I was born into a boating family in 1952. My grandparents owned Burkhardt’s Boats and Motors located at 4th & Jackson in Topeka, Kansas. Starting in the mid 1940’s my dad, Roy Jensen, raced boats for Burkhardt’s Boats and Motors. One newspaper account of the races shows him racing with the Quindaro Boat Club members at the Swope Park Lagoon in Kansas City, MO. My family always had access to the new boats that arrived at the dealership. The Speed Liner with a 25 hp Evinrude motor was the family boat for several years. I was always told that Burkhardt’s Boats & Motors were the first Evinrude Outboard motor dealer in the state of Kansas. As a child I spent many of my offseason Sunday afternoons playing in the boat showroom with my older brother Chris while my grandmother caught up with the company’s bookkeeping. Chris was quite a Chris-Craft enthusiast and passed that appreciation on to me.
These Sunday afternoons in the showroom let me check out some of the newest changes happening in the recreational boating world. It was during one of these afternoons when I was 7 years old that I spotted a used 2 ½ hp Johnson motor on the new and used outboard motor display. I felt I really needed this motor to use on the 14 foot fishing boats that came with our cabin at the resorts when we vacationed at Lake of the Ozarks. Even though my grandmother told me it was way too expensive, it showed up on my July birthday just in time for the LOTO trip that year. I still have it in my garage.
Our family took many weekend boating trips each year to local Kansas and Oklahoma lakes. Each summer we spent one full week at LOTO. Local lakes were not plentiful like today, so we mostly boated on Lake Shawnee in Topeka, KS. This lake was divided between sailboats and power boats. Power boats were limited to an area by the dam. We had to go in a counterclockwise direction when cruising or waterskiing. Tuttle Creek Lake opened in 1962.
This lake expanded our lake travels. However, it runs north and south and in Kansas with the wind it was usually a rough boat ride. As soon as I turned 16, I was allowed to take the family boat with friends to the lake. Boat outings and camping trips became my summer activities. My car had to be capable of towing the boat and I always added a “bumper” hitch. My mother had a standing offer: She would buy the boat gas if I took my younger brother, Hal, with me. I didn’t take her up on that offer until Hal and I were in our mid to late 20’s. She said the offer had expired.
LOTO was the highlight of each summer. My first memory of being at LOTO was at Lanes Resort around 1955. I think it was located close to Grand Glaize Bridge. By 1961 we spent our yearly vacations at The Peninsula Resort. It was “In the Heart of the Beautiful Lake of the Ozarks” located on Galana Point.
Our cabin was on the point with an unobstructed view of Joyner Island. This island was a daily destination in the wooden, then aluminum, 14 foot fishing boat that came with the cabin. It was powered by my trusty 2 ½ hp Johnson motor. It had a small fuel tank so I always kept a 2 ½ gal can of premixed fuel aboard. When The Peninsula Resort sold out, we moved to Gladstone Cove Resort located on the Gravios Mills arm of the lake. I vacationed there with my family until the early 1970s. My brother, Hal, now has a vacation home on LOTO located close to Margaritaville Resort.
As indicated earlier, we were able to experience many of the new boats. In 1960 our family was featured on the front page of the Topeka Capital-Journal as the typical boating family spending their weekends on Lake Shawnee or exploring many of the state’s new lakes. The photo caption includes “The three Jensen boys, Hal 4, Kerry 8, and Chris 14 are just as avid mariners as their dad when they head out in their new 16 foot boat.” This early fiberglass boat featured the faux lapstrake hull and the newly available 50 hp Evinrude motor. Other changes included one of the first I/O boats, a 16 foot fiberglass Lone Star, which drew a lot of attention on the lake. It was an OMC I/O with a 100 hp motor. This early version did not have a sound deadening engine compartment and was loud inside the boat. We then purchased an 18-foot Glastron powered by a 350 cubic inch motor attached to a Berkely Jet Drive. This was a fast boat for the time and a new experience in boat handling. It would reach over 50 mph however was only fitted with a 12-gallon gas tank. A day of boating included 2 or 3 stops by the fuel dock.
On graduating college, I decided I wanted to give sailing a try. I took a sailing class then purchased a used 12 foot Minifish. It was an excellent boat to learn on and I still have this boat. I used it to teach the BSA sailing merit badge for our sons’ Boy Scout troop. I moved up through a couple of day sailors to an 18 foot NACRA 5.2 Catamaran. This was an exciting and challenging sailboat built for speed and stiff winds which worked well on the Kansas lakes. It could reach over 22 mph.
In the later part of the 70’s I met my future wife Bobbie in Newton, KS. She seemed to also enjoy boating and showed real mate compatibility by competently assisting me in stepping the NACRA’s 28 foot mast. She soon suggested that something with actual seats and not just a trampoline stretched between the two hulls might be more comfortable. As Bobbie and I were to be married in 1979 and would not live close to the family power boat, I purchased a new 15 ½ foot Mark Twain open bow, tri-hull with 85 hp Mercury motor. This fun, practical boat boat served our growing family well for several years. In 1987 we relocated to the Beaver Lake area and moved up to a Four Winns 190 Horizon. Our next boat was the 1993 Cobalt 198 which we still own.
Our boys were involved in Boy Scouts of America. In June 2000, as part of my BSA leadership, I took a group of 6 boys to Sea Base for a weeklong sailing and snorkeling adventure in the lower Florida Keys. After this week with Captain Denny on his 45 foot sailboat, we came back as a family for a weeklong charter in June of 2001. Following this cruise, we decided to add a cruising sailboat to our fleet. Starting with a rescued 20 foot sailboat from Dallas, TX then jumping to a 26 foot sailboat rescued in Manhattan, KS to a 36 foot Hunter 36 Vision that sort of floated into our cove and tied up to our dock. However, that is another story for the campfire. This Hunter is special because it was purchased from friends of ours. We used it on Beaver Lake for many years before relocating it in 2022 to the Grand Lake Sailing Club on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, OK.
We have lived on the north shore of Beaver Lake since 1994. Our boys grew up boating and sailing here. Being responsible boaters is something we have always taken seriously. I have taken several courses through the Beaver Lake Power and Sail Squadron and American Sailing Association.
We are fortunate to have a family dock on Beaver Lake to keep our boats ready for enjoyment. In addition to our sailboat, we have the 1993 Cobalt 198 that we brought to club events last year and the Tulsa Boat Show in 2023. Also in the fleet is a 2007 Carolina Skiff and a 2001 Chris-Craft Constellation 26 named Liberty. This boat’s production run was limited to 84 boats and we have hull 42. We located Liberty in Connecticut and purchased her in August 2020. We have a lot of plans for Liberty going forward. As we transition more towards power boating than sailing, we plan to explore other lakes and take extended trips with this trailerable cruiser. We have added upgrades to make her completely self-contained.
We are looking forward to cruising on inland lakes, attending the Heartland Classics rendezvous and visiting other ACBS chapters across the country.
This story was originally printed in the Heartland Classics ACBS Chapter’s newsletter, Mahogany & Chrome.