Bob Fanning leads members of the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club down the pier at the Channel Marker to learn about different classes of boats. Photo by Mary Hursh.

By Mary Hursh
and Bob Fanning
Guest Columnist

LAKE WAWASEE — Every other Wednesday from June through September, members of the Syracuse/Wawasee chapter of the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club meet for lunch at the Channel Marker and talk about wooden boats.

Last week, club members enjoyed lunch with the owners of eight antique and classic boats headed to Lake James for the annual Antique and Classic Boat Society Show. That show draws these boats from all over the country and offers a stop at Lake Wawasee as a part of the boat show experience.

For the past several years, members of the Syracuse/Wawasee chapter of the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club have met the traveling boats at the Channel Marker for lunch and to view and discuss the boats. After lunch, boat owners stand by their boats and give a short summary of the history of their boats.

Twelve Chris-Craft boats were on view at the Channel Marker during a recent lunch of members of the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club. Photo by Mary Hursh.

“There are about 50 Chris-Craft boats on our local roster,” said Bob Fanning, the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club ambassador.

The ACBS classifies wooden boats into five age groups based on the date when they were built. The “historic” boats were built up to and including 1918; the “antique” boats were built between 1919 and 1942; the “classic” boats were built between 1943 and 1975; the “late classic” boats were built after 1975 and up to 25 years before the current year; “contemporary” boats are any wooden boat built within the last 25 years.

“Antique and classic wooden boats are popular at Lake Wawasee and Syracuse Lake because of the history of wooden boats here and the popularity of the Sunday morning Thunder Run. The original purpose for the Thunder Run on Lake Wawasee was to encourage the owners of such boats to use their boats,” said Fanning.

Antique and classic wooden boats have a look and sound which cannot be duplicated with fiberglass and modern engines. Some boaters like the look of an antique or classic wooden boat but want to avoid the maintenance of an old engine and old wood so several companies are building contemporary wooden boats which replicate the design of an antique or classic wooden boat.

“The difference between the first three ACBS categories noted above and the last two categories may be hard to discern as a wooden boat goes by but are obvious upon closer inspection or when hearing the sound of the engine,” said Fanning.