The Top 10 Reasons You Should Own More Than One Classic Boat! Ya, That’s Right.
Alex Watsons dock – Hessel Michigan
You are reading this right. CLASSIC BOAT! Not a pontoon boat or something like that. Those are not boats. Now, for the un enlightened that may find this humorous, we will say we are dead serious. OK, lets see how we pull this off. Let’s get right into it.
mmmm? What could it be?
- If you break down in one boat, your weekend isn’t ruined and you can go in the other without having to ruin your image on the lake.
- Ya got your cocktail cruiser, race boat, image boat, go to boat. Different boats for different needs.
- Ya always need one to work on in the barn.
- Fashion. OK, lets say your spouse wants to wear red. And its the wrong red to go with the red interior. NOW what? that’s right, you have a boat with a White interior.
- What, you have a boat with a white interior, it gets dirty, so you cant use that boat all the time.
- Your already known as that guy on the lake that has an old boat. Two or three, balances the look at the dock.
- Come on.. His and Hers. No brainer. Kids? They add up fast.
- Show boat, and go boat. Do you really want that snot nose brat friend of your kids in your nice boat.
- Pre War, Post War, and Plastic. Come on! GAAAAA! It’s so obvious.
- Just because. And you all know what I mean. Just because.
Guilty as charged!
There, I could keep going, in fact I wish you would. What are your justifications? Then share this with the person you know that just agonized over that boat he just got and never uses.
Now, just go out and buy that damn CRUISER. You’ll never run out of material to write about again and the sponsors will love it.
Oh I can come up with 10 reasons to buy a vintage cruiser for sure.
All solid points, but I think I can up sell this a little. 11) You are saving history and keeping them away from becoming bookshelves, bars and the lazy mans bonfires 12} You are feeding arms of families every time you bring your boat in for a small bottom replacement or such 13) You inspire and make friends every time you bring it out in public. So, to recap, you are single handedly saving history, driving the economy and creating world peace! If that isn’t Nobel prize material, then something is wrong with this world. This is how I justify it.
Perfect time to take a poll. Weigh in people. How many classic boats do you own, AND how many boats in total. What’s the definition of boat? Pontoon? Canoe? Kayak? Floaty thing your wife loves? You decide.
We have 2 classics. 1960 18′ Continental and a 1942 17′ Special Runabout. The non classics add 4 more, not including the floaty thing.
1948 36′ CC double stateroom enclosed well maintained user, 1948 Red and White 25 express cruiser in restoration mode. Non classic 4. Got my eye on a flat bottom classic work skiff.
We are on an island so having more then one is a must. But I don’t have one with white interior I guess I should get one more
4 classics. More canoes than I can remember. It’s like legal crack.
I forgot kayaks. Do they count?
Every time I see a boat I imagine owning it. So, I have thousands.
I am down to two after having 5 at one time. A man always needs more than one boat.
Do “water gnats” count (classic sea doo). Fleet is at two.
1950 CC, 1963 pram (Original owner I was 8), 24′ will be classic in 4 years (I tend to hold onto my boats), Zodiac and 4 kayaks.
1937 35′ Chris Craft (which counts as 9 of those itty bitty runabouts), 16′ Aluminum fishing boat, 11′ Zodiac rib to tow behind the cruiser (just in case), 16′ carbon fibre canoe (prospector hull).
Aww come on now, there is a place for our $50k+ pontoon boat as well. We live on the Mississippi in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Is to be 97 here tomorrow. A great day will be spent cruisin’ the Mississippi with both biminis up. Happy boating to all!
I like pontoon boats as well but I am not allowed to buy one. Seems unfair.
Always check it in the morning. Alex has been know to crash for the night on pontoons. If you spot him report his position as I don’t remember any recent pics by him. And yes pontoons count, but just.
Sandi:
Replace the aluminum “logs” on that pontoon with real wood logs and you’ll be okay. We enjoyed having Bob and Chris Ann with us for a couple of days on their way to Keels & Wheels.
We have 2 classics and a cedar strip canoe.
The ’72 Greavette Sunflash IV is wood, restored, 6 cylinder, seats six, is comfortable and cruises well. It can do 54 mph. The ’65 Formula Jr. is glass, under a full restoration, will have a fire breathing V8, seat 2, should handle well and target is for 70 mph+. The canoe??? Well, it belongs to the Admiral.
Something wood, something glass, something to drive, something to work on, something to take passengers and cruise, something for just me and speed and something to keep the Admiral happy! …Got it covered.
It was such a good deal I could not pass it up!
thank god for this post….now I know others suffer from the same obsessions, we should form a support group….wait….we ARE the support group….oh well….
John in Va.
Obsessions? Support groups? Addictions? Just don’t store your flag poles in a gun case, someone might have you committed.
1948 Chris Craft Deluxe Runabout, 1958 Century Raven – my wife made me buy a fancy pontoon for taking the dogs along (2 Golden Retrievers). I love my woodies but I have to admit the pontoon is always stress free (just need to make sure my friends don’t see me!)
Our Golden, Mo, loves rides on both our boats but prefers the Continental because she can sit on the front seat. Room limitations require her to be in the rear cockpit of the Deluxe. However, she does seem to like the pontoon the best. Very spoiled Boat Dog!
1948 Chris Craft Deluxe Runabout, 1958 Century Raven – my wife made me buy a fancy pontoon for taking the dogs along (2 Golden Retrievers). I love my woodies but I have to admit the pontoon is always stress free (just need to make sure my friends don’t see me!)
My 28′ sedan cruiser takes up enough of my time. Any more would make keeping my marriage intact nearly impossible. A man can take only so much misery.
10, one wood ( all non classics,all do something different )
Reason is because I can !
(and relatives promised boats to me growing up and never delivered)
Holy crap, we are all nuts!
If you have a vacation house you have to have two, otherwise you’d be trailering every weekend. …and then there is the canoe for just paddling around the lake when the grand kids have the ski boat.
yeah…I am on Wilson’s formula….got to keep one at home and one at the big boat….trailering too much is too much….
John in Va.
I have seven. They are all sizes and made of made of different materials. The sad part is that only one is wood. Yes we are all nuts!
Three boats with vintage classic Mercury outboards. The Admiral (a vintage Classic herself) loves having three boats.
Yes, I had permission to say that…
Terminal
I insure 5 powered boats and use them all. M&M
Two, 1967 Super Sport and 1974 XK-19, flat water & rough water! Or one on the lift ready to launch and one on the trailer, ready to go go go! And then there is a small aluminium boat with twin Evinrudes, kayaks & a lily pad belonging to cousins.
Almost forgot…If your vacation place is on the Gulf, you need three boats…Ski boat for when the Gulf is flat, SunFish for when there is a light breeze and Hobie Cat for when the ind pics up.
And by the way there are two complete old Sail Fishes free for the taking. They are complete with sails but need restoration. One red, one blue
boats! smoltzs!
Lets have a story on that woody dock!!!
my God! thats crazy!
looks like the fingers float. what has to come out in the winter?
Mike
Classic boats and pontoons go together. I counted our pontoon and yes Jim, I counted the kayaks
On our favorite sand bar, we anchor the pontoon the tie bow lines from the classic to the pontoon with an anchor out behind each one. I refer to the pontoon as the mother ship. If we can count kid’s and Grand kid’s boats, I can add 3 more classics and an unknown quantity of kayaks
Let’s see… 1936 20′ GarWood Cabin Utility (needs restoration), 1939 19′ Split Cockpit – Homebuilt – “Sindbad”, 1947 25′ Chris Craft Red & White Express Cruiser – “The Olde Man” – (until the renaming ceremony is done – then “Aknota” ) , 1957 15-1/2″ Dakota outboard -“Rock-it” , 1965 38′ Tollycraft Mariner – “Thisuldu”, tender to the Tolly is a 1968 9′ Boston Whaler and I have a 12′ tunnel hull hydro in the rafters… All operational except the GarWood. Guess I’m addicted…
I have it bad. I am down to 17 boats, mostly wood, and all classics from a 35′ Elco to a jersey speed skiff. I have justified 6 of the boats by “giving” one to each of my 4 children and one to my wife. The others, well we will just say that my wife is a very understanding woman.
That dock is a boat show – all that’s missing is a cruiser, a lapstrake and the Dos Equis man
One wood. Two classic glass, one for sale. Three “newer” glass, two for sale. I hear a pontoon will be arriving tomorrow.
One classic aluminum row boat with matching 9.9 (both 1975).
Two canoes, one 1970’s aluminum, one pre-war wood.
5 kayaks
2 sail boats.
Almost seems excessive when you add it up. Almost.
Guilty as charged one boat for each need, One Gideon Forslund 1928 race boat, pre war in Europe. One 1957 Shepherd Junior on a trailer, we have been coast to coast with that one. 1959 Chris Craft 32ft Express, this is our cottage on the water and great for longer cruises for weeks in the water all year around and heated for winter use. 8ft Wooden dinghy to get a shore with or just row for fun. Now I have to find one more reason of hopefully not.
1934. Chris Craft 503 18′ unrestored
1956 Chris Craft Sportsman 17′
1957 Chris Craft Cavalier 16′
1987 Chris Craft BR210 Scorpion Ski Jack
2 kayaks
1 sunfish
1 paddle boat in the shape of a swan
Now if I could only clone myself I could enjoy them all at the same time!
Its a sickness, haha! As always if your in Dawsonville your welcome to come by the Aristocraft museum and get your fill of boats!
The correct number of boats to own is x+1, where x is the number you currently own.
Ha! Perfect
When we want to cruise bigger water, use lots of gas and smell 2 cycle exhaust, we use the 1959 Chetek 17′ lapstrake. Smaller water and longer rides, we use the 1955 Correct Craft Atom Skier. So, two woodies! For now.
Forced out of woody restore hobby after 30 years by a nephew..
My heart had never left it though. We’re restoring a 196?
20′ Zuback lapstrake runabout with Gray V8-225. New bottom almost complete. Clinch nailed construction.
1958 Correct Craft 18′ Collegian (needs restoring..again)
1988 plastic Correct Craft 20′ Martinique
Not going back to Dora without a woody, had too much fun
with the ’58 in the late 90’s.