Sierrastyle's Luxury Living - 78

VINTAGE VOYAGE
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duced more hand-built wooden runabouts a n d leisure crafts than any other.
Undeniably instrumental to boating's so- cial fabric, Chris-Craft had a
lasting histor- ical impact on America by contributing LCPL landing craft
to the D-Day invasion. After World War II, commercial boat building
peaked. Many of America's finest families owned a Chris-Craft, including
the Vanderbilts, Roosevelts and Kennedys. The first manufacturer to
mass-produce mahogany runabouts and utility boats, Chris-Craft also
launched several specialty designs: the Rocket, Riviera, Custom Antique
wooden boats recall a glam- c l u d i n g Hollywood elite. Many of the
Sport, Deluxe Runabout and Capri. The orous, bygone era. One can hardly
see woodies that skimmed the icy, aquama- boating public responded
enthusiastically a vintage mahogany cruiser without envi- rine waters of
Lake Tahoe during its hey- until production of wooden Chris-Crafts sioning
James Bond in Monte Carlo, leggy day are now stored at the Sierra Boat
halted in 1969 in favor of fiberglass. blonde in one hand and a martini in
the Company. Hacker-Craft's runabout motorboats, other. For the nautical
nostalgist, the life It's never been a blue collar lake, Hall known for
their record-breaking speed and aquatic is a beautiful thing, and for the
admits. We've always serviced a well- cutting-edge design, advanced boat
build- serious wooden boat collector, a dream heeled clientele. With the
largest concen- ing artistically with expert craftsmanship at 50 rpm.
trated collection of wooden boats in one and V-bottom design, attracting
discern- Antique wooden boats reflect artistry body of water, the Sierra
Boat Company ing mariners. During the Jazz Age, gentle- and time, luring
collectors with the power is a nautical anomaly as the majority of col- m
a n racers favored Hacker-Craft of full-throttle, a classic aesthetic, and
dis- lections are scattered. Their extensive fleet runabouts, but the
manufacturer's luck dis- tant postwar memory. However, the busi- of wooden
boats includes Chris-Crafts, sipated during the Depression and pleas- ness
of collecting is entirely individualist. Rivas, Gar Woods and
Hacker-Crafts. ure boating suffered greatly. N o matter how collectors
chart their Chris-Craft, America's premiere boat Despite its best efforts,
Hacker-Craft courses, motivations are separate and dif- builder, is
synonymous with pleasure boat- production ended in the 1950s, making the
ficult to categorize. ing. Notable for its considerable maritime boats
highly collectible. Today, renewed in- Before powering an 18-foot lauded
heritage, the legendary manufacturer pro- terest in the manufacturer has
prompted a Italian Riva, Herb Hall remembers boating in his family's 1950s
signature Chris-Craft. An expert on wooden boats and a port au- thority on
collecting, Hall is the acting vice president and general manager of the
Sierra Boat Company, a full-service marina on the northern shore of Lake
Tahoe's Carnelian Bay. Hall's lofty responsibilities include overseeing
the winning restoration, maintenance and brokering of vintage wooden boats
for active collectors and owners. At the center of the wooden boat re-
vival, Lake Tahoe is a logical place for col- lectors to dock or expand
their collection. As a recreational destination in the 1930s, the lake was
difficult to access, yet at- tracted the biggest names of the day, in- 78
Sierrastyle's Luxury Living July/August 2006
Sierrastyle's Luxury Living

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