This is the story of the Phoenix, a 1958 55-foot Chris-Craft Constellation, and how a group of friends brought her from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Lake Cumberland, Kentucky by waterway. In 1996, Paul Cundiff a retired Engineer and now owner and operator of Woodies Restorations, purchased the Phoenix from Bill and Marian Coggin. The couple…
Details
The Indiana Chapter was the 21st ACBS chapter created in 1986 in Indianapolis by Mike Boone, Russ Smith, and Bruce Clark at the Indianapolis Yacht Club. Our three founding members have grown around 120 and each of us enjoy annual dinners, lake tours and a sense of philanthropy. The chapter hosts various boat shows around…
Details
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…
Details
Currently there are 42 States that require boater safety certificates in the US and 8 that do not, and Canada requires a Pleasure Craft Operator Card in all Canadian provinces and territories. Now some of those 42 States have exceptions for age of the operator or the type of vessel being driven. But more and…
Details
How did we get the reputation of being a “welcoming and fun” interest group with few strings attached? It started in the early 1990s when a few boaters in Oklahoma were drawn together by the magnetism of wooden boats. Strange that wooden boats would have that force, but they were becoming the minority, yet easily…
Details
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…
Details
The New England Chapter war born at the 1976 Boston Boat Show when a group of wooden boat enthusiasts gathered in admiration around a couple of show winning woodies: Ted Larter’s “Scotty Too” Goldcup Racer and Ray Hawe’s prized possession, 18-foot Garwood “Norma Jean”. Behind the scenes of this Boston gathering were Jim Irwin and…
Details
The North Carolina Coastal & Piedmont Chapter of ACBS is fortunate to have a chapter member, John Olsen, who is an instructor in the boatbuilding program at Cape Fear Community College (CFCC) in Wilmington, one of six boatbuilding schools supported by ACBS scholarships*. In addition to ACBS International support, the North Carolina Coastal & Piedmont…
Details
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…
Details
“Back to the Beginning” was the 1995 theme for the 20th Anniversary ACBS Show and meeting 30 years ago. Although the Adirondack Chapter (ADK) was the third to form a chapter under the newly incorporated ACBS, the Adirondacks are the actual ACBS birthplace. Lake George was summer home to a group of wooden boat owners…
Details
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!
Details
(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,…
Details