Fellow Woody Boater Wins Best Of Show In Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Last weekend, long time Fellow Woody Boater Don Vogt won the award for Best of Show & Best Chris-Craft with “Jennifer II” at the inaugural Coeur d’Alene Wooden Boat Show in beautiful Northern Idaho. “Jennifer II” is an exceptional 1938 17′ Chris-Craft Deluxe Runabout which was restored by Dave Lobb & Greg “Rudy” Rudloff at Northwest Classic Boats in 2007/08, completed in time for the 2008 Lake Tahoe Concours d’Elegance.

Don and his wife Jennifer purchased the Deluxe Runabout in 1989, which was originally shipped to nearby Spokane, Washington in 1937 and was used for many years by the original owner on Lake Coeur d’Alene. Don and Jennifer now use the boat on Hayden Lake, Idaho just a few miles up the road from Coeur d’Alene, so you can say that “Jennifer II” has spent her entire life in Northern, Idaho.

We had the pleasure of meeting Don’s son Peter during the Lake Tahoe Concours a few weeks ago. Peter, who lives in San Francisco was also on hand in Coeur d’Alene and joined in on the excitment of the boat show and the awards which was great to see… Congratulations Guys!

The award for Best Runabout went to “Happy Days” a freshly restored 1952 Chris-Craft 19′ Racing Runabout owned by Ed Alexander. “Happy Days” was restored by Don Hardy from McCall Boat Works in McCall, Idaho and received awards for Best of Show & Best Chris-Craft at the recent Lake Arrowhead boat show in June.

Another award winning restoration by McCall Boat Works is “Twin Finn” which took the award for Best Restoration in Coeur d’Alene on Saturday. “Twin Finn” which was debuted at the 2010 Lake Tahoe Concours is a rare 1959 Chris-Craft 21′ Continental owned by James Atkinson.

“Uncle Bob” is another rare utility owned by Ron Yandt from Greenacres, Washington, which won the award for Best Utility. It’s a 1963 20′ Yandt Boat Works utility powered by a 260-HP Ford Interceptor V-8 built. The boat was originally built by Ron’s Uncle – Bob Yandt at the Yandt Boats Works facility in Coeur d’Alene and was beautifully restored by Ron and his son Wes Yandt, and completed in 2010.

Image Courtesy Wes Yandt

Now the family hopes to use “Uncle Bob” to share the legacy of Yandt Boat Works and Ron’s Uncle – Bob Yandt. “Uncle Bob” also received a First in Class award at the recent Lake Tahoe Concours d’Elegance in Calfornia.

Image Courtesy Wes Yandt

The award for Best Contemporary Wooden Boat went to “Jeffe” a 2009 34′ Coeur d’Alene Custom Wood Boats speedboat owned by Jerry Gilbreath. However I had a hard time getting a clear shot of “Jeffe” on Saturday through the crowd that was gathering around the magnificent speedboat. I’m not exactly sure what was causing the log jam with the spectators along the dock but…

Here’s a nice shot of “Jeffe” that I found on the Hagadone Marine web site, doing what she does best – going real fast and looking great on the water. You can also learn more about “Jeffe” by clicking here.

Jeffe Image Courtesy Hagadone Marine - Resort Boatshop

Past ACBS National President Dick Werner and his wife Louise brought “Jazzy Lady” to Lake Coeur d’Alene this year, and she took the award for Best Century.

Dick Werner always manages to find and restore or preserve unique, collectable wooden boats and “Jazzy Lady” is another example of just that. She is an extreamely rare 1940 20′ Century Utility – Sedan with much of her original wood, original engine, hardware and sedan top. Dick knows of only one or possibly two other of these models to exist.

The attention to detail on the interior cabin and throughout the boat is exceptional. Nice work Dick, and congratulations on your much deserved win for Best Century.

The award for Best Cruiser went to Jim Busby for “Katherine” a beautiful 1947 25′ Chris-Craft Express Cruiser commonly referred to as a “Red & White” Express. “Katherine” was recently restored by the Resort Boatshop in nearby Post Falls, Idaho.

Fellow Woody Boater, local historian and wooden boat expert Tom Addis won the award for Best Engine for his 1947 19′ Chris-Craft Racing Runabout named “Babe”. It was a pleasure to meet Tom this year in Coeur d’Alene and learn more about the unusual aluminum cylinder head which was installed on the Hercules 6 in “Babe”… Stay tuned to Woody Boater for an upcoming story on this remarkable engine.

“Althea” is a huge, fully restored 1929 38′ Chris-Craft Commuting Cruiser that was simply amazing to see in Coeur d’Alene this year.

Relaxing aboard “Happy Daze” a 1948 30′ Chris-Craft Sedan Cruiser owned by Bob & Eileen Ickes from Post Falls, Idaho.

The one advanatge of the long circular / continous dock at the Coeur d’Alene Resort is that it gives everyone an opportunity to get out and view the classic boats, even if you have a scooter…

The unlimited hydroplanes from the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum in Seattle put on a great demostration at Lake Coeur d’Alene on both Saturday and Sunday. The noise from the old aircraft engines and the spray from the boats is incredible.

We first reported on this amazing wooden boat restoration while we were at the Flathead Lake ACBS Boat Show a few weeks ago, and it was also on display at the Coeur d’Alene show last weekend. This is a very rare 1952 Stan Craft 21.5′ Torpedo Hull owned and restored by Jerry & Charlene Appel, two of the nicest folks you could ever meet. They found the boat in a field in eastern Montana eight years ago, and began the long restoration process 5 1/2 years ago. Stay tuned to Woody Boater for the full story on this project in the upcoming weeks, it’s an amazing story.

Fellow Woody Boater Wes Yandt sent us some nice images of Uncle Bob for this report, and he also included these very nice early morning shots of the docks at the Coeur d’Alene Resort… Thanks Wes for all your help, we appreciate it.

The inaugural Six-ACBS Chapter Regional Boat Show hosted by the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce and the nice folks from The Coeur d’Alene Resort was a great success with well over 70 antique & classic boats in attendance. The Coeur d”Alene Resort is by far one of the best venues for a large boat show in the country and the staff from the resort made everyone feel welcome. A special thanks to all the participating ACBS Chapters who worked hard to make this new event a reality.

Lets hope that this event continues to grow and attract more antique & classic boaters in the future.

Texx