Fellow Woody Boaters With Classic Chris-Crafts & The Distinctive Tune Of V-8 Power

One of the best things about making the trip down to Lake Dora each year is the opportunity get together with some Fellow Woody Boaters that have been following Woody Boater since Matt first started the site. I am still getting to know many of the folks, and in some cases know them by their Woody Boater names, not necessarily by their faces. It’s cool that, through the Woody Boater Community we can communicate and become friends on line – then when you finally meet face to face, you feel like you have been friends for years. It’s kind of hard for me to explain the Woody Boater phenomenon… But it’s very real…

Like when I finally met Randy & Ginger Clark last week for the first time. We have been communicating on line and through Woody Boater for a while now, and when we finally met last week during the Sunnyland show, they invited me to join them aboard “OoRAH” for a boat ride, and it was like we have been friends for 10 years. We cruised across the lake, shared some stories and they just made me feel comfortable, and welcome.

We made a visit to Robert Miracle’s gallery this weekend to find a few images of a few Fellow Woody Boaters that have been following the site since almost day one, and would like to share them with everyone. The best part about the images is that they show folks having fun in their boats and at the social events enjoying each others company.

The first image (above) and image below is of John & Kim Kadimik from New Jersey with Matt’s friends Jim and Lynn aboard “Wah Hoo” – A 1961 17′ Chris-Craft V-8 Ski Boat. The boat was originally delivered to Greenwood Lake in NJ/NY from the Chris-Craft plant in 1961. We had to use two of Robert Miracle’s shots to make sure we got Lynn in the shot, she was holding Jim’s beverage container for him…

John Kadimik sporting his rare, now collectors edition first year Woody boater tee shirt.

Below, fellow Woody Boater’s Susan Miller and Larry Nichols at the Woodystock FLA party in Tavares, sporting their now collectable Lancaster yachting caps. That reminds me… I was going to ask Susan where she scored that rare Havana Yacht Club hat pin… (Then I was going to try and buy it from her…note to self, e-mail Susan and….)

Susan Miller, from Arlington, Virginia is the proud owner of “Daddy Had One” her very cool 1967 18′ Chris-Craft Super Sport powered by a 210 HP 327 V-8. She just completed some major work on the Super Sport and it looks great!

On Saturday morning, Susan was participating in a photo shoot with Don and Angilla for an upcoming issue of the Brass Bell which, for any classic boat owner is an exciting experience.

“Daddy Had One” was one the busiest boats at the Sunnyland show, taking people for rides and enjoyong the warm weather… No trailer queen here…

Larry Nichols owns “Pumpkin” – The name speaks for itself…

“Pumpkin” is a circa 1972 Chris-Craft XK-18 Jet Boat. She is original for the most part except for the color (the color pattern is original), with some minor modifcations to the interior and front lights. The XK-18 is powered by a 400 HP Guardian 454 Chevrolet with the original Jacuzzi jet pump.

Larry commented that with the 400 HP 454 Big Block, she runs like a “Scalded Ape” – Robert Miracle rode back from the lunch cruise with Larry on Friday, and had the ride of his life! Those ex-service men trust each other…

This year I finally had the opportunity to spend some time visiting with Al Benton (below) from St. Louis. Al has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the Chris-Craft marque and any other antique boat marque for that matter, and he works closely with his local ACBS Chapter and the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club providing commentary and solutions for the members on the Boat Buzz Forum. Al has some great stories growing up around boats over the years. He is also sporting one of those rare collectors edition yellow Woody Boater shirts. (is the color yellow, or tan, or gold, or…) Al Benton is a good ambassador for the antique & classic boating hobby and a pleasure to be around.

And last but not least, the Work-Horse of the 2011 Sunnyland Boat Show this year, “Kabot’s Habit” – Paul & Karen Harrison’s 327 V-8 powered 1965 Chris-Craft 24′ Sea Skiff. This very original boat served as a photo shoot boat for the Brass Bell crew, a water taxi, lunch cruise boat, grocery getter, travelling from canal to canal, lake to lake as well as completing the 1oo and something mile St. John’s River Cruise after the Sunnyland show.

It’s hard to beat a Sea Skiff in terms of versatility, usability and functionality, and they seem to handle any kind of water too. At times during the show, I think they had 8 or 9 people aboard and the old girl just never complained, she just marched across the lake with the sweet V-8 exhaust note barking a tune out the transom…

We have lots more images and stories to come from the 2011 Sunnyland Antique Boat Festival, so stay tuned.

Thanks to Robert & Linda Miracle at Miracle Photography for providing Woody Boater with their awesome images from the Sunnyland Boat Show. You can go directly to their web site to view the images by clicking here.

Texx