The Great Danbury State Fair was established in 1869 in Danbury, Connecticut, and by the early 1900s it was the largest agricultural fair in New England. In 1949 the Great Danbury State Fair Grounds opened the nation’s first landlocked, oval, boat-racing speedway—the Aquaway—to augment its successful stock-car racing program. This flooded racecourse, which was built…
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Ron Stevenson, Seattle Boat Show Chair In November, ACBS headquarters held a roundtable discussion about boat shows, hosted by ACBS Membership Committee members Kathy Rhodes, Judy Hills and Austin Berndlmaier. Five people from our chapter participated in the zoom meeting as our BIG! Seattle Boat Show was coming up at the end of January for nine…
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By Hank Conkey – SNEC first Chapter President and current SNEC Treasurer After completing the restoration of my 1931 20 foot Chris-Craft Triple in 1982, I attended the Weirs Beach Antique Boat Show hosted by the New England Chapter. It was a great event and initiated a desire to see what was available in the…
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Now that your boat is likely tucked away for the season, it’s time for winter maintenance projects. One of the most important things a boat owner can do is ensure their trailers are in good working order. ACBS Member Video resources has a fantastic video on how to inspect and repack trailer bearings. Presented by…
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Seven years ago the Mid-Atlantic Chapter began displaying antique & classic boats at the Progressive Atlantic City Boat Show encouraged by our then Vice President, Ed Andrews. It was reported that this year 32,000 people attended and were afforded the opportunity to learn more about the Antique & Classic Boat Society, the Mid-Atlantic Chapter and…
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Charter Date: September 28, 1985 The Sunnyland Chapter of ACBS, based in Florida, hosts one of the largest and most well-attended boat shows in the history of ACBS, the Sunnyland Antique Boat Festival. Newer members to Sunnyland may ask, “How did we get here and where did we come from?” In the mid-1950s, in an…
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Although many of us might like to think that the Liberty engine was designed to power fast wooden boats that was not the case at all. It was designed to be the primary high-power aircraft engine of the U.S. Army and Navy Air Services during World War I, by J. G. Vincent, Vice President of…
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Last month we asked you on social media (@ACBSBoats) to share your favorite varnish with us. Comments were hot and heavy! ACBS members really like to tout the virtues of their favorite finishes. It became clear that this topic warranted more than a casual discussion in the comments of a social media post. To do…
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The Blackhawk Chapter proudly received its Certificate of Charter on January 22, 1986. Covering northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, we’re all about celebrating the love of classic boats and good times on the water! We’re best known for the iconic Geneva Lakes Boat Show in Fontana, Wisconsin, held every year on the last full weekend…
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The Antique Boat Museum (ABM) is pleased to announce the donation of four scrapbook albums related to the boatbuilder Sunflower Boat Works in 2024 by International Advisory Council member Dave Bortner. Prior to Dave’s donation, the Museum did not have any information on Sunflower Boat Works in the Marion Clayton Link Archives. The addition of…
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In the spring and summer of 1977, the man who would become the first president of the ACBS Niagara Frontier Chapter, Tom Frauenheim, began speaking with wooden boat owners he knew about their interest in forming a boat club. Inspired by the chartering of the Antique & Classic Boat Society in Lake George, New York…
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By Geoffrey D. Reynolds, Water Wonderland Chapter Charlevoix, Michigan, has been the home of many successful ship and pleasure boat builders since the middle of the nineteenth century. Though little known today, the Foster Boat Company made its mark on the pleasure craft industry, military establishment and growing recreational consumer base. Harry G. Foster was…
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