Throughout the month of June we had a steady stream of boat registrations come in, not only locally, but as far away as Virginia! This year, as in years past, we had new boats register and many inquiries about our show. We had a total of 15 boats being judged.
Friday July 8th saw many boats being launched and many going out for a short “cruise” prior to our cookout provided by the Essex Lions Club. The weather cooperated and everything went off like clock-work.
Boat show Saturday dawned bleak and with a very slight mist; we got everyone launched without any mishaps and the show opened at 9:00 a.m. to the general public. Attendance started slow as many people waited to see what the weather would do (it turned out to be cool throughout the day with a breeze). Around 11:00 a.m. we saw more people coming in and the vintage cars start to arrive up on the Law House Lawn. The flow of traffic between the two venues was excellent and people milled about looking at the cars and the boat building being done by the museum on the lawn. You could even vote for a “People’s Choice” on the cars! I think with the weather conditions that we had – attendance was good – too hot and too sunny would not have been good.
The Mystic Model Makers again outdid themselves with the models brought this year. Two new model makers were in attendance with models we had never seen before. It was always busy around the tables, with questions being asked and pictures being taken.
After enjoying an excellent cocktail hour and dinner provided by Donahue’s Madison Beach Grille, Chapter President Steve Haines thanked the museum as well as the show participants for a GREAT show and advised the dates of the show for 2017 which will be July 7-9, 2017 with the actual show on Saturday July 8th.
Chief Judge David McFarlin thanked the judges and went over the judging criteria. Everyone was pleased to see that several of our new entries won awards and a couple won multiple awards. The listing of awards is posted on the SNEC Chapter website southernewenglandchapter-ACBS.org.
My thanks goes out to all the volunteers who helped launch, dock and coordinate the boats and trailers as well as those who helped out during the show. We will start planning our 2017 show shortly! – Lynn McFarlin, Chapter Vice President and Boat Show Chair.
Special Thanks to our chapter vice president Lynn McFarlin for putting together this article for us. Here’s to another great boat show!
This year was no exception with many shops in Essex and the surrounding area providing us with gift certificates or gift cards.The list was impressive and certainly everything was well received by our show visitors. Saturday’s raffle tickets sold at a fast pace and it was interesting to watch how people put their tickets in the bags – some spread them out amongst the 26 raffle items and some just put all their tickets in one bag! It was great to see a child’s face when he or she won – they were so excited!
Saturday’s silent auction featured a Limited Edition Print by the artist Darrell Bush (he does the covers for Cabela’s), entitled Legends at Bay, an Artist Proof by California Artist Paul Bailey (who did the Chris-Craft “pin-up” girl tee shirts that we had for sale, of a Chris-Craft and GarWood racing, a model of a Chris-Craft Barrel Back, a beautiful half hull of Baby Bootlegger and a whimsical lab robe/child’s quilt entitled “Preppy the Whale”.
Rob and Kim gave out “extras” of our various posters as well as helping visitors complete the “People’s Choice” forms and direct them to the boats on the docks, the model makers under the tent, ship’s store as well as the vintage cars and boat building up on the Lay House lawn.
Best Preserved – 1961 Grady White owned by Rich Rosselli – “Castaway“
Best Chris Craft – 1959 Chris Craft owned by Richard Haupt – “Old Timer“
Best Non-Wood – 1964 Aqua Ray owned by Todd Williams – “Telstar“
Most Original (ACBS Award) – 1951 Hiliner owned by Brian Carey – “Sweet Jane“
First off, let’s explain what the Disappearing Propeller Boat, often called a “Dippy”, actually is. The disappearing propeller was invented in 1915 and manufactured into boats up until the year 1958. The engine itself is very small, which means the boat is only going about six miles an hour at top speeds. One of the benefits to owning a Dippy, besides the slow and relaxing ride, is that the propeller can pull up into the interior housing, allowing the boat to go in very shallow waters that would normally only be fit for a canoe or kayak. Wes’s favorite part about the boat is that it is a very unique and unusual boat, that often strikes up quite a few questions.
The Van Dine’s found their boat, Bounty, in the free boat section of Woody Boater magazine in 2009. The Van Dine’s drove up to Canada, where the boat was stored upside down on a woodpile, and took the boat and the half of the engine that came with it. Once they had brought the boat home, they restored it with Schuyler Thomson, from 2013 to 2015.
Last summer, the Van Dine’s brought their boat to a couple of shows. One of them was our 31st Annual Mahogany Memories Show in Essex. Unfortunately, the engine wasn’t quite cooperating so Bounty couldn’t go in the water, but it was still a very neat boat to see up on the lawn. The other show Bounty went to was the 37th Annual Finger Lakes ACBS show up in New York. At this show, Bounty took home the Best Preserved Launch and was able to be enjoyed in the wonderful water. This summer Bounty and the Van Dines will be headed up to the Clayton Boat Show in New York, where the Disappearing Propeller Boat is actually the feature boat.
Southern New England Chapter - ACBS 
