Annual Meeting & International Boat Show
Coeur d’Alene Combination

By Dave Best
President of Columbia-Willamette Chapter, ACBS

The 1st Annual ACBS International Boat Show was a success! The weather was delightful and you couldn’t ask for a better venue. There were around 118 boats entered in the Show from all over the U.S. and Canada. The competition was of the highest caliber.
 

Everyone I spoke to raved about the setting for the Show. The Lake is over 25 miles long with more than 135 miles of shoreline. Cabins line the shore ranging in size from little quaint ones to magnificent mansions, so there’s a lot to see while out on the Lake. The Coeur d’Alene Resort is world class and boasts of having the world’s longest boardwalk, all along which were displayed everything from a 13’ racing runabout to a 40’ cruiser. The show planners were quite efficient in their layout and with only three feet between boats, all dock space was utilized.
 

Jeff Stebbins and John Harvey, co-chairs of this event had everything in order so that the Show and Annual Meeting went off without a hitch. Thank you both! The Inland Empire Chapter also deserves a great big thank you for everything they did for this Show. There were many volunteers that gave their time and worked tirelessly to the benefit of us all. We have all been involved in boat shows before and know just how much work they require. Great job everyone!
 

The smallest boat was Bob Haynes’ Phantom , a 1940, C. Shirley built, 13’, Racing Runabout with an outboard, from Renton, Washington. Bob said that he likes to begin the New Year in this boat with a run around Mercer Island in Lake Washington – a mere 20 miles. Bob won the “Outboard Boat & Motor Class.”
For you folks that are uncomfortable trailering your boat very far, listen to this: our past president Jean Hoffman towed Whooter II from New York. This is a 33’ Gar Wood with twin Chrysler V-8’s and is one big runabout. Jean said that it took her four days of traveling by herself before she arrived here. Whooter II was hard to catch at the dock because Jean supports the “Give a Child a Ride” program. Jean’s boat was packed full of kids and a parent every time I saw it leave. If the smiles I saw on the returning kids were any indication, we have a number of future members. All chapters should encourage their members to be active in “Give a Child a Ride.” How else are we going to educate the younger generation and keep the interest in our boats alive?
 

The oldest boat at the Show was Jeff and Nancy Stebbins’ 1895, 18’ St. Lawrence Rowing Skiff built by Wilbur & Wheelock named Stella. This elegant lady was presented with the “Best Rowing Craft” trophy. Jeff was seen a number of times rowing people about the boat basin showing off this jewel. In contrast to Jeff’s boat, Syd Young had a 2002, 26’ Stan-Craft Torpedo with a healthy engine, which won the “People’s Choice” award. The wood on Syd’s boat had a pronounced figured grain, very different from the straight grain wood we normally see on a runabout. You could hear the 550 HP from this boat every time Syd took someone out for a ride on the Lake, which was frequently.

Chris and Pauline Youngblood towed Terry Fiest’s 26’ Chris-Craft out from Orlando, Florida by way of Lake Tahoe. They only have 4,000 miles and five days to get back home. When I spoke with Chris and Pauline, Chris was wondering if he could take another week off from work, because there was another show in the mid-west they could catch on the way home. Chris is the great-great grandson of Christopher Columbus Smith (you remember him – Mr. Chris-Craft).
 

The highlight for many at the Show was meeting and talking to Chris Smith, the grandson of Christopher Columbus Smith. Chris brought his 1961, 27’ Chris-Craft, Sea-Skiff. Most attendees found him sitting in its cockpit, willing to discuss his boat or Chris-Craft history. Chris is a wealth of knowledge. At the awards ceremony he awarded Dennis and Terri Kranz the trophy for “Best Contemporary, 22’ and Over” and then told us the history of the boat. Chris delivered the boat to Dennis in Portland, Oregon back in 1990 after having overseen the construction by Grand Craft. He towed the boat out and launched it without first starting it. Chris backed the boat down the ramp and of course it wouldn’t start; someone at the factory had turned the fuel off (someone thought about safety)! This is not how you want to impress the new owner.
People kept commenting about all the great boats and I heard many comments about Sweet Louise. Dick and Louise Werner’s boat was the jewel of the Show and no one was surprised when it took the trophy for “ACBS Boat of the Year.” I may be a little biased here: She comes from my chapter and I had the privilege of wiring this boat two years ago. Sweet Louise is a 1942, 20’, Century, Triple Cockpit, and had just been named “Best of Show, Under 23’ “ at last month’s Lake Tahoe Concours. The competition for “Best of Show” was very stiff, with many great large Hackers and Gar Woods in contention for this award.
 

The chapter that had the most entrants was the Northern California/Lake Tahoe with somewhere around 40 boats. They brought up Rivas, Gar Woods, Hackers and others; I heard numerous good comments about their boats. They also participated heavily in the meetings. Great job!
 

At almost any time you could see one or more of the boats out on the Lake, enjoying the beauty and some were showing off by just having a good time. Jim and Linda Gordon brought America up from Southern California. America is a 1937, 28’ Gar Wood, with a V-12 Scripps in it. On one of its romps on the Lake Jim hurt his engine and Dennis Kranz had to tow him in. Still Jim and Linda did manage to receive “Best Antique Runabout, 22’ and Over” at the awards presentation.
 

At the annual meeting Dick Sherwood succeeded Jean Hoffman as president of the ACBS – he has some pretty big shoes to fill. I know all of us owe a great deal of gratitude to Jean for the job she has unselfishly done for the past two years and wish her the best of luck in the future. Jean stated that “she will still be around” and I know Dick will avail himself of her talents when offered.
For those of you that were unable to come I urge you to plan on attending next year’s Show and annual meeting in Ottawa, Canada, again in September; you won’t be disappointed. The Show is being held across from the Parliament building in downtown Ottawa. David Burns spoke of a cruise starting in New York and traveling about 100 miles in five or six days, arriving in Ottawa on Thursday before the Show. They have lunches and hotels arranged for the participants of this cruise. We would like to see as many boats from around the country and Canada as possible. Keep watching the Rudder for more information.