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,…
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By Jeff Shook, Columbia-Willamette Chapter Dreadnaught II started her long and colorful career as a rescue vessel in the US Life-Saving Service (USLSS) so named until 1915 when the US Revenue Cutter Service and the USLSS merged and became the US Coast Guard. The lifeboat was an English invention adopted by the USLSS. Lifeboats were…
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The Manotick Classic Boat Club came about in the mid 1970s mostly from young professionals and small businesspersons who bought wood boats because they were cheap and floated, (sort of), and you could turn the ignition key and they would go (sometimes). The need to exchange information to keep them going evolved into a local…
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By Founders and volunteers of Save the PT Boat, Inc. Bill Weaver, Fred Juras and Jack Coulter Save the PT Boat, Inc. is a member of the Columbia-Williamette Chapter World War II had started in Europe and the U.S. anticipated the need for a small, fast, maneuverable, and well-armed vessel to patrol and defend the…
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It’s all about family and friends sharing fun on the water. Founded in 1992 with twenty members, this small group in Oregon and SW Washington grew. In 1993, chartered as the Columbia-Willamette Chapter (CWC), the 37th chapter of The Antique & Classic Boat Society now has over 75 registered members and in 2023 was honored…
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By Amy Scanlin Museums and Archives are treasure troves of history. Antique Boat Museum, The Mariner’s Museum and Park and many others bring to life long ago and sometimes forgotten photos and documents that open the door for new study and exploration. Deep in the Archives of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum at Fort Eustis,…
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How It Started In 1995, four wooden boat owners got together to form the North Coast Ohio (NCO) Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society. Rich Baratha, Bob Otto, Les Demaline, and Jack Lynett met at the Holiday Inn in Montrose, Ohio and drew up the documents which permitted the new Chapter to chart…
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Baby Bootlegger celebrated her 100th birthday this year with a beautiful and informative photo montage created and narrated by Mark Mason and presented at the 2024 Vintage Boat Week. Here is a link to that presentation and narration posted to YouTube. From the history of Caleb Bragg, to Baby Bootlegger in her heyday, to her…
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And, now onto the midwest and the Mississippi Valley Chapter of ACBS…. The Mississippi Valley Chapter is small but mighty. Chartered in the 1980s, with most of its members centered around St. Louis, Missouri, the Chapter meets regularly in the four bay workshop of one of its members to tinker, restore, learn, and just enjoy…
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By Alan & Liz Wardsworth, Inland Empire Chapter If you have been following the saga of our 1963 Belmont, you probably won’t believe it ended up being a successful summer of boating! Belmont produced luxury runabouts from 1956 to 1966 before they converted to fiberglass flat bottom racers. Most Belmonts have Cadillac power but founder,…
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ACBS’s newest chapter is the Northern Europe Chapter. Chartered in May, 2023, the chapter fulfills an over decade long interest for antique boaters in Northern Europe, and particularly Sweden and Norway, to join ACBS as an official Northern European Chapter. In the winter of 2022/23, Torben Kasimzade approached ACBS from his home in Germany asking…
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The ACBS Oral History Project commemorating our club’s first 50 years is in full swing! Over 3,000 have called in to share their stories about what membership in this great community of antique & classic boaters means to them and how it has enhanced their love of boating. We’ve collected some great memories dating back…
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