by Michael Wetzel member of the Finger Lakes chapter In the summer of 2015 we finished our new boat house on Skaneateles Lake, complete with 2 boat bays; one the standard 10’ wide for modern boats and one 8’ wide for a wooden boat. The problem was we didn’t own a wooden boat. In fact,…
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by Bill Carley member of the Mid Atlantic chapter The 22′ Hacker Triple was built for only two years, 1947 and 1948. My boat is registered as a 1947 model although I was unable to determine the actual year it was built. I purchased the boat in 1988 from Boyd Mefford. It was a gray…
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by Bill Olmsted member of the Wine Country chapter I first got interested in wood boats when I was a teenager in the late 50’s in North Tonawanda, NY. As it happened, we lived next door to a guy who was building a marina on the Niagara River, and I spent as much time there…
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by Ronald Lane member of the Pacific Northwest chapter Hacker-Fermann Naval Architects Co. of Detroit Michigan advertised plans for a “New 55-foot Bridge Deck Cruiser” which allowed customers options of equipment and furnishings. On December 11, 1925 Mr. Ivan Kirlin signed a contract with the Defoe Boat and Motor Works Co. of Bay City Michigan…
Detailsby Gregory McLean member of the Thousand Islands chapter The Vanquish caught my eye at first glance – as a classic inboard river boat and that was enough to spark my initial interest. My lap-strake Lyman needed work and without a boathouse I thought fiberglass might be a more durable way to go. I had…
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by Clark Oltman member of the Sunnyland chapter I have owned this boat a little over 2 years. I was looking for a boat that I could trailer and use, not requiring immediate major work. I had looked on several websites and found that Dave Bortner at Freedom Boat Service had a couple that I…
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by Greg Finch member of the Rocky Mountain Classics chapter I grew up in Toronto, so I spent a lot of time in the Muskoka Lakes area of Ontario in the 60’s. I have such great memories of the woodies from those days. Most of which were built right there, with a few Century’s as…
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by Jon & Kait’s V8s member of the Lake Hopatcong chapter Chris Craft, Grey Marine, Chrysler, Cadillac, Palmer, the options are too many to choose. Pre-war blue, post-war blue, Grey Marine green, Fireball-red, how is one supposed to pick? Asking me to pick my favorite engine is like asking a mother who her favorite child…
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Beginning on the Adriatic Coast of Croatia seven generations ago, the Kazulin family have a long history of boat design and building in Europe, the United States, and Canada. The Canadian evolution of Kavalk Boats as designers and manufacturers of refined runabouts dates back 40 years. From the initial concept to the final testing; all…
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The Don Spring Gar Wood story…Don has always loved and worked on wooden boats. He wanted to be a Gar Wood owner, but knew he could not afford one. 13 Years ago, he found an almost dead Gar Wood in a field. All of her decks were punky. The bibs shot and mushrooms were growing…
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