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| Wooden boats recall an earlier era. |
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| Wooden boats bring out nostalgia in some people. |
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| Classic lines of a wooden boat. |
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Victoria Bowers’ 1952 Elgin, a 14-foot, wooden-hulled ski boat she bought in 2002 and spent two years restoring, is one of the many rare sights you’ll see this month at the 11th Antique & Classical Boat Show at Queen’s Landing. With its deep brown silhouette and polished cockpit adorned with custom captain’s pillows, the Lil’ Susie is typical of the vessels that recall an earlier, more graceful era of boating.
“There’s just something appealing about a wooden boat that brings out a bit of nostalgia in almost everyone,” says Ed Longino, the 2008 boat show chairman. “Whether it’s about looks, the ride or the way these boats connect us with our past, there’s really nothing else like them out there today.”
Boat restoration as an art
When Bowers moved to Lake Norman in September 2007, she met Pat Crusse, the owner of Crusse ‘n Classics in Mooresville and was immediately drawn to his work. Crusse is widely considered an expert in the field of antique and classic boat restoration and began working from his garage nearly 15 years ago. He now services boats from as far away as South Carolina, Florida, Ohio and Alabama.
Classic boat restoration can take anywhere from one to two years to complete and, as a result, Crusse has a variety of works-in-progress spread throughout his 4-year-old shop. He is quick to point out a 1959 Chris Craft Capri, a 1948 Chris Craft Custom and a 1956 Century in the main bay. According to Crusse, the Custom is one of only about 100 surviving in the country, and the Century was once considered the “Cadillac of its day.”
“Every boat has so much history in it,” Crusse explains. “They are really snapshots of what was happening across the country at the time they were built. The engines reflect the machinery of their time, and the boats that were built during the recession even look a little leaner than those built in other years.”
Bowers considers these boats to be works of art and is eager to learn more from Crusse as she continues her latest restoration project, a 1954 Chris Craft Super Enclosed Cabin Cruiser that she purchased in Alabama. “I really consider myself an apprentice to Pat,” she says. “He has a wonderful eye for detail, and his knowledge is considered state of the art. I love to get inside the boats, and am fascinated by the detail he puts into each boat. My new boat will be incredible because of his help.”
Crusse believes Bowers is a rare breed of antique boat enthusiast. “There’s just something about that girl’s drive,” he says. “She just loves to learn everything about these boats. When it comes to restoration, it’s clear she’s got a lot of it in her blood.”
Bowers was introduced to antique boats as a young girl by her father, who restored a family boat named Susan. “I was a bit of a ‘Tom-boy’ and loved to spend time working with my father. It was a great way for us to have one-on-one time away from my sisters,” she jokes. “Even now, when I’m working on my boats, I think back to the times we had together and realize how lucky I was as a girl.”
Speeding through history
Ed Longino also traces his wooden-hulled boat history to his childhood days. Recalling family vacations on Lake Rabun in Georgia, Longino says, “The lake was always popular with antique boaters and I can remember growing up there and seeing the old wooden boats speeding up and down from sunrise to sunset.” Longino bought his first antique boat at age 50 and now, at 58, he has four, including a 1965 Century Resorter that his son, Justin, who is a senior at UNC Wilmington, is restoring under the watchful eye of Crusse.
Antique boaters believe the thrill of riding in a wooden-hulled boat is relaxing and exhilarating. “I wish everyone could have a ride in a wooden boat,” Longino says. “By today’s standards, a wooden boat is slow, but you’ve got to remember that 37 miles an hour in 1955 was fast. Even with computer designed hulls and fiberglass, the one thing about wooden boats that you cannot replicate is the feel of the wooden hull and the sound the engine makes above the water.”
All three agree that antique boats are a way to keep history alive. “Now I see what my Dad saw in all this,” says Bowers. “It’s wonderfully addictive, and when you think about the whole process of restoring a boat, it’s fascinating to see what you start with and what it looks like when you finish.”
“It doesn’t matter where you are or who you are with, when it comes to wooden boats, someone always has a memory and a story that they want to tell,” adds Crusse.
Longino concludes, “If people like Pat and Victoria didn’t take the time to preserve these boats, we would only have pictures instead of these floating pieces of history.”
Want to go?
The 11th Annual Charlotte Antique & Classic Boat Show, presented by The Blue Ridge Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society, will be held Sept. 5-7 at Queen’s Landing in Mooresville. The Blue Ridge Chapter boasts more than 300 members from North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. It is the largest annual antique & classic boat show between New York and Florida and draws antique boat enthusiasts from as far away as New England, Florida, Ohio and Michigan.
Highlights include:
Free public participation and viewing all weekend.
Sept. 6
- Kids rides benefitting Dove House of Iredell County, 9 a.m.
- Public boat display, 10 a.m.
- Water ski demonstration with classic wooden-hulled boats, 2 p.m.
Sept. 7
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