Search Results for: runabout

What is the mission of The Antique Boat Museum?

The mission of the Antique Boat Museum is to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret boats and other objects related to the history of boating in North America and to enhance public understanding and appreciation of the contributions of the St. Lawrence River region to North America’s boating history.

What kinds of boats does the Museum collect?

The Museum in interested in possible donations or artifacts for any kind of boat relating to its mission. The collection already contains a wide range of types that includes canoes, runabouts, skiffs and a 106″ houseboat.

How many boats are in the Museum collection?

The Museum presently has more than 320 boats in its permanent collection.

Does the Museum only collect wooden boats?

No. The Museum is interested in boats constructed of a wide variety of materials, so long as they relate to its mission.

Does the Museum only collect old boats?

Generally speaking, the Museum collects boats from the earliest days of pleasure boating in the mid 19th century until approximately 40 years before the present.

What else does the Antique Boat Museum collect besides boats?

Library and archival materials (books, magazines, sales literature, engine and service manuals, plans, photographs);

• Inboard and outboard engines and motors;
• Historic boatbuilding tools, equipment, molds, patterns and equipment;
• Boat hardware and accessories;
• Boats and marine equipment for use on the water, particularly for the sailing and livery programs;
• Tools, materials and equipment for the boatbuilding school.
• Gifts of cash, stock, real property or other financial contributions. Please contact the Museum’s Development Department.

What is the process to follow to donate a boat to the Museum?

The donor writes to the Museum to propose making the gift. The letter should describe the boat and its history in as much detail as possible and include photographs, preferably both recent and historic. Donation offers should be directed to Curator, Antique Boat Museum, 750 Mary Street, Clayton, NY 13624.

The proposed donation is then reviewed by the Museum’s Collections Committee to see whether it is suitable for the permanent collection.

• If the proposed donation is accepted by the Committee, the donor signs a deed of gift drawn up by the Museum to transfer title to the donation and arrangements are made to receive it.
• The Museum completes its portion of an IRS form 8283 (Non-cash Charitable Contributions) for the donor to attach to their income tax return.

What is my boat worth?

The value of donated boats and other items must be established by a written appraisal from a qualified third party not associated with either the Museum or the donor. The Museum cannot by law play any part in establishing the monetary value of artifacts donated to it, nor can it speak to the monetary value of antique and classic boats in general.

How do I find out how much my boat is worth?

Yacht and boat brokers, marine surveyors and boat restorers in your own area may also be willing to establish a value for your boat, usually for a fee.

Will donating a boat to the Museum help reduce my income tax?

You should consult your accountant or tax advisor regarding the potential financial benefits to be gained by donating your boat to the Museum.

My boat is fully restored and won an award at a recent antique boat show. Wouldn’t the Museum automatically accept it?

The Museum takes many factors into account when evaluating proposed donations as well as the boat’s restoration, including the age, rarity, condition and amount of original material left in the boat, along with its history and what other similar boats may already be in the permanent collection. It does not guarantee an automatic acceptance.

How long will it take to complete the donation process?

The Collections Committee meets at least four times per year to evaluate proposed donations. A donation can take at least one to six months to complete from the time it is first proposed.

If the Museum doesn’t want my boat, is there someone else who does?

The Museum’s Curatorial staff can work with you to explore other donation options.

Can I attach conditions to my donation?

The Museum’s policy is to decline donations with conditions, for example that the boat be on permanent display, or that it never be used in the water.

Can I donate a boat for the Museum to sell to raise money?

Yes. Donations of boats for resale should be proposed in the same manner as donations for the permanent collection, as outlined above. The cover letter should indicate that the boat is to be considered for resale to benefit the Museum.

As part of the annual Antique Boat Show, which takes place over the first weekend in August each summer, the Museum holds an auction of boats and equipment. You may consign a boat to the auction and gift the proceeds from the sale to the museum as a cash donation or donate a boat to be auctioned. For more information about the auction, go to Antique Boat America and click on “Clayton, New York, Antique Boat Auction.”

What will the Museum do with my boat after it is acquired?

• • Place it on short-term exhibit as a New Acquisition; or
  • Incorporate it into a new exhibit or program; or
  • Restore it for use in programming; or
  • Place it in storage for research and use in future exhibits.

Will my boat always be on display after it is donated?

• It is unlikely that a particular boat will always be on display.
• Display is only one of the uses for boats in the Museum’s collection.
• At any one time, the Museum has approximately 40% to 50% of its boat collection on display. As new exhibits are developed, some boats now on display may be rotated back to storage and others brought out for exhibit. Boats on display may also be moved between different exhibits and buildings.
• Boats in storage may be viewed by prior appointment with the Curatorial staff.

Will the Museum keep my boat forever after I donate it?

At the time of donation, the Museum assumes that every artifact added to its collection will be there permanently. For this reason, the Museum carefully evaluates new donations before deciding to accept them.

• Circumstances may arise in the future which would make it best to dispose of an artifact from the collection. These might include the acquisition of another similar or identical boat in better condition, or a change in the Museum’s collecting priorities.
• In this case, the Museum undertakes a formal legal process known as “de-accessioning.”
• The museum will then endeavor to place the boat in the collection of another non-profit institution.
• If the boat is not accepted by another non-profit institution, it will be sold at public auction.

Does the Museum ever purchase boats for its permanent collection?

With very few exceptions, the Museum’s permanent collection grows only through donations.

Will the Museum restore my boat?

Depending on how and when the Museum exhibits or makes use of the boat, it may be partially or completely restored. However, the Museum does not necessarily restore all of the boats in its collection, nor is it necessary that a boat be in show-winning condition for it to be accepted by the Museum.

Should I restore my boat before I donate it to the Museum?

If you are interested in donating your boat, please consult with the Museum’s Curator before undertaking any repair or restoration work.

Miss 1000 Islands II (1999)

Length: 30′

Beam: 7’2″

Builder: Hacker Boat Company

Power: Chrysler Crusader V-8

Donor: Art Yarah

Accession Number: 2006.026

Few boats say “1000 Islands” more than the mahogany runabout. This truly American type was popularized in the early years of the 20th century by designers such as Gar Wood, Chris Smith and John Hacker, who created boats that went fast and looked good.

In the early 1980s Morgan Marine on Lake George purchased the rights to the legendary Hacker name and began building new boats after the original designs. In 2012 Hacker-Craft donated their time to restore Miss T.I. II for the Museum.

Teal (1989)

Length: 28′

Beam: 7’2″

Builder: Gar Wood Custom Boats

Power: Chrysler Crusader V-8

Donor: Richard Munro

Accession Number: 1995.013

Gar Wood Custom Boats, owned by the Turcotte brothers of Brant Lake, NY, are among the finest craftsmen now building mahogany runabouts to traditional designs, in their case by the legendary Gar Wood. Their faithful reproductions utilize the original lines enhanced by wood-epoxy construction techniques and modern power plants.

Teal is designed after Gar Wood’s 1938 triple-cockpit runabout. Annual maintenance on Teal is generously provided by Gar Wood Custom Boats.

Zipper (1974)

Length: 41′ 6″

Beam: 10′ 6″

Builder: Staudacher Yacht Company

Power: Twin Crusader V-8’s

Donor: Louise S. Stroh

Accession Number: 1985.018

Zipper was designed for the Purdy Boat Company. Though drawn in the 1930s, the boat was never built. In 1974, brewery magnate John W. Stroh finally commissioned Staudacher Yachts to build her. While remaining faithful to the original design, Staudacher utilized modern construction methods and gave Zipper a strong, “screwed and glued” double-planked hull with vertically-scarfed mahogany planking on steam-bent oak frames. Zipper is a commuter yacht, emblematic of a type from the 1920s and 30s.

Wild Goose (1915)

Length: 40′

Beam: 7′

Builder: Hutchinson Boat Works

Power: Chrysler V-8

Donors: Cleveland E. Dodge, Jr. and Joan Dodge Rueckert

Accession Number: 2001.666

If Wild Goose has a familiar silhouette, it may be because she has been an ambassador for the Antique Boat Museum as the boat in the ABM logo for nearly 20 years. She was built by the Hutchinson Brothers boat yard in Alexandria Bay, NY in 1915 as a high-speed launch for island commuting. Her original owner, Frederick Lovejoy, named her Onondaga III and used her to ferry passengers to and from his home in Westminster Park on Wellesley Island. The Onondaga III was a very fast boat for her time, with 40’ of waterline and only 7’ in beam, powered by a 150 HP Sterling engine.

In 1928 the boat was purchased by Cleveland E. Dodge of Grindstone Island and Wild Goose Island and renamed Wild Goose. For eighty years she has served as a family launch for the Dodge family, who have loved and carefully maintained the boat throughout its life. The open forward cockpit was added in 1938 to make the boat easier to manage. This addition also lends the Wild Goose a limousine-like appearance.

In 1991, the boat was completely restored and led the Parade of Boats at the annual Antique Boat show here at the Museum. She was restored again between 2011 and 2012, reuniting with the River on June 30, 2012.

Gadfly (1931)

Length: 33′ 6″

Beam: 8′ 6″

Builder: Hutchinson Boat Works

Donor: Margaret H. Wallace

Accession Number: 1994.003

Built in Alexandria Bay by Hutchinson Boat Works, Gadfly spent her early years in the Thousand Islands before being moved to Michigan. This sedan commuter returned to the River in 1994 when she was donated to the Museum. As part of the Museum’s in-water fleet she has provided hundreds of Museum patrons with the opportunity to enjoy traveling on the River in the secure comfort that is the embodiment of her style. She has been a favorite vessel for day trips around the River and longer excursions to Ottawa and Montreal. Her large planing hull seems to disguise the cruising speed that swiftly propels this grand boat to her destination. Whether her passengers choose her snug cabin or prefer her large open aft cockpit, Gadfly is a superb craft with comfortable accommodations.

A boat like Pardon Me would not have been possible without the Packard 4M-2500 marine engine. The availability of this supercharged 12-cylinder engine made it feasible for John Hacker to draw up a 48’ double-cockpit that could truly perform like a runabout, leaping easily onto a plane and staying there with adequate power for 60 mph. Although the motor was developed for WWII Patrol Torpedo boats, it likely seemed a natural development to Hacker, who was familiar with the engine’s designer: Jesse Vincent from Packard Motor Corp.

Both men were part of a small cadre at the top of boat racing in the 1920s and 30s, and often collaborated on raceboats. These were the Gentlemen of the “Gentleman’s Gold Cup” era. Over this period, success in racing led to lucrative contracts for custom boats. Top raceboat designers such as John Hacker and George Crouch designed many speedboats and commuters for private clients, and Hacker’s designs often specified Packard motors. Speedboat design evolved as the engines improved, and both Pardon Me and her Packard 4M-2500 are late examples of this period of co-evolution.

 

We do not know who first gave Pardon Me the appellation “the world’s largest runabout,” but it is easy to see why it stuck. Near the end of the era of this particular style of wooden speedboats, Pardon Me is perhaps the most powerful expression of the runabout form. It has garnered admiration and praise since construction began at Hutchinson Boat Works in Alexandria Bay, NY in 1947, and it has been owned and appreciated by vibrant and influential people from all around the country.

John Hacker, who drew the boat in 1947 for Charles Lyon of Chippewa Bay, NY was one of the innovators who developed the hard-chine, split-cockpit pleasure boat in the early 1920s. In the 1930s and 1940s, Hacker was one the world’s most famous designers of custom powerboats and small yachts, with an impressive portfolio of very successful boats and a distinctive personal style.

Pardon Me is a late great work from one of America’s most important naval architects. Designed for beauty as well as performance, the boat incorporates period trends in industrial design and architecture, making it a representative object for American art history as well as boating.

The custom speedboat has played an important role in the evolution of boating technology and aesthetics. Commissions from men like Charlie Lyon allowed American designers and craftsmen to think big and achieve the highest levels of their craft, producing superlative boats. Such boats were an important part of Lyon’s life from childhood on, but Pardon Me was to be his last big powerboat, at age 75. Hacker himself was 69 when he began drawing, with forty years of experience. Although Pardon Me was an influential boat and certain design elements such as the rounded nose would remain popular into the late 1950s, it is in fact the product of an earlier culture of power boating. After the war, there was a decrease in custom runabouts and commuters like Pardon Me, while American consumers favored mass- manufactured boats of all sizes.

The realization of a boat like Pardon Me requires a great deal of input from the owner, the designer, and the builder. In the case of Pardon Me, the processes of conception, design, and construction were unusually collaborative due to a demanding schedule.

Work began at Hutchinson Boat Works as soon as preliminary sheets arrived from John Hacker in 1947, with delivery expected by the following summer. Hutchinson had the experience in construction and structural engineering to fill in the gaps and even improve upon Hacker’s specifications. Charlie Lyon himself, from whom the initial concept must have come, was also personally involved in the systems design of the boat. This makes Pardon Me not only the work of John Hacker, but of the famous Hutchinson Boat Works, and one of the Thousand Islands’ most prominent boaters.

 

View The Making Of Pardon Me | View The Restoration Of Pardon Me

Date: 1948

Length: 48′

Beam: 10′ 6″

Designer: John L. Hacker

Builder: Hutchinson Boat Works

Donor: Jim and Tony Lewis

Accession Number: 1986.021

The Museum recently decided to send Pardon Me to an outside contractor with a reputation for restoring high-quality yachts and sailboats. While we would have preferred to complete the work in-house, Brooklin Boat Yard has the knowledge and ability to design and install Pardon Me’s complex mechanical systems. She returned to Clayton in October 2013, fully restored and ready for launching.

Few pleasure boats have ever been more aptly-named than Pardon Me. Her design was commissioned by Charles P. Lyon, a wealthy sportsman and owner of several other large custom boats who spent his summers on Oak Island. Hacker had previously designed for him the express commuters Finesse and Vamoose. Lyon intended Pardon Me to be his ultimate boat, and selected the well-regarded firm Hutchinson Boat Works of Alexandria Bay to build his new vessel.

Sometimes called “the world’s largest runabout,” Pardon Me is a fascinating study in yacht design. From a distance, she can appear to be an almost regular-sized triple cockpit runabout. Up close, though, one can truly grasp her magnificent proportions. Though primarily a day boat for short pleasure trips, she also boasts a galley, enclosed head and sleeping accommodations below decks.

It takes some power to move this much boat through the water, and Pardon Me was powered by a World War II-era 1500 HP supercharged Packard PT boat engine which used nearly 100 gallons of high-octane fuel per hour.

The Cleveland E. Dodge Launch Building displays some of the most notable powered pleasure boats, including a steam launch, the only working naptha engine in existence, runabouts, and cruisers that have put the Antique Boat Museum on the map. The new installation of “The National Motor Boat Show” highlights the evolution of boating as a pastime in North America through the lens of a period boating trade show.

Boating is a great North American pastime, and the evolution of recreational motor boats in the 20th century has transformed our waterscape. Boats connect people to the water and to the natural world, and power boats offer great freedom of movement and the thrill of speed.

A new activity in 1900, by 1950 motor boating was an important cultural marker, and remains so today. Central to the growth of this industry were large, aspirational trade shows, where the public came to explore what motor boating was all about. The largest of these was the National Motor Boat Show, begun in New York City in 1905 and still held every year. More than earlier ways of boating by sail and oar, motor boating was a facet of modernism, a celebration of personal freedom and opulence through technology.

Steam yachts in the mid-1900s were the first recreational powerboats, but scale and complexity restricted them to a wealthy elite. Smaller, simpler power plants evolved in the 1880s, and by the early 1900s the gasoline engine brought power boating within reach of many more people. Soon an industry sprang up to sell motor boats through standardization and advertising. This new industry faced the challenge of educating the public about boating, as well as pushing brand selection. Trade shows such as the National Motorboat Show were created to give manufacturers a forum to display their new products and educate interested consumers. These shows were aspirational and lavishly decorated, inviting people to take part in a new and glamorous activity.