Member Spotlight-

F. Todd Warner

Though I couldn't have realized it then, from the very beginning I was destined to be a boat man. Beginning with the earliest summers at Minnetonka beach, the grand summer house of my great grandmother built in 1902 beckoned with its abundance of waterfront opportunities. I was the fourth generation to enjoy life at the lake.

Aquatic activities were the rule there and time passed most enjoyably with swimming lessons at age five and sailing lessons at nine. Filling in the gaps were powerboats; power comes in many forms. Boating proved to be my main interest, but before proceeding to the big ones, grandpa Strong, my mother's father, made sure I could handle the basics. For starters, there was the cedar strip twelve foot Larson row boat. Painted white and blue and equipped with a set of oars most commonly known as caps and leathers, grandpa insisted that I learn how to stroke and feather the oars; no fixed yoke oar, that was to modern. Imagine how large Lafayette Bay must have appeared to a six year old when the only propulsion was his own and the summer so long.

In my eighth year, the introduction of the sea foam green Johnson 2 1/2 horsepower engine opened new horizons. With a self contained tank, push button primer, spin around reverse and best of all a throttle, I was free, free, free at last! Venturing all the way across Lafayette Bay is an adventure that remains crystal clear to this day.

Since he too had been exposed to boating at an early age, convincing my father to purchase a larger five horsepower engine wasn't all that hard. Moving from Johnson to Evinrude was a step to modern power with an advancement in technology, design, and of course, speed. By this time, I was an old soul of nine and cruising in a rather grand fashion with my new five horsepower engine. My thrill however, was short lived as many of my counterparts began challenging my five horsepower with their not-as-reliable Scott Attwater seven and a half horsepower engines. This served as my introduction to competition and a piece of humble pie as well. Now my counterparts had a leg up with a few more horsepower on their side. Thus, in my tenth year I abandoned the Larson, opting for a tri-hull Crestliner with a ten horsepower Evinrude. This again brought new horizons, able now to reach the farthest shores of Lake Minnetonka. While my interest was leaning towards powerboats, John Hartman continued our swimming lessons, The Lafeyette Club had a swim team, and X boats were the training scow sailboat. Though sailing was fun, those windless days when I was forced to tow my X boat by my own swim power made me long for motorized propulsion. What I wanted more than ever was reliable, dependable power at will.
As I moved up in the ranks of outboard power boats, I watched my father from the front lines. Not knowing his vision or strategy, I observed him acquire boats of different varieties. The docks were growing at Minnetonka beach with boats for both my sisters and me. Naturally, I wanted something more powerful. My eye was on a 1954 16' Dunphy Muskie with a 25 hp Johnson hand pull which my sisters got to drive; this boat was the water ski trainer. In order to drive it, I had to be able to start it and that Johnson 25 was just about as big as I was - but I did find a way to start it! Returning to my father, his boat acquisitions were beginning to multiply; first 2 then 4, 6 ,8 until there were 10 covered slips at Minnetonka Beach.

My father Frank Warner, my teacher and mentor, had a vision. While the industry leaders such as Chris Craft and Century turned to fiberglass and stopped building wooden boats, he saw an opportunity in this transition. Frank surmised that there could be value in those old boats of his childhood dreams. Beginning with a 1949 20' Chris Craft custom, I remember being completely enveloped by wood boats. As the docks began to expand, they were filled with the following types of boats: a 19' Chris Craft Racing Runabout, 1930 30' Hacker Craft Limousine, 1955 21' Chris Craft Cobra, 26' Riva Tritone, 1937 27' triple cockpit Chris Craft Custom, Century, Garwoods, and Ventnors. Then there was the power: a 285 hp Cadillac Crusader with two four barrels, 250 hp Kermath Sea Wolfs, 275 hp Chris Craft A-120, 158 hp MBL's, twin engines, out boards, inboards, sailboats and row boats. Well quite FRANKLY (no pun intended) there was no place to hide amongst all the boats. Speaking of hiding, one of the great bonds between father and son was to know about boats that we were keeping a secret from mom. To her, the accumulation of so many boats seemed quite absurd, making it almost mandatory to keep certain acquisitions a secret. I guess it's a guy thing.

Returning to my formative years, one of the passages to manhood was marked by the move from outboard to inboard engines. During the summer of 1964, at the Minnetonka Boat Works Carson Bay facility, lay the Rebel. It was a 1947 Higgins sport speedster in red with a 94 hp Chrysler six cylinder. A friend of my father 's from Atlanta (hence the name Rebel) knew he was a soft touch to buy an old boat. So for $500 the boat came to the marina - excuse me, the docks, at the beach, yet another addition to an ever-expanding collection. I had absolutely no problem making the transition from the 16' Dunphy with a 25 hp to the Rebel. At this point I must confess a sin. Though I loved the old boats, their old form didn't necessarily appeal to me in my earlier years..The Rebel perfectly illustrates my point. With a red hull, V-windscreen, original box spring bench seat and big steering wheel, it wasn't quite the ride I had in mind and was ready to modify it..I can hear the Sawsall and smell the mahogany burn as the front seat was removed with the help of Ken Luke at Tonka Bay Boat Works..What we needed were bucket seats!.Direct from the Corvette salvage yard of Vic Cosett, we found just what was needed: a pair of black leather seats out of a Chrysler 300 (reclining of course, wrap around windshield, hot rod steering wheel and black upholstery for the engine box, and back seat..The color was changed to blue with the final detail a Lear Jet 8 track stereo with Paul Butterfield singing the blues..I was fully prepared for the summer of 65' and 66'..It is amazing how fast one masters a 94 hp Chrysler at 3200 rpm..That summer I found a 19' Chris Craft mahogany racing runabout half-sunk in a channel off Carmens Bay..Priced at $300, running and bailed out, this was a natural progression to more power...339 C.I. MBL, 158 hp with a sound like no other and speeds to 44 mph and it already had a wrap around windshield. I wasn't losing any races around the lake and I was looking! I wish I could say that getting that job at Tonka Bay Boat Works pumping gas was to just to be around boats.....girls, bathing suits, coming in for gas, summer...let's say that I identified an opportunity. I had one the best jobs on the lake and life was grand. The work under Ken Luke was relentless, having to wipe down on a regular basis all the used boats for sale in the second story of the Boat Works lake building. He was my original mentor on the basics of refinishing. Through the Ventnors, 3 cockpit Chris Crafts, Coronados, Higgins and Correct Crafts, little did I know the education I was receiving. By the time I was eighteen, I had worked on, operated, and handled every boat my dad had acquired and was living on a 1954 33' Chris Craft Capitain. My job as captain of the 55 foot Carri-Craft Northstar, brought me $10/hour cash and I was lovin’ life. 

You now see how I really didn't have a chance. My immersion in boating had been complete. Some subsequent years had me in denial about my roots, but it wasn't long before antique and classic boating became my full time vocation In 1974 --- but that's another chapter.


Todd is a founding member of BSLOL and has served on the Board of Directors several times throughout the years. His experience, knowledge of wood boats, and continued dedication to the chapter are invaluable assets. -Editor