Wander the docks and do not hesitate to engage an owner with questions about their boat. Each of the 57 regions tries to have an annual event. They need another project.”ĪCBS members I spoke to at the show offered this additional advice for those curious about owning a vintage boat:Īttend a regional ACBS show to meet collectors from your area and to gauge the scope of the hobby. They don’t care so much about the finished boat.

And when it’s done so is the fun for them. Some clients want to get involved in the project, hunting down parts, for example. “We send updates with digital photos every two weeks. “Some of our clients just enjoy the restoration process,” said Bortner. The rarity of this 23-foot Chris-Craft Deluxe Runabout Barrelback makes it a desirable restoration candidate Charles Plueddemanģ You are a person who simply loves a project. Dave explained the vintage-boat hobby – for example, if it was built in 1942 or earlier it’s an antique post-war is a classic – and dispelled a few myths about owning a vintage boat. Freedom Boat Service specializes in the restoration, maintenance and sale of Chris-Craft, Century, Gar Wood, Riva, Hacker and Lyman wood boats – how’s that for a chorus line of varnished beauty. My guide for the weekend was Dave Bortner, founder of Freedom Boat Service in Mound, Minn., a far-western suburb of Minneapolis on Lake Minnetonka, one of the classic-boat epicenters of the Midwest. The ACBS has about 7,000 members in 54 chapters, most scattered across the USA and Canada, “dedicated to the preservation and restoration of historic, antique and classic boats.” Running them is a superb–some would say, sublime–boating experience Charles PlueddemanĪntique & Classic Boat Society (ACBS), held at Reefpoint Marina in Racine, Wis., where there were about 120 boats in the water.

A Chris-Craft and a Riva looking good at the dock.

Old wood runabout