The Annual Classic Boat Show at Flathead Lake

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The fleet of classic elegant wooden boats gleamed at dockside, their sparkling chrome fittings enhancing the splendor of these beauties. Surrounded by majestic mountains and shimmering Flathead Lake, the 2nd Annual Antique and Classic Boat Show was held last August at the North Flathead Yacht Club in Somers Bay. Could there be a more perfect setting for the affair?

The yearly event is sponsored by the Big Sky Chapter of the Antique Classic Boat Society (ACBS). This recently established chapter is supported by 33 members who had come from as far away as Washington state to join in the festivities. The 3rd Annual Show will be held this summer in Somers on Saturday, August 16, and Sunday, August 17.

The show features pre- and post- World War II originals and replicas of many popular makes and models of speedboats and cruisers. These power boats were joined by a variety of expertly crafted canoes and kayaks.

Love and appreciation for the preservation of these traditional early watercraft are what connects The Antique Classic Boat Society, Inc. to its many chapters throughout the U.S. and Canada. The ACBS, with its headquarters in Clayton, New York, was formed in 1974, and has grown significantly on an international scale since its inception.

The main goals of the society are to share experiences and information, promote and encourage love and enjoyment of antique and classic boats, establish chapters throughout the world, and sponsor antique and classic boat shows for the benefit of the public’s education and enjoyment. The ACBS promotes membership to all enthusiasts that have a passion for historic, antique or classic watercrafts – and you don’t need to be a boat owner to join.

By definition, the ACBS boat classifications are:

Historic: Boat built before or during 1918

Antique: Boat built between 1919 – 1942

Classic: Boat built between 1943 – 1968

Contemporary Classic: Boat built in the period 1968 to the present

Replica: Boat built in a non-production style, one of a kind, copy or duplicate of a boat built or manufactured previously

Ask any boat owner about his craft and more than likely you will get a spirited and lengthy response. These skippers are passionate about their boats and will generously share their knowledge, down to the minutest of details.

As founder of the local chapter, Lakeside resident, Bill Eisenlohr was instrumental in bringing back the nostalgia of wooden boat building to the Flathead Lake area.

Bill stressed that there is no judging at this show—it’s all about sharing a mutual love for wooden boats with the general public and having fun. One of the main events of the show is a dockside display on Saturday and early Sunday, which is open to the public. If admiring the beauty and craftsmanship of these vintage boats enthralls you, or if powerful motors adorned with bright chrome excites you—wait until these proud captains crank up their boats’ engines to begin the motorcade procession along the western shoreline; the throaty reverberation of their rumbling engines are sure to give you goose bumps. The procession is the perfect finale to the weekend affair.

ACBS members have other activities to look forward to on Friday and Saturday. Bill noted that one of the featured events is a poker run, whereby the participants take their boats out to four pre-determined locations on the lake to collect playing cards, and then return to the show to pick up their final card. The best poker hand wins a prize.

Although many of the boats in the show come from all over the U.S. and Canada, in the early to mid 1900’s, Lee Craft Boat Company and Stan-Craft Boat Company were among the foremost builders of wooden boats. Both of these businesses were located on the western shore of Flathead Lake.

Between 1938 and 1971, Lee Craft Boat Company built and sold over 2,870 wood and fiberglass boats. Ole Lee Jr.’s love for the craft developed early on when as a boy he helped his dad, Ole Lee Sr., an immigrant from Norway, build small fishing boats in his spare time on Flathead Lake. A few years out of high school, with some experience under his belt, and a small amount of money, Ole Lee, Jr. put his business plan into motion. Ole purchased a waterfront lot on Somers Bay and erected sales and storage buildings. His first sale was a custom 13’ fishing boat that sold for $125.00. Getting the business off the ground was not easy for Ole but he never gave up, working hard to develop his craft. After a few years, word began to spread throughout the West and Midwest about the high quality of boats being built on the west shore of Flathead Lake. By 1940, Lee Craft boat sales were doing very well; the staff was working double shifts to keep up with demand. Ole expanded his showroom and began offering outboard and inboard fishing boats and runabouts in various lengths and models. By 1954, Ole started to phase fiberglass boats into his inventory, and wind down the production of his wooden boats. Finally, after 33 years in the business Ole decided it was time retire and spend more time with his family, and on his other interests. Ole passed away in 2003, but his boats live on.

Another respected and well-known wooden boat designer in the industry is the Stan-Craft Boat Company. In 1933, after graduating college, Stanley Young launched his boat building business on Flathead Lake in Polson, MT, producing cabin cruisers and runabouts until World War II broke out. During the war years when materials and building supplies were all but impossible to come by, Stan moved his young family to Seattle, where he was employed to supervise the construction of military vessels. When the war came to an end, instead of returning to Polson, Stan and his family settled in Lakeside, on Flathead Lake, to pick up where they had left off prior to the War. Stan retired in the late 1960s but the family business continued on with Stan’s son, Syd, at the helm. Syd had worked for years under his father’s tutelage, learning the business and nuances of boat construction. However, in order to keep up with market trends, Syd turned his attention to producing fiberglass boats, up until 1984 when the business went full circle—and once again he became immersed in construction of the classic wooden boats for which they were so well known originally. By expanding and perfecting designs Syd took the operation to a new level. Stan-Craft Boat Co., now located in Post Falls, ID, is still a family operation, Syd and his wife, Juliette, have been joined by their daughters, Sydney and Amy, and son-in-law, Robb Bloem. Syd reports that the company experienced record sales in 2007, proving that even though fiberglass boats may proliferate on the waters, there is still an active market for handcrafted, classic wooden boats.

The Big Sky Chapter’s 3rd Annual Antique and Classic Boat Show scheduled to be held at the North Flathead Yacht Club in Somers on Saturday, August 16, and Sunday, August 17, promises to be an impressive event. The public is invited to come and share information with boat owners and craftsmen, take advantage of rare photo opportunities, and experience firsthand why these boat owners are captivated by the elegance, nostalgia, and mystique of their watercraft. 

For information on the Big Sky Chapter membership, contact Bill Eisenlohr at 406/844-3981.

For general information on The Antique and Classic Boat Society, visit their Web site at www.acbs.org.

~ Dody Sheremeta and her husband, Rick, are writers and photographers, who live in the Flathead Valley. Visit their Web site at www.alpenglowproductions.com.