vintage ski/raceboat show?
 

I would like to know how much interest there would be in a one day on the water vintage ski boat show. Something like gathering at the beach near Walter's Market on Winnisquam, having a ride under the bridge and through the no wake zone, and maybe an out and back water ski race exhibition on the large part of the lake. There's certainly time to set a date and plan for 2012. It would be informal and low key as a first time event. There's no vintage race boat show next summer and it should happen at a different time than the antique and classic show. Could be on Winnipesaukee, Winnisquam seems good in that the river boat launch is right there. Any thoughts, suggestions would be appreciated, including whether this has been attempted before and was it successful. Any hints for contacts and whatever event permission would be needed for something like this would be helpful. I'm thinking roughly late 50's to late 70's vintage, roughly coinciding with the time period that the waterski races took place. Thanks. Happy motoring.

How "vintage" is vintage???
 

Well if a 1988 production based on a 1976 design counts, and you hold one next year, then count me in! :D

GH


Glastron/Carlson CVX-20 Sprint

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-...285/CVX-20.jpg

That makes 2
 

Very nice, looks like it's flying just sitting still. Has the metalflake been redone? The boat looks like new. Thanks for posting the picture for all to enjoy. Lots of nice boats out there!

I call it the smallest 20' boat on water and you only have to sit in it once to know what I mean,,, I can touch the water while sitting in the drivers seat when stopped.

Not yet sure how fast it is, only had it up to 70 something,,,

And no its not been refinished, overall its pretty clean, but like any used and unrestored boat it has a few flaws.

It would be fun to gather a bunch of these classic glass boats for an event.

Keep tryin,,, :D

Vintage ski boat reunion August 2012
 

Starting to pull some things together. If you might attend an on the water event like this next August, please share a pic of what you have for an old ski boat. Of particular interest would be any boats that actually were in the ski races, such as the "Basty", the "Green Wink" or Magnum Marines, Sidewinders, Checkmates, Tahitis, Sutphens, etc. I spotted an original Magnum at the Wolfeboro show same as the tunnel boat below. We know you're out there (even if tucked in a barn or under a tarp). Any ideas/suggestions appreciated. Laconia/Weirs/Opechee is an area that hosted every type of waterski activity. Too bad there aren't any jumps around anymore, quite a sight to see.

We saw that too and I was trying to figure out what it was. Thanks for clearing that up.

Is the Wolfeboro jump gone???

little bit of history
 

Dick binette
INTERNATIONAL WATER SKI CHAMPION FOR WEIRS, NH

Dick Binette learned to water ski on Lake Winnipesaukee and went on to become an international champion. In 1954 he broke the world's record for ski jumping at the National Championships, held on Lake Opechee and hosted by the Weirs Ski Club.

The above taken from the historical society site, which has some great pics. Northland Skis was located in Laconia, making wood skis until about 1970. I have an old Custom Slalom ski, don't know if it was made in Laconia or in their other factory, but the craftsmanship is beautiful with a perfect slight concave to it. The Maherajah skis were equally nice before the introduction of fiberglass. There's a kind of beat up Warren Witherell Northland ski at the antique mall in Laconia for something like $100, would make a nice decoration somewhere.

Current project -

69 sidewinder
 

Up for grabs on CL. Classic ski race boat. I think Glendale sold these boats, then Tahitis (Sidewinder knockoffs) were sold out of I think Lakeport. The Sidewinders were handmade out of Palo Alto California, later bought out by Thompson boats. These boats carve tight turns with real g forces. That's a 150 on back, probably a 65-70 mph boat with a huge rooster tail. Someone need a project? Save it from having the motor and hull separated.

...and Magnum's, with a SleekCraft thrown in...:D

...and a 112+mph Schiada too...:D

...and finally...the sexiest ski boat on the planet...:D

Fay's Boat Yard has one for sale, 1966 Century Resorter 21 Ft with Gray Marine V8 280 HP. Rebuilt original motor. Original parts. $19,800
http://newimages.yachtworld.com/resi...=1281476551000
http://newimages.yachtworld.com/resi...=1281476551000
http://newimages.yachtworld.com/resi...=1281476551000
http://newimages.yachtworld.com/resi...=1281476551000

Thurstons has this 1980 century for sale:

http://www.thurstonsmarina.com/PreOw...0Resorter.html

Great rides
 

Never heard of a Schiada before, it looks like it drew a crowd. Looks like a v-drive? I like the plaid shirt on the driver, if you were driving that boat you were already styling. The Sleekcraft looks very cool too, I wonder what the engine was on it. Here's a picture of a Sutphen same as the Green Wink that had twin 150's. A friend had the same boat with a big block jet, what a nice ride that was. I don't know if Sutphens were ever sold on the lake. The Sidewinder is still up for grabs on NH CL, very tempting.....boats seem to multiply in the yard if you don't keep a close eye on them!

75 royal craft
 

Recently purchased this to relive my younger days as a water ski racer during the 70's on winnisquam

Wow, Nice work on that!!!!

Royalcraft
 

That boat is beautiful. Hope I get a chance to see it on the water. Got any pics of the races? My favorite is the look of the Magnum on the water, I don't think it can be beat. And the ride is truly like a magic carpet ride, nothing but air beneath you. Check out the 60's Hydrodyne ad. One of these boats was very active in the ski races. Twin 125 mercs and if I remember right a beer keg for a gas tank. In the late 70's early 80's the boat was for sale in front of Irwin Marine. It looked so lonely sitting there. I stopped to drool by it. There were about 10 little brass inscribed plates on the dash marking 1st,2nd or 3rd place in the WWSRA races. I thought it was the coolest boat I had ever seen.

Water Ski Races
 

More Pictures! Driver is Eric, Skier is Richard. Boat is a 1975ish Hydrostream Vixen with a built 85 hp merc,that is now back on Winni and beautifully restored. This race was boys class C or D and took place on Winnisquam around 1975-76

Wwsra
 

I have more vintage pictures, stay tuned. Black metal flake boat is a replica of a late 70's Hydrosteam and it's for sale

This was a ski boat
 

Chris Craft Cavalier

Mr. Cook's "Penthouse" crew. Those guys could ski!

I spent a lot of time in that Chris-Craft. :cool:

allison craft
 

Sold out of Jay's Marina at Winnisquam, these boats were common in the
70's. Still made today. Appears very similar to the Royalcraft. The observer and driver sat back to back in the 2 seat boat. Out of the water a lot and exciting to watch. This is a restored one, I guess they were popular race boats in Ohio.

Here is a before/after resto pic of my 22' Boss Tahiti w/BBFord & Berk Jet.
This was my 1st attempt at a "full-on" boat project.
The boat was a reader's build featured in Hot Boat Magazine in the same issue that featured the Schiada that I posted.
I am really liking the closet gearheads that have materialized on this site.
Keep those pics & projects coming.
Love the outboard stuff. :cool:

Hot Boats take over Weirs Beach Dock. :laugh:

Circa 1982-ish?. :confused:

That Hydrostream got around. :cool:

great rides (cont.)
 

The first boat on the left looks kind of looks like your Tahiti, Hondo made a day cruiser with the elevated deck. There's been one in the boathouse at the Y Landing/Pine Island channel for about 35 years, yellow and brown, big block jet. The yellow boat is a Tahiti or Sidewinder. The Tahiti version was called the Torino, 16' boat sold with an olds 455/berkeley, I don't know what they called the Sidewinder. Any ideas on the grey boat? Fast, agile small boats weren't really an issue unless you had a reckless driver in one. Plus lake conditions don't let you fly around every day in small boats (Weirs Bay on a Saturday?). Seems speed became more of an issue when there were so many 25-30 footers going 70+.

Check out the size of the boats tied to the other docks. :eek:

The more you think things have changed. :laugh:

I think that boat is a green SleekCraft jet called Jade Grenade.?.

The blue SOB is a HydroStream.

The sport goes on
 

This is what it looked like years ago - without all the safety gear and longer ropes! Checkmates were very common and very fast. I don't know why people want to put windshields on these boats, ruins the styling and really does nothing about the wind. This one is a bit over the top, supposedly does 80 (hopefully right side up). There was a guy in his 50's back in the day who cruised all the time in his red one of these with his bleached blond wife at his side. Lake legend was he rolled it and landed upright with her falling out unhurt (who knows?). There was a red one with black seats with a 135 for years on Pine Island, supposedly a 65-70 mph boat. A Bruins player had one of these in his driveway that I'd walk by on my way to school. I'd have to stop and take a look many times.

Fabulous thread
 

Really enjoying this look back at circa 70's speedboats.Right up my gunwale(age group).

Old and "new" in the channel. And the first Stepp boat on Winni. :cool:

White boat in channel
 

It looks like Paul Blizzard's 25' Bertram. He still has it and had the boat out in August for customer's appreciation day.

I am in touch with three folks that were active in the WWSRA. I will be asking them for pictures to scan for winni.com. They are very much interested in a reunion next summer.

Is there anyone here from the Winnisquam ski and boat club? The club was very active in water ski racing as well as water ski championship.

Races
 

I grew up on Winnisquam and one of the highlights of the summer were the races. The ski jumps were awesome to watch. My favorite races were the "Pumpkin Seed" boats, they seemed like little rockets. I hope that this race does happen, I think it would be a great event.

Ski Boats
 

...Those were the days. Miss you John & Pete Belkas.:(

Vintage ski/raceboat
 

My brother-in-law had a 16' Checkmate w/150 Merc. Barefooted behind it @ 68 mph. My feet felt like they were on fire!!!!:laugh:

custom slalom
 

Maybe made in the Northland factory in Laconia, put up a great wall of water.

A couple more for you guys...:cool:

L-R = "Chach" Ciaciao, Tony Cameratta, John Buckley, and Peter Belkis.

With Mr. Cooke driving, as usual..:D

Penthouse Crew ROCKED.:cool:

Ski pictures
 

There should be a few more of these pictures in the photo gallery. When I cleaned out the Penthouse in 1997 I came across a large envelope stuffed with all kinds of neat pictures from the era when "The Teenagers" (as John refered to them) skiied from dawn till dusk. At least back then gas was only 35 cents per gallon!

long rope
 

Any old pics out there?

This is a great thread and I am really enjoying it. I would like to ask that everyone with photos please post the photos in the Gallery Photo Post as well so that others in the future can see them. There is a "Things That Float" area for you to post in. It is a great repository for these historic photos.

Penthouse Pics;
 

Nice Job Gayle, I have a bunch (35mm slides & 8/super 8 movies) I just have to find the time to go threw them.

Extreme sport
 

Tragic fall this past weekend by a former champion in New Zealand, similar to Bill Johnson getting back into downhill skiing. The Winnipesaukee races were a spectacle because of the skill level and fearless nature of the participants. Some of the boats probably made 70-80 mph in stretches. What's more remarkable is the relative lack of safety gear for the skiers and crew. I'm hoping there's enough interest out there to bring a bunch of these boats out for everyone to see next summer.

Respected Hamilton businessman and waterski racing champion Tony van Deursen died on Saturday while waterskiing on Lake Taupo.

The 57-year-old was competing in the Master's Class section of a national waterski racing series - reportedly reaching speeds of 162 kmh - when he fell

RIP, TvD. Sad news.

Below Mr. Cooke's Penthouse
 

Here is our ski boat. I think this is about 1975...

Need an upgrade?
 

Seen a better looking boat? Have a need for speed? How about a Tahiti for the family?

That's a sharp looking boat!

Sweet x 2, Mman. Do you still have this ? Jet ? Motor ? Details mon ! :cool:

Engine looks ok
 

boat's listed in western mass.

More old ski boat pictures
 

Found some old photos from the late 60's or early 70's at Sandy Point.

Sandy Point Ski Boats.....
 

That's My Brother-in-law's green Correct Craft ( V-Drive) 351 ford. Dog getting you out of the water. (had to use 2skis lol) but would do 57/60 mph!Pull a barefooter 55. Big wake.


That Correct Carft was a Torino "Spoiler"

Was that green Correct Craft every on Northeast Pond in Milton? During the 60s, I remember a one named Romademi, guy was always playing Ring of Fire :) Must have come from Ray's Marina?

batboat
 

That green boat is very cool. Reminds me of the batboat with those curved windshields. Never seen something like that before! Any guesses on what the drag boat is?

Drag Boat;
 

Sanger? That's my guess

sanger
 

Nice picture of a Sanger up and running. Early 70's Channel Marine had a bright yellow one up for sale, just like new and absolutely beautiful. I used to wander the storage buildings. At one point they had a beat up Donzi Hornet for next to nothing, imagine what that would go for now.

Road shot gun for him!
 

I road shot gun (observer) for him while he skied. All I know was that when they stopped the water came up over the transom. As I remember the 351 was a Holman Moody built engine...You can say our Star Craft Jet Star on the other side of the dock.

Drag Boat?
 

Rayson Craft?

I'm pretty sure that is BM's Rayson-Craft.

The Green one is a CorrectCraft. JT had a yellow version named Yellow Duck without the Batman canopies.

PHC has skied/footed behind all of em...I think.

I have some pics that would interest you guys, but am having problems with posting pics, for 2 weeks. Help?

Torino Spoiler
 

Your :Dright, it was a Hollman Moody, I loved that boat.

picked up a stray
 

Boat from NH I showed a while back. Needs paint, carpet, seats and gauges. Steering is ok, floor is ok, couple of small spongey spots in the back. Find out in the spring if it runs.

Yellow Duck?
 

Was Yellow Duck a See Ray Pachanga?

I am "pretty sure" YDuck was a Correct-Craft. Somebody will "know" or have a pic. LOVE the old Sea-Ray's Avengers/Pachangas. There is an Avenger fan(atic?) at Production Dock. He has a couple really nice examples. Nice pics GT.

pachanga
 

looks a lot like the sweet 16, this was on the classic fiberglass site.

Mr. Cooke's Last Boat
 

1980 Resorter (John's baby)

1980 resorter
 

Sounds like we all needed a Mr. Cooke ;) This boat spent it's whole life in Alton Bay before I bought it fall of 2010. Check out the horns, the ski pylon, and the pads on the engine cover. Looks from the picture like Mr. Cooke's boat was dark brown, this boat is maroon red now faded. Mr. Cooke's boat doesn't appear to have a swim platform. This one has a mercruiser 350.

John's Baby
 

I took that pic lol.......I loved that boat!:)

Arizona Thanksgiving
 

Blue Water Regatta, 65th annual this year. I don't think they winterize out there ;). Happy Thanksgiving and happy motoring! Anyone remember if Mr. Cooke's Resorter was dark red/maroon or was it brown? Could the one I showed from Alton be the same boat?

Mr Cooke's Boat
 

It did have a swim platform. He use to take it on an off.

Mr. Cooke's Last Boat
 

The 1980 Resorter that John Cooke owned was dark green with a saddle colored interior. It also had a Mercruiser 350. The swim platform was teak and got bleached to a silvery gray over the years, he added a flip down ladder to the platform in 1981. He bought it at Channel Marine and stored it there during the winter. The first few years he borrowed someone's trailer to take it to and from Channel, but in 1985 bought a matching dark green trailer (from Penn Yan, NY). I probably have a picture of that too somewhere. John had me take pictures of the boat and trailer for his insurance company and for registering the trailer at home in CT. The boat got sold in early 1998 as part of his estate, and for a few years I did see it occasionally in Alton Bay. Channel Marine took care of the sale. I miss that boat (and the captain too)!

1986 20' Eliminator Liberty
 

I bought this boat in 2005, We placed 3rd with it, in the Winnipesaukee Ski Marathon this past summer, the snow on the dock is a nice touch.

Rogue Water Ski
 

This is the ski I used, when we raced on Winnisquam

"...Winnipesaukee Ski Marathon this summer..." I was not aware we still had ski races here ? Please enlighten me. Feeling quite out of the loop. :laugh:

Very nice piece of Eliminator history right there Jess. Was that a "John Stoker" Eliminator ? Couple things about that boat make me think so. Great ride.:cool:

Winnisquam Boat & Ski Club
 

Saw BroadHopper's post. I remember the Winnisquam Boat & Ski Club from the mid-1960s. My Dad was President for at least one summer. Meetings were held at the Winnisquam Firehouse, just up the hill for Mersky's General Store and the Mosquito bridge (when it had real character and was not just a road over the lake). My Dad still has the "logo" they designed for the club the year he was President. It's an Indian on two skis holding the handle to the tow rope in one hand and a tomahawk in the other. He's got a big toothy smile. I was a pre-teen, but have great memories. The ski racing big rivalry on the Lake at the time was between Wadleigh's Marine and Jay's Marine. Wadleigh's sold Johnson motors and Jay's sold Mercury. All outboard engines. This was before Mercury came to dominate the market and there was no such thing as in I/O. 100 horsepower was a huge engine. My older sister and brother skied for Richard Wadleigh and must have won most of the races, because we had a lot of trophies in the house. Eddie Lang was the arch rival from Jay's. I remember at the end of one summer I huge bonfire where a wooden version of Eddie's boat "Wild Thing" topped the pile. One year we built the ski jump that was used for many years. In addition to ski races and jumping there were slalom competitions and some fun races where a motorized boat would pull you a row boat in one direction and the row boat had to drag to motorized boat back the other direction. That was great summer fun!

Welcome Aboard Steve. Glad you posted.

86 Eliminator
 

I don't know John Stoker, please enlighten me, and more to come on the 2011 Winnipesaukee Ski Marathon

Mr Cooke's Boat
 

I tried to buy the boat from the estate(I think you remember Gail ) but no. Channel Marine sold it (out of my price range at the time). Not happy about it, I would have keep that boat forever.:(

Resorter trailer
 

Found a picture from Sept. 1985 when the new trailer arrived. It was custom made by Chariot of Penn Yan, NY to fit the Resorter and to match the Century dark green color. Also found a picture of the "Penthouse" around the same era. Hasn't changed much since all the teenagers stayed there to ski on weekends.

Postcards that never were....
 

When cleaning out the Penthouse, I not only found pictures of the gang skiing which I previously posted, but there were 2 transparencies given to John by a photographer who was taking pictures to create postcards for Sandy Point. These photos never became postcards, but show skiers on the front beach. In the 1st photo, there are 3 boats, John's Chris Craft + 2 Starcraft outboards owned by Eric Jordan & Bill Hayes. The 2nd shows 5 skiers behind John's boat. Recently, I had a friend who is a professional photographer make prints of these transparencies. The color is a little off as these were taken in the mid 1960's and sat in an envelope since then. Sure looked nice with all the cabins and motels painted white with aqua trim.

Mr Cooke's pic;
 

Great pic's Gail.....brings back alot of great memories, can't make out all the skiers. Paul Belkas, Dan Rossie, Jack Rossie?That would be my best guess:liplick:

Northland Custom Slalom
 

This is the Slalom Ski I used. I painted the bottom of mine bright red with a white stripe down the middle. We skied from Tucker Shore on the lower end of Winnisquam in the 1970s behind a green and white Glastron with a 55 HP Johnson motor. Prior to that (late 60s) we had an a red and white MFG with a 40 HP Johnson. My friend Tommy skied on Taperflex Slalom. His Dad pulled us behind a large purple Dorset with a 100 HP Mercury engine. He pulled 5 of us behind it one day.

More Winni and Winnisquam Water Ski Race pictures
 

I bought this boat in in 1979 to race on Winnisquam, I believe Dwayne Champoux or another club member lent me their 85 HP merc, and while practicing on Winnipesaukee, I ripped the transom off the boat. That ended this boats life of racing

Eric's G W Invader
 

This picture was taken in the early 70's at Lakeport Landing. I believe it is Eric's first race boat he owned, that towed skier's in the Winnipesaukee and Winnisquam Water Ski Races.
Anyone want to guess who owned the Magnum to the right ?

My first season skiing
 

1978 and my first trophy's. Gunstock's in the background

race boat pics
 

Thanks for sharing the great pics. What's the boat at the dock that you raced with? What is the longer Invader - I've only seen the little 2 seater. That's a great looking boat. I think I've got the same little tunnel in Laconia as the one that lost the transom - it's a Molinari/Glastron that looks just the same. Needs total restoration but I've got an ambitious young friend (a boat mechanic) who hopes to have it on the water next summer, we'll see. Google "tunnel boat racing in the 1970's" for some classic film clips.

Glastron GT 160/mowtorman
 

Boat at dock was never raced, but was my transportation around winni and to and fro Rattlesnake, stay tuned have more pictures. Will check with Eric to make sure Lakeport Landing picture was an Invader. Tunnel boat is a Checkmate

Start Your Engines
 

Eric is Driver, Phil is Observer, and Richard is Skier at the start of a Winnipesaukee Water Ski Race in 1973. Eric's boat is an early 70's 13' Checkmate with a 85 Merc called Kim's Toy, his Daughter's name. I observed in this boat when we took 1st place that same year during the season ending 65 mile race, Phil couldn't be there and I took his place, boy was he MAD.

northland skis
 

1958 brochure provided by the Laconia Historical society

nice !!!!!

Water Ski Races
 

More Pictures, not sure which lake, Winni or Winnisquam

And when the lake froze
 

After the lake froze and the skis were put away Northland had hockey sticks

I had Northland snow skis in the early 1970's. I remember that my boyfriend at the time brought me to visit a guy in Gilford who had a big job with Northland. In fact I purchased my skis through him. I remember that they were extremely heavy and very long.

Northland Metal skis
 

My Uncle and my Dad use to test snow skis for the factory. I remember in the late 60's or early 70's, they had experimental combination fiberglas, metal and wood skis. They were black like Head skis. They use to call them 'Fibertal' skis. The skis were prone to delamination and were heavy.

Yes, Northland did at one time made hockey sticks. Larson Industries bought the factory in the mid 70's and began making the sticks. Because of Larson's expertise in fibreglass manufacturing, both water and snow skis as well as the hockey sticks were wrapped in fibreglass. I believe that was a disaster and the Northland business folded. For a brief time Larson was using the factory for the distribution of boats as well as manufacturing.

Bob Bolduc who owns Piches once told me he has the molding machines used to make the skis stored away somewhere.

Hi BH, interesting story. I am getting a good idea for a thread in the Winter Sports section. Thanx..LOL..

If God had wanted us to ski on fiberglass skis, He would have invented fiberglass trees..:D

are you still lacing while others are racing ?..:cool:

Vintage Northland Water Ski
 

Here is vinatage ski. Bought in 1972 from a place called Downings now known as Parker. The bindings have been replaced with O'briens bought from Thurstons. This may be one of the last skis Northland made, notice the deer head logo had change to just a fancy N.

I read that the Northland factory was in St. Paul, MN and Laconia NH. Where was the Laconia location?

Racing not lacing
 

I hold several NASTAR gold. I race on the WMRL circuit and won the championship in 2005. Broke my left humerous in a dozen pieces at a Saddleback Mtn race in 2008.

Are you lacing?

Previous post.
 

I posted the location earlier. :cool:

So Sorry!!!! I missed the location and I still couldn't find your previous post.

Funny
 

I did post the location. I can't find it either

The building is located on Salem Street across the street from the Laconia Police Station. Landmark Storage is currently occupying the building.

Boat said Spoiler
 

I seem to remember that it said "Spoiler" on the transom. I did some google searches and there was a Correct Craft Spoiler model, also Torino and Seperator. From a 1971 catalog

Oh yeah
 

Not sure what the matching yellow is about but that is one nice looking boat.

Speaking of boats, if we have a gathering of vintage ski boats, kind of a ski race reunion, would it be better at Weirs or Winnisquam? Sort of a "cruise in", focusing on small performance and ski boats. An exhibition or actual race would be possible but more complicated to organize. At Weirs boats on Winnipesaukee are already on the lake, more people have access to the event and we have the channel, with little chance for any type of skiing on a Saturday. On Winnisquam or Opechee, there's less access for people, less boats already in the water, but a better chance to actually have a water event and get out and run around. Any opinions? Emails ok too. Thanks. ;)