By Tom Oncken
Since 1987, the Texas Chapter of AOMCI and the Southwest Chapter of the Antique & Classic Boat Society have been sharing an exhibit of vintage boats and motors at the Houston International Boat, Sport & Travel Show each January. This year was no exception as the Boating Trades Association of Metropolitan Houston (BTA) invited us to participate in the 62nd presentation of their famous indoor boat show from January 6th through January 15th.
In the early years, we were fortunate if there was enough space donated to our group to show off four boats and a couple of motors. This year, like in many of the more recent shows, we were given the entire lobby area in front of Exhibit Halls C and D located in front of the ticket booths. Unlike the shows at the turn of the century, the BTA now even provides an elaborate rail system at no cost to protect our precious boats and motors. Gratis space and free rails, what a deal!
Di Johnson and Adam Finn did their usual fantastic job of putting together this year’s exhibit by finding volunteers to show boats and motors, and then recruiting individuals to man the exhibit throughout the show. With help of John Platou who spotted an unusual wooden craft being built in the Atascocita area, Di and Adam invited Dr. Jerry Hyatt to exhibit his 3/4 scale replica of a Bahamian Sailing Dinghy that he personally built.
Since the Houston Texans made it into the playoffs again this year, the boat show was closed on the opening Saturday. Unfortunately, the Texans lost their game, but the boat show was able to continue on Sunday.
Only two inboards participated in this year’s display, a 1946 Chris-Craft Special Runabout 16’ owned by Mike Friesel and a 1948 Higgins Deluxe Runabout 19’ owned by Bob Germany.
There were eight outboard runabouts shown in our exhibit this year. One that attracted a lot of attention was Morten Lovstad’s self-built Flats Skiff. Most visitors thought it was fiberglass upon first seeing it with its new 2016 Evinrude 60hp outboard. Most were shocked to learn that the boat is made of wood and the paint job is so smooth that it is mistaken for a fiberglass hull. Morten will be entering his boat into the 2017 Keels and Wheels show coming up this May. We are crossing our fingers for you, Morten.
The seven remaining outboard boats shown included a 1958 Chris-Craft “Barracuda” 14’ kit boat powered by its 1957 Evinrude Lark 35hp owned by Mark Betner, a 1957 Carver Colonel Deluxe 15’ with 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp owned by Knut Bulow, a 1963 Proske 15’ with 1964 Johnson 60hp owned by Darryl Hurst, a 1972 Glen-L Tiny Titan 8’ Hydroplane powered by a 1954 Wizard WJ-7/Mercury Mark 20 combination rat motor owned by Di Johnson, a 1957 Yellow Jacket Catalina 15’ with its 1959 Mercury Mark 55A owned by Bob Macaluso, a 1960 Cruisers Inc Holiday Runabout 16’ powered by a 1960 Evinrude Starflite 75hp owned by John Platou, and an owner-built Mini-Most 8’ from plans in a 1978 Science and Mathematics magazine powered by a 1984 Evinrude 6hp owned by Jack Toole.
John Plato and Alan Bischof were incredibly busy with this year’s boat show. As usual, they were responsible for the Kids-Build-A-Boat exhibit within the actual show; however, John also brought his entire collection of 1960s Evinrude outboards plus his boat and Jack Toole’s (John’s grandson) little Mini-Most boat for our exhibit.
Separate outboard motors were displayed and were provided by several members as follows:
- Jerry Ball displayed his 1935 Minn Kota, 1953 Sea King 5hp, 1958 Evinrude Ducktwin 3hp, 1958 Johnson 5.5hp, and 1958 Johnson 18hp;
- Mark Betner brought his 1953 Johnson 10hp, 1957 Evinrude 18hp, and his lineup of 1957 Johnson outboards including the 3hp, 5.5hp, 7.5hp. 10hp, 18hp, and the Golden Javelin 35hp;
- Adam Finn displayed a flawless 1958 Johnson 7.5hp, 1960 Sea King 3hp, and 1966 Evinrude 9.5hp;
- Morten Lovstad displayed his 1929 Elto Lightweight Fold-up 3.5hp;
- Tom Oncken showed a 1925 Johnson 1.5hp, 1928 Johnson 7.15hp, 1949 Chris-Craft Challenger 5.5hp, 1953 Chris-Craft Commander 10hp, 1955 Oliver Challenger 5.5hp, and 1955 Oliver Commander 15hp; and
- John Plato presented his entire lineup of 1960 Evinrudes including the 3hp Ducktwin, 3hp Lightwin, 5.5hp Fisherman, 10hp Sportwin, 18hp Fastwin, 40hp Big Twin, 40hp Lark, and the 75hp Starflite on his boat.
Please follow the link below to see the rest of the photos submitted from this event: http://www.texaschapteraomci.com/?post_type=gallery&p=5616&preview=true