LAKE VERMILION- Sunny skies and moderate temperatures were perfect conditions for Sunday’s 30th Annual Antique and Classic Boat Show, with 23 skippers piloting their boats to The Landing on the west end of Lake Vermilion for the event.
Organizers said spectator turnout was a bit lower than the 29th edition of the show in 2019, due in part to the “annual” event skipping a couple of years because of COVID and abnormally low water.
But those who were there were enthusiastic, chatting up the boat owners for information about their crafts and the amount of restoration work that went into each and making previously unknown connections with prior owners and wooden boat enthusiasts.
The boats in the show weren’t all wooden, but one that captured the fancy of a large share of the voting public went home with the People’s Choice award.
“Nice Eh!” is an 18-ft. Vee drive Shepherd Model 105 runabout restored to original condition by its skipper and owner Chris O’Connor. The boat combines the classic beauty of lightened and tinted Honduras mahogany and oak with the 1950s stylings of chrome and color accents reminiscent of many classic automobiles of that era. With yellow swooshes on both sides set off by a roomy interior upholstered in green, this sporty runabout with a 110-horsepower Chrysler Marine Ace 46-S engine was a real eye-catcher at the show.
As for the Captain’s Choice award, which traditionally recognizes the extent and quality of work that went into a particular restoration, this year’s prize ironically went to a stunning entry in almost perfect original condition.
“Sadie” is one of only three 1928 Hacker Craft 24-ft. Baby Dolphin models known to exist, and as luck would have it, Sunday was Sadie’s birthday, according to owner Jeff Stebbins. But then again, perhaps it wasn’t.
“Have you ever heard of artistic privilege?” Stebbins said, with a bit of a twinkle in his eyes. “Whenever I bring a boat to a show, especially if it’s kind of a significant year, I always just say it’s her birthday. It’s fun.”
The sleek, elegant Baby Dolphin, with two leather-covered passenger sections fore and a third aft of the engine compartment, has never been restored and is all in original condition, save for the engine.
“The original power plant I guess was lost over the years,” Stebbins said. “Originally it had a Gray Marine straight eight flat engine in it and I wanted to keep with the straight eight. But you can’t find Gray Marines anymore, so this is a Chrysler.”
Bringing Sadie into Stebbins’s boat collection wasn’t a sure thing when he spied an ad in an antique boat magazine, as a call to the owner in Buffalo, N.Y. raised a bit of skepticism.
“He said to me, ‘Well, it’s a nice boat, it’s in good condition,’” Stebbins said. “When you hear somebody say that it’s in good condition you always demote the condition quite a bit, because usually when they say it’s excellent it’s really a piece of junk, right?”
But over the winter Stebbins kept picking up the magazine and looking at that ad.
“It was kind of calling my name. So, I called him again and asked him a bunch of questions, and I said I wanted to see it,” Stebbins said. “So I went out there (to Buffalo) one winter day. It was in cold storage and he brought it into the workshop to look at. I opened the door and saw it from 20 feet away and I fell in love. Absolutely.”
John Hacker was a naval architect who turned to designing boats, and by 1928 his boat works had 35,000 square feet for the handcrafting of fine mahogany runabouts.
“These Hacker Crafts were really kind of the Steinway, the Rolls Royce of boats at the time, and they were built exquisitely. John Hacker put a lot of thought into his designs,” Stebbins said.
And as sleek and elegant as the boat looks, the ride is even better.
“These boats ride like no boat you’ve ever ridden in before. They’re smooth and they cut through the waves – it’s just an elegant craft to ride in,” Stebbins said. “You can’t describe the ride of this boat, you have to experience it.”
This year is the first time in 12 years that Sadie has been in the water, and aside from needing a little work on the carbs, she runs just fine, Stebbins said.
“I was fortunate enough to buy it and call myself a caretaker,” he said. “I’ve resisted restoring it because it doesn’t need restoration. It’s just a nice original boat. It’ll grab your eyes and grab your soul when you take it for a ride.”