Now That The HUGE Boat Show Is Over, Here’s A Story About A BIG Boat Show.
Dane’s Click’s
A huge thanks to Rabbit, and Dane Anderson for this report from Minnesota. Are you ready, cause you are gonna want to book rooms now. And also just be prepared for the milking. Like imagine Sir Plug Lot with serious professional help. Here goes. Let the Minnetonka Milking begin! Oh and I got to make up the captions. Woohooo!
When in a roamer!
The weekend before the huge ACBS International show in Michigan, The Land-o-Lakes Classic Boat Club had their second big show on Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota: The 47 the Annual Real Runabouts Rendezvous honoring Bob Speltz on Saturday, September 9th.
Love the Poodle
This just two weeks after the even bigger show put on by our chapter at beautiful Bar Harbor on Gull Lake. As regular readers know, Matt covered that jaw dropping show – with stunning photography from Steve Lapkin, Dane Anderson- in detail.
Every boat will be Robbins Egg Blue?
Oh, and if I haven’t confused you enough already, the Real Runabouts Rendezvous was on the same day as three other big shows at Buffalo, Port Huron and (of course!) Reedville.
Where’s the poodle? Has someone lost there poodle? MITZE! MISS MITZIE you come here.. MIIIITTTZZZZIIIIEEEEE, NO!
Okay, that is one bad ass cool boat. Love the use of red… BTW, red should only be used as an accent color. Ya, Guilty as charged. BUT!
GAAAA! The future is here. Mark my words. These little boats are our communities future
As you all know, Lake Minnetonka is a hot bed of woody boating. What’s more, the second weekend in September is almost always perfect, weather wise in the Land-o- Lakes. And this year didn’t disappoint. Close to fifty boats filled the docks at Lord Fletchers, with a ton of variety. There weren’t three Baby Gars in a row, as there were at Bar Harbor. But there were three perfect Century Sea Maids, all in a row, including a winning and rare fifteen-footer.
Okay Sea Jet’s letting is beyond PERFECT! Head explosion emogi!
And speaking of docks, they were full, especially as the noon hours approached. That could be due to the fact that not one, but two of the Minneapolis/St. Paul TV stations did live reports before the show. (Hint to other show organizers: Send out a good press release and then directly reach out to your local TV stations. It’s the kind of story they love to cover on local morning news shows.)
I have zero idea what this is, but holy crap its cool
They interviewed three experts on woody boating history who all also showed winning boats: Dave Bortner, Steve Shoop, and Mark Setterholm. Setterholm’s perfect Riva Ariston “Bella Donna” walked away with Best of Show. And what an award it was. At the Rendezvous each winner walks away with a stunning framed print of the previous year’s winner, by renowned woody boat artist Brian Jensen.
OH! Dear God! She is radiant
The day before the show, boat show participants gathered for a cruise of Lake Minnetonka, which included a lunch with a presentation by “Boathouses of Lake Minnetonka” author Melinda Nelson. That evening, chapter members and boat show participants gathered at Lord Fletchers for their famous walleye. Not many chapters can put on two major shows a year, and just two weeks apart, but that speaks to the dedication of the Land-o-Lakes chapter.
I am more and more falling in love with lil boats.
Next year, the Real Runabouts Rendezvous will be the kickoff event for the ACBS International Show at Gull Lake: Woods & Water II. The club encourages you to arrive early in Minnesota, join the Friday cruise and show on Lake Minnetonka, and then head a couple hours and change north to Gull Lake for a week of Woods & Water II pre-events. We promise you:
Babes like little boats.
See, she isnt looking at this amazing Chris Craft. I mean come on lady, this is designed by Hunt. Note the sloping windsh……
I mean come on. Look at those lines
Good god!
Is that Royce on the dock with the striped shirt? If so, I have been doing this way to long!
Shelley and Daryl Konrad. She is really smiling because she is gonna get a little outboard boat. He’s happy cause she’s happy, and GOOD god look at that Stan Craft behind them.
There will be engines to drool on, but then you have to clean them up. SO? Maybe the marketing team should dend out Drool Cups as mailers with the Woods & Water logo and date on them?
The future is in the past
Ya, I go the hat, and a Lovett pump! Life is good. I am just gonna plop down right here and wait til winter. What? Already? WTH?
They will be epic. It may just be the best ten days or so of boating heaven that you’ll ever experience.
– Rabbit
There were quite a few vintage Mercury outboards in the photos today. Is it just me, or are those things, especially the larger horse power motors, just the sexiest outboards out there! I do not one one…yet! Great shots today. Thanks to all involved!
Dan,
You are correct about the Vintage Merc Outboards. Here is a photo of two of ours.
The boat where Matt has “zero idea what it is” looks like a Glen-L Gentry, maybe.
The “Tower of Power”. Our 1984 Merc 90h.p. still runs like a raped ape!!!
If one Tower of Power is cool, how about THREE???
Tower of power is nice. But there is nothing like an old Johnson
Wow, those Minnesota folks really know how to do it right. Love all the cool classic glass. They really came out for this one. I think the Michigan gang may head up there next September and do the back to back events.
BTW, are you saying my plugs are not professional? That really hurts!!!
Wow some reeeely neat craft there.
Yes you can’t get rid of me that easy, and no I haven’t been in spelling class Matt. Lots and I MEAN LOTS OF COMPUTER GLICHES. I HAVE SPENT DAYS ON THE PHONE WITH EVERY PUTER GOORU ON EARTH. Put then again you probably didn’t even miss me.
YES! I DID MISS YOU! And the solution to ALL computer glitch crap is Get a new one. The software updates cause havoc on old software. GEt the latest computer and move on. YES, not cheap, but in the end it is.
Well Matt that is what I had to do…..sort of.
It turns out that my “new” TMobile 5G shipy service was only getting 4G…….but they were “working” on the tower.
After replacing the router 3 times and still getting ship I finally said F it and went back to xfinity.
Wow, great pix, lots of fiberglassics and that Hunt/Bertram escapee is so nice….
John in Va
Looks like a really great show. I liked all the different types of boats rhat were there. Good coverage guys.
While the “profile” might match my brother Royce, that’s a dog on a leash and he would never be encumbered at a boat show when agility counts. His black/white Century Ski Dart was visited at the show by the original owners son from the cabin next door on Twin Lakes and another friend from the cabins on the other side. A bilge pump reunion.
With all those great shows going on in the same weekend who can say that our hobby is dyeing?
Two C. Ray Hunt CC’s at one show. Dang, that is cool!
Here is another from the header file.
WHO said our hobby is dying?! I do not know about everyone else, but the number of boats in my barn seems to do nothing but get larger…even though none are seaworthy at this point! I just love old boats…wood, fiberglass or metal!
Sorry for the emphasis in my dispatch on “wood” and “woody”. There was some fantastic classic glass at the show. And that steel Roamer. Wow. I’ve always thought I “needed” only one classic boat, but a little fiberglassic outboard is looking pretty good to me right now.
And start booking your rooms for Gull Lake next fall. Seriously, you will kick yourself if you miss that show.
Even though my girlfriend “Polly-Ester” has a nicer ring than that lumberjack “Cellulosic”……and even though my plastic palace doesn’t have a square inch of tree trunk on its exterior…..I would still choose the Wooden Boat Show over unrestricted backstage access at the Miss Universe soiree!
Oh Goddam, they are so beautiful!! Matt, keep ’em coming!