His favorites? The iconic Chris-Craft U-22 Sportsman, of which he’s owned four or five, and the recent addition of a 1929 Hickman Sea Sled. As an adult, he has purchased a succession of open speedboats. Bob Johnson, a retired family physician, remembers his uncle letting him steer classic woodies as a child, and being drawn to the gleaming speedboats tied up in the local marina. If you’re going to have one … that’s the one to have.”įor others, owning an antique boat is a chance to hold onto something special from the past. “I feel like I have the holy grail of Chris- Crafts. “I guess it’s just another thing to feed your ego,” he offers. That Cobra sits in front of a lakeside house that features an indoor showroom for a collection of classic cars, readily seen from the water behind $150,000 worth of plate glass. Genovese admits to being the kind of guy who likes to show off his collectibles. For these select few, owning a classic wooden boat represents one of boating’s great joys. Nostalgic nods to the sport’s golden era, vintage models fetch premium prices at auctions and inspire enthusiasts to sand and varnish till their knuckles bleed, all for the pleasure of simply gazing at (and one can hope cruising in) a piece of history. An equal part, however, would arguably be the growing fascination with vintage wooden boats. Why would someone spend nearly a million dollars on a 15-year-old runabout? Part of the reason is likely that this particular boat, considered by some to be the Ferrari of the boating world, was the last of its kind ever produced by the legendary Italian builder. It was the biggest item in terms of dollar volume sold at this particular auction. In early 2011, a 1996 Riva Aquarama Special Hull 774, a wood speedboat inspired by a vintage Hacker-Craft runabout, sold to an anonymous bidder at auction for $975,000. Wooden Boat Ownership Wooden Boat Ownership Boating Magazine
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |