The March 20, 2018, Tuesday Tour of Vintage Boats begins with 1956 Chris Craft 25’ Express Cruiser named Take Two.  Take Two was self-restored over a 10 year period. Owners Tom and Heidi Frye of East Grand Rapids, MI enjoy Take Two on the many lakes and rivers of the great state of Michigan.  The photo was taken in “Government Bay” in the Les Cheneaux Islands, in northeastern Lake Huron.


 

Betty Jane is a 1955 Chris Craft Corsair. 45 feet. Twin 350’s replacing original Hercules diesels. Dale Harris & Alexander Watson owners. Cincinnati, OH. Betty Jane was found sinking in her slip at Lake Texoma, Texas in 2001. Restored over 2003-4. Cruised to Ohio via the Arkansas, Tennessee, Cumberland and Ohio rivers in 2009. Photos by A. Watson.  Betty Jane is the feature in an upcoming book. River Queens: An American Journey is a travel narrative about two men’s adventure across the American Heartland from Texas to Ohio. It is a story of relationships they made along the way and the relationship they forged on board. Scheduled for release Fall 2018 through Orange Frazer Press, Wilmington, Ohio. Orangefrazer.com


“Sniffing the Wind” is the name of this picture shared by Glenn Murray.  The photo was taken during a fall outing on the Rideau River in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada last year. It’s not just human’s that have a strong relationship with our woody boats.  The boat is a 1972 Gielser Georgian Bay named Tonic. The dog is a 2010 Labradador Retriever named “Juno”.  Glenn and Wendy Murray are members of the Manotick Chapter.

 


In response to the posting of Dennis Mykols’ wake photos, James Seufert sent us this beautiful shot taken over the transom of his 1952 15 ft Lyman named Florence & Mary II.  Florence & Mary II is powered with an Evinrude Big Twin with 25 hp.


 

The picture on the left came in response to the Wake pictures, also. Leagh and Lynn Gurllays, Okanagan Chapter, shared the Wake picture of their 20 1/2 ft Woody at Crescent Beach BC last summer and the wake view is still great even at an idle.  The picture of Woody is from the membership file with this quote from Leagh:

“I restored this boat app. 27 years ago, and it gets used many times during the summer months.  It is always garage kept when not in use. This is one of the best boats I have ever owned as it has a full 8 ft. beam. Woody has lots of room inside and is very stable in all types of sea conditions.  Every year ( during the winter months) I take another part of the boat apart for preventative maintenance , as in the mid sixties I took a wooden boat building apprenticeship course.”


 Just for KIX is a 1950 Chris Craft 17′ Special Runabout with a KBL engine.  Just for KIX is owned by Ken Kixmoeller who is a member of the Bob Speltz Land O Lakes Chapter.


 

Foster Busby and Deborah Cook, members of the Blue Ridge Chapter, share this picture of Baby Crib. Foster says, “This is our 1958 17′ Sportsman, purchased as is in 2012–got it running (K motor), let it soak, and took it to ride on beautiful Lake Murray SC.  Since we bought it, we’ve been blessed w/3 grands, hence the name!  Baby Crib is still running and floating, havin’ so much fun with it, restoration has been postponed probably till I retire!!  (3 other Chrises in the back yard!!)”


This beautiful wake at sunset picture was taken by Richard Stout when he boated on Lake Geneva with Ella, a 15′ 1956 Chris Craft Cavalier. Ella was named for his grandmother who had a summer home on Lake Geneva.  Delavan Lake Boat Shed kept it in good condition.  Now Richard Stout has moved to Vancouver, British Columbia and misses the boat.

Richard says, “PS. I am a member at large in Vancouver Canada and think the ACBS is “the best”.”

May we see a picture of your favorite boat for the next Tuesday Tour of Vintage Boats? Email picture and story to kathyparker@acbs.org or click the next button for a submission form.

  • include the boat owner’s name
  • year, manufacturer, model of boat, and given name
  • tell home port or where picture was taken
  • give credit to the photographer if known

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Post comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.