As Delivered, Or As Built? The Question All Judges Need To Discuss.

As we get back into Boat Show season, we also get back into judged events. For many the added Judging part is the little bit of fun to any event. It can be fun, and rewarding if you are the type of person that likes to push hard to make…
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The Kid’s Got Talent: The BSLOL Spring Clinic at Fitzke Boatworks.

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A huge thanks to Rabbit for a well written and spelled report from the Bob well Spelt..z Spring clinic. I know, I know, I ruined the story with my lame aft spelling pun. Sorry Rabbit. I am going to just slither away now. OH.. And I get to…
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Lapkin Unloads A Load Of Glorious Ocular Splendor Captured In A Millisecond.

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Yesterday fellow Woody Boater Steve Lapkin sent in some glorious images captured at some point. Not exactly sure when these were shot or where? but do we really care? No... These are for the fellow Woodyboaterites in the northern reagins…
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The Red Cobra – First In The Water Shots.

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Get out your comments. We have the first in the water photos of the Red Cobra, doing her thing. Amazing folks out on the water and bringing some serious Hemi energy to our little community. To quote someone I overheard. " Wow, Chris Craft…
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Grand Craft Now With Some Soul.

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This past week at Lake Dora I was reintroduced to Grand Craft boats from our pal Dave Bortner at Freedom Boat Service. Freedom is now a dealer for Grand Craft, and to be honest, at first I was.. Okay, ya! Hey I am being honest here. Replicas…
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Lake O. Dora Kent O. Smith Style.

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And today we have some lake Dora images from Kent O. Smith, I love seeing the same stuff seen through different artists eyes.... eye. Each wonderful in their own right, just a different emotion. And we here get to bask in it all. What a…
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Steve Lapkin Delivers The First Round Of The Dora Shoot Out.

First the "Ado". These shoot outs are one of my favorite things to report on. This year we have Steve Lapkin and Kent O. Smith at it again, just like we did back in the day. Yup, its been that long. This year I was able to be there in human…
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ACBS Announces A Very Special New Annual Award. The Terry Fiest Award.

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For over 27 years Terry has been dedicated to making the Sunnyland Lake Dora event making it one of the most important events of the year for the classic boating community. Actually becoming the official opening of the season. I rode around…
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Together Again.Today Road Trip Home.

I think I shook hands and hugged more people in the past two days than in the past 3 years combined. What a great feeling, and hopefully we are slightly able to enjoy that feeling for some time. This weekend was a strong reminder of what…
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Friday Lake Dora Style

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What a jammed packed day. I think I sat down once, maybe twice to cram in a burger. Moved some major merch and met a bunch of folks. On top of all that we had some friends come by and snuck out for a quick cruise up the canal. But without…
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The Lake Dora … Reunion.

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As so it begins. 3 years in the waiting, and here we are. Seeing folks is amazing.  In fact this isnt a show its a reunion, and should be called that from now on. It always feels like that, but this time its a special feeling. And shockingly…
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ALIVE FROM FLORIDA!

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I gotta say, one day on the water with pals and all the stuff that goes with it can erase the last 3 years of drudgery. We all have talked about this stuff for years now. But experiencing it again is a wonderful reminder of the power of…
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Let’s Go! NOW? Or Wait?

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Watching the weather it looks like the east coast in the south..okay known as the Southeast.. Is going to be a Ship show rain fest on Wednesday.  And one thought is to get the hell out of Dodge today and make a hail mary to avoid the hail…
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We Are Green To Go To Dora.

Today we all bask in the greenness of St Patrick's Day and at least there is some sort of theme to a story. The other good news is you get to pinch that gal you like for not wearing green and have a good #me too defense. At least we did…
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Troy Reports In From Florida.

After much back and forth dealing with locked picture files, we have a late live-ish report in from Troy. And I am not sure why I expected anything other than this. The best part of this image is how it cracked me up during a stressful day.…
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Things To Do At Lake Dora, Other Than Getting A Sunburn.

I remember the first couple times I went to Lake Dora, and to be honest, was a tad lost and kinda confused. And that was about 15 years ago. My brain is half decomposed now, so I stick to what I know, and the loss of The Palm Gardens is…
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The Seattle Boat Show is…. OVER, But It Is Still News!

A huge thanks to West Coast correspondent Ron from Seattle for sending in this report. By Carrier Pigeon. Actually it took 15 of them. And two of them died on the way so I am not sure which part of the story is missing. So this story is…
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Sausage Sale At Lake Dora*

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If you are coming to Lake Dora this year, I am clearing out the lips and snouts of T shirt inventory and will be selling all the stuff at Pre Inflation numbers. Maybe even pre pre inflation. Maybe even Pre Pre Pre Pandemic supply chain excuses…
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27 Days. We Are So Close. Please No More Surprises.

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In just 27 days we will all be basking in the Florida warmth and hopefully out on our boats. Please, no hurricanes, pandemic variants, or other twists of fate please. I don't think Putins invasion of the Ukraine' should effect us all from…
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Official Poster For The Sunnyland Show. Provokes The Most Treacherous Spelling Challenge In Woody Boater History.

Here ya go, one more step towards normalcy. The Poster, and if there is a poster, it has to be actually happening. And according to the poster, a whole lotta bunch of stuff is happening. Like, a smorgasbord of stuff. A Cornucopia of classic…
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112 Days Tile Life Gets Back To Normal-iiiiiiish!

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In about 4 months, we celebrate some sort of normalcy. Lake Dora. Its stopped being a show years ago, it has always been a gathering, a celebration, and start to our communities season. YA YA, folks in Florida go boating all year.. I get…
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160 Days ish – The Countdown To Dora Starts Today!

Well, we have all been here waiting for this to be official, and possibly dream. The Big Lake Dora Show is on for the weekend of March 24-27 2022. Of course it's hard to pinpoint a specific start date or end date since many of us make a…
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Chris Craft Cobra Material Specs, And Post High Tide Pics. It’s A Mash Up Day

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Today, we have a mash-up of catch-up, whats-up from the past couple days of stories. One is two factory spec sheets on how to achieve the factory color for Cobras. Thank you Uncle Joe for that. Uncle Joe has all the secret goodies, which…
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Coeur d’one!

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Here we go, Live-ish from Mr Steve Lapkin, reports in from Coeur d'Alene with lots of flowery words, and some amazing snaps.  Not sure what is more beautiful, the words or the snaps? Also at the bottom of the story is the link to the Big…
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Maybe A Little Souvenir From Coeur d’ Alene While We Wait.

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While we wait for more reports from the big International I thought it might be fun to share some souvenirs from the past to illustrate how much history Coeur d'Alene has. To be honest, I HAD NO IDEA! If I had known its rich heritage as…
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Cobra d’Alene Makes History – Steve Lapkin Reports In

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A huge thanks to fellow Woody Boater and world class photographer Steve Lapkin for reporting in from Coeur d'Alene Idaho at the ACBS International event. History is being made while we sit here and drool. Is this the first time in history…
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Niagara Part 2 – Big Water, Big Smiles, Big Story, Big Thanks To Kent O. Smith

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Saturday morning, I’m onsite before dawn. It’s a photographer thing, not necessarily my thing after drinking late night with boat friends, but we do what we need to in order to get the shots. The club has its own lighthouse, neat to…
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The Great Niagara Frontier By Kent O. Smith – Part 1

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A huge thanks to Kent O.Smith for a extra large bucket of wings report from Buffalo. So we need to break it into two parts. mmmmm maybe with some Blue Cheese, and... Take it away Mr Kent O "what and eye you have" Smith. If you’ve…
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Steve Lapkin Reports Live -ish In From Priest Lake. OH STAY TUNED! It’s Gonna Be A Shoot Show Of Shots This Week

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Here we go. Get ready. We have a whopper report coming in from Niagara from Kent O. Smith and today a "pre" view International teaser from Steve Lapkin. Oh hell to the ya! Here is the report from Steve. Take it away. George Country....a…
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THE GULL LAKE CLASSIC at BAR HARBOR SUPPER CLUB – Part 2

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WELCOME TO PART 2 OF THE ANNUAL GULL LAKE CLASSIC at BAR HARBOR SUPPER CLUB show in Minnesota, presented by the Land O'Lakes Classic Boat Club. Today's show report, with photos by fellow Woody Boater Dane Anderson, starts off with a BANG…
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THE GULL LAKE CLASSIC at BAR HARBOR SUPPER CLUB – Part 1

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THE ANNUAL GULL LAKE CLASSIC at BAR HARBOR SUPPER CLUB show in Minnesota, presented by the Land O'Lakes Classic Boat Club, never disappoints. A wonderful and diverse collection of antique & classic boats, some dating back to the 1920s,…
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The Gull Lake Shooter Shootout – Steve Lapkin

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And so it begins with Steve Lapkin who shares his vision of the amazing Gull Lake show at Bar Harbor Supper Club. Texx is working on the report with Dane Anderson. So clearly all the big guns were shooting. And we get to be the witnesses…
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Live-ish From Gull Lake

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Longtime fellow Woody Boater Steve Lapkin reports in from the big Gull Lake Chris Craft event.  While many of us here in the South are dealing with the cray cray, the good folks way up in Minnesota are taking advantage of smart living.…
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REEDVILLE CLASSIC BOAT SHOW CANCELED!

Go ahead, bitch all you want. But it's a boat show, and is it really worth it to get in arguments with Horace and possibly be a Super Spreader event? Volunteers being put in tough spots, vendors canceling. It's no longer a classic boat show,…
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Lifeguard On Duty

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This weekend here in Reedville was a classic summer weatherwise. Calm mornings and storms in the afternoon. BTW, sorry about al the rain and wind up North. I know we will get our share soon. Its that time of year. But here the calm mornings…
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Yesterday Was International Vintage Boat Day!

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In true form, we are on a Hurricane watch on a day designed to celebrate vintage boating. But the good folks up in Canada went all in. With planned cruises all over the area. This seems to be a 2nd year thing, and since there is no real…
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Shootout At Gull Lake! Oh It’s Going Down.

Get your eyeballs ready, cause it's gonna be a shoot show up on Gull Lake on the 28th. The big Chris Craft show at Bar Harbor is gonna be amazing, and with Dane Anderson, and Now Steve Lapkin going, we have two different eyes on the scene.…
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Reedville Marine Railway Featured At Lake Tahoe Show!

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After a week of moving all the stuff from the railway to Lake tahoe, we are ready to be judged. Wait, sorry, the headline may be a tad off. The VIRTUAL Tahoe Show. I will say, I applaud the folks at the Tahoe Show for having some fun with…
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Lake Tahoe Boat Show, This Year, I Am Going To Win…ish!

As you may recall, last year we entered Sweet Pea into the Lake Tahoe Boat Show. We did well, shockingly well. We had to virtually haul that dam trawler across the county and over the mountains for our award that we were robbed of. But that's…
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Kent O Smith Report – 57th Annual Antique Boat Show at Clayton NY

We have the official report in here from Kent O. Smith! Ahhhhhhhhh, I love looking at kent's photos. Sunsets, light dancing, and just all swirling with Mahogany, chrome and smiles. Miles and miles of smiles. Okay, Knots, but just roll with…
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PNW Virtual Boat Show Out West. WE DEMAND A RECOUNT!

This morning, my brain is mush from a 17 hr Hail Mary ROADTRIP, and a ton of stuff to weed through, Clayton, The Black Katz's Cobra, the special new "B"oat and other fun stuff. I got home late, my brain is mush. Wait? didn't I just say that?…
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Live-ish From Lake Okoboji.

Huge thanks to fellow Woody Boater Gary Viser for sending in his report from Lake Okoboji. I could go on and on about how to say Okoboji, but I don't even know. I know its a Lake with a ton of history and been a playground for WoodyBoaters…
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Reedville Classic Boat Show, September 11, 2021

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This year's Reedville Classic Boat Show is gonna use up most of the town, including the railway. Yup, The Woody Boater HQ will also have some classics in the water and on land. Not to mention folks docks around town, It's a small town and…
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Finger Lakes Report With One Finger. No, Not That Finger.

Today we get to bask in some of the best of the Finger Lakes. Thanks to Syd Marsden and his "Index Finger" The one that pushes send on the ole texter machine. Of course the rest is up to me, just the way I like it. And if you don't.. well.…
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This Weekend Finger Lakes Show at Skaneatles? Skinnyatles? Scanatalese?

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We got a quick text from the Syd  Marsden, our text message museum curator. Here is the text. "Good morning. Hope that all is well. Just a quick reminder that this weekend is the Finger Lakes show at Skaneatles. Have a great day" Now on…
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The First Official Boat The Blue Plug Of 2021. Pray For Us All.

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Our favorite famous Boat The Blue show plugger is back in full swing. Greg Lewandowski is warning us us all of the start of the drum beat. HA! Love this poster BTW. So if you want to feel that Michigan Magic, then here is your chance to…
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Beck Brothers Boat Ride & Transport

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Fellow Lake Hopatcong Woody Boater Tom McGowan's uncle Henry Leer bought the Beck Brothers boat ride and transport business on the Lake in 1947. Beck Brothers started in the 1920's picking people up at the train and bringing them to their…
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The Largest Chris Craft Gathering, Everyone Who Was Anyone Will Be There.

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This August, the 28th to be exact, up on Gull Lake, there are gonna be a hole lotta special Chris Crafts at the docks, and even more Chris Craftians, NEW WORD BTW. And a bunch of other Algonac area boats, Gar Woods, belle Isle, etc. In other…
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