you don’t know what you’re missing!
Arguably, our most enjoyed activities are the numerous workshops we hold each year. For each workshop, one of our members hosts the club, and everyone joins in to work on a specific project. Workshops have included rolling boats, planking, decking, and refinishing. At any workshop, you’ll often find a small group working on other projects on the side, such as engines, wiring, or interiors.
We welcome any and all antique boating enthusiasts into our little family. Come join us at our summer picnic at Conneaut Lake, or our Christmas party, or any of our workshops or river runs. There’s always an extra seat or two available in someone’s boat, and we’d love to hear your story, too!