Meanwhile Up, Down, Or Over In Ohio
A huge thanks to Dan Ritchey for sending us in this report from Ohio. AND he wrote the captions. Oh HELL YA! Hit it Dan!
This weekend was the 50th anniversary of the North Coast Ohio Chapter’s antique and classic boat show which is held annually at the Portage Lakes in Akron.
1948 Century Sea Maid
1948 Sea Maid morning cruise to the show
In honor of the upcoming college footbal season this Buckeye fan is tryin gto figure out how a Rutger drove a boat to Ohio
We had roughly 50 boats in the water and half a dozen in a land display. The event kicked off Friday evening with a Captain’s dinner, followed by some boat rides around the lake.
North Coast Ohio 50th Anniversary Show – Panoramic
Saturday the show kicked off at 9am and ran until 3pm. Despite the forecast for severe weather, everyone showed up with their boats ready for a fantastic show.
How did he get these lines curled in a perfect circle
Hundreds of spectators showed up in force for a chance to see the beautiful antique and classic boats. We had the traditional wood runabouts and utilities, we had classic fiberglass boats, classic metal boats, antique and classic canoes and launches.
1917 Sea Sled – We are gonna need a bigger LAKE
We even had some extremely rare boats like a 1917 Sea Sled, a 1939 triple cockpit Century Sea Maid, and a ACBS International platinum winning Red and White.
An amazing Red and White… and nobody goes hungry or thirsty at an NCO show
As a cherry on the day, the Goodyear Blimp graced us with her presence to take in the sites of the show. The blimp is based in Akron, Ohio which is known as the rubber capital of the world, and once features the head quarters of Goodyear and Firestone tires.
Alright maam show me where you hid the drugs and illegal aliens… in the picnic basket!
Look… the picnic basket was only big enough for my sandwich.. you cant have none
Inspecting-the-contents-of-another-picnic-basket
More picnic baskets… The NCO guys know how to eat
We were fortunate the rain and storms held off until the last 30 minutes of the show. Following the show we met at the historic Turkeyfoot Lake Island Club for a fantastic awards banquet. A special thanks to everyone who braved the weather to participate and make this our best show ever.
The slippery slop everyone is always talking about
Great location
We also had friends of ours at Buckeye Drones take photos and video of the show. You can share the link to their coverage if you like.
Hit it Buckyeye Drones. mmm I thought all the drones were being used up in Russia and Ukraine. Watch out below! No I mean below here. Just links so its safe..ish.
Boats launching in the morning: https://www.clifffranks.com/Events/Portage-Lakes-Ohio-Events/PLX-Antique-Boat-Show/2026-Antique-Boat-Show
Boats arriving at the show location: https://www.clifffranks.com/Events/Portage-Lakes-Ohio-Events/PLX-Antique-Boat-Show/2026-Antique-Boat-Show-BT
Footage from the NCO 2025 show: https://www.clifffranks.com/Events/Portage-Lakes-Ohio-Events/PLX-Antique-Boat-Show/2025-Antique-Boat-Show
Looks like a great show!!!
Thanks for sharing!
And even a flat glass Formula in this mornings second header shot.
Looks like a great venue and a wonderful variety of boats. Thank you Dan and Matt for sharing this great show with us!
It looks like a great show! I had never heard of Portage lake, let alone a boat show there. Another Lake/show on my Bucket list. Thanks for sharing Don and Matt.