Though Henry Fonda won the Oscar for his performance in the 1981 film On
Golden Pond, some would argue that the true star of the film was a vintage,
22-foot Chris-Craft Sportsman named the Thayer IV, a sleek, 1950 mahogany
runabout upon which many of the movie’s dramatic moments floated. The Thayer
IV’s film debut sparked a renaissance of sorts for 20th-century mahogany
motorboats by manufacturers such as Chris-Craft, Gar Wood, Dodge and Hacker,
boats that are now considered classics of American craftsmanship and design.
“When the movie came out, it really enhanced interest in classic boats,” says
Wilson Wright, president of the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club, based in
Tallahassee, Fla. “We saw our membership rise.”
 | | CURRENTLY VALUED at $500,000, this 1959 Riva Tritone once belonged to Rita
Hayworth. (Photograph courtesy Dave Bortner/Mahogany Bay.) |
There is something downright
alluring about a gleaming mahogany runabout cutting the waves, its engines
rumbling and chrome sparkling. “Wooden boats do have an aura of romance you
won’t find on fiberglass boats,” says F. Todd Warner, CEO of Mahogany Bay in
Mound, Minn., one of the largest vintage boat restoration businesses in the
country.
Jeff Stebbins, current president of the Classic and Antique Boat
Society of Clayton, New York, knows this allure well. He owns a stable of 15
vintage wooden boats, and typically a half-dozen are tied up at his summer dock
on Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota. “The last time I sold one was a very sad day,”
he admits. “You get emotionally attached to them. They have hearts and
souls.”
VALUE JUDGMENT
Twentieth-century mahogany speedboats from manufacturers like Chris-Craft,
Gar Wood, Dodge and HackerCraft, are classics of American craftsmanship and
design. Once rejected in favor of utilitarian fiberglass boats, these classic runabouts now command high prices in a competitive collector’s market.
Though much depends on model rarity, physical condition and authenticity of
restoration, the value of certain vintage models continues to skyrocket, as does
appreciation of these unique watercraft. |
Single-Screw Speculators
They also have a definite investment potential.
While most collectors caught in the spell of these craft shy away from the word
“investment” and refer to their obsessions as a hobby, many have seen the values
of their boats climb steadily over the years. With some rare models, that climb
has been more a stratospheric leap. Two years ago, the 1926 Gold Cup racer, Baby
Bootlegger, with a history as colorful as its name, sold for a reported $1.2
million. This set a new record for any vintage boat, and was particularly
noteworthy because it happened during the bottom of a recession.
Other
sales, though not record-breakers, continue to reinforce the fact that vintage
wood boats are a growth market. Warner reports that he sold a 1929 26-foot
HackerCraft in 1998 to a client for $60,000. “Today that boat is worth at least
$150,000, maybe $250,000,” he says. “A few months ago, we sold a fully restored
1930 30-foot Hacker for $300,000.”
Of course, not all collector boats fetch
six figures. Don Ayers, an expert on the very popular Chris-Craft Barrelback
series, notes that 10 years ago $25,000 would have bought a 19-footer in fairly
good condition. Now, prices are closer to $60,000 and can run as high as
$80,000. “I look at the prices in the magazines and sometimes want to bite my
finger off because I didn’t buy a few,” he says.
As wooden motorboats go,
the Chris-Craft Barrelback enjoys unparalleled appeal among collectors. “This is
the boat that comes to mind when people think about vintage boats,” says Ayers,
who owns a 19-foot Barrelback himself. “During the Art Deco period, everything
from cars to toasters became more streamlined and conveyed a sense of speed and
movement.” Between 1939 and 1942, Chris-Craft built its Barrelback series, which
consisted of 17-, 19-, 23- and 27-foot models, taking the tumblehome (an inward
curving of the stern) to the extreme. From the rear, the boat looks like a
mahogany half-barrel, with pinstripes running along the top. “The design is
completely about style,” says Ayers, “but it also involved many man-hours.
Hand-fitting all the individual mahogany planks that went into that barrel was
extremely labor-intensive. We’ll never see that again.”
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