Member Spotlight -

Steve Hicks

Words like cherry, mint and peach were only ice cream flavors to me until I met Mitch LaPointe and was introduced into the wonderful world of wooden boating. Does this sound familiar to anyone out there?

It was less than a week before we bought our home on Lake Minnetonka that I found myself negotiating with Mitch over a 1946 22' Chris Craft Sportsman, appropriately named Honey.- she was a beauty! All original wood, a beautiful golden shade of mahogany and a Chrysler six that purred like a kitten. It was the first boat I had ever purchased. "Probably the only boat I would ever own," I said to myself. "What more could I ask for?" 

Our first summer of boating on Minnetonka was wonderful. Honey performed flawlessly (just as Mitch had promised) as we spent countless hours on her learning the lake and meeting many others with the same interest. With our new son Chase, my wife Tammy and I never imagined we could enjoy an old wooden boat as much as we did Honey. 

By the end of the summer, I was hooked! I waited at the mailbox for the next issues of Classic Boating, Wooden Boat, Rudder and grabbed my binoculars every time I heard an inboard cruising by our house; and finally, wondered to myself, "What would be wrong with tying a boat to the other side of that dock? " Is this sounding familiar to anyone yet?
My questions were answered when I first laid eyes on the 1930 Chris Craft triple cockpit in my brother-in-law Tom Johnson's garage. He had just purchased it from a woman in New York on Lake George. The "basket case" was about to undergo a complete restoration. Dan Nelson was hired to do the woodwork and Tom was going to help wherever he could. The boat started out as little more than a pattern, barely able to hold itself together. However, as the winter months went by, this "wreck" was slowly transforming into what looked like a fine piece of furniture. 

After months of watching Dan turn that pile of firewood into an incredible piece of art, I decided that I could no longer live without owning that boat! After coming to terms with the brother-in-law, we named our new boat Chaser's Ace after our son. "It was probably the last boat I would ever own," I said to my wife." What more could we ask for?"

I think it was two years later when we bought the 26' Skiff Craft. It was wood (is there anything else? ) and it had all the amenities a growing family needed: more seating, a new reliable motor, room for all my friends, a port-a-potty for the kids, and lots of room for my wife to rest and get a suntan. I thought I had it all figured out. The triple cockpit for the quick buzzes around the lake, and the big Skiff for the family outings. "The perfect combination," I said to myself. "I can't imagine ever needing another boat."

Since there was no longer a need to find the "perfect boat," the time seemed right join the boat club and get acquainted with other wooden boat people on the lake. When we joined, our primary interest was just getting to know people, not necessarily participating in the club's events. Tammy and I both work hard, and had never given much time to hobby clubs. Wrong again. It's been less than nine months, and I somehow managed to become a club Director, Social Committee member, a 1998 Rendezvous committee Captain, a club Business and Administration committee member and a planner on the National ACBS show committee. So much for hobby clubs. 

With all sincerity, we have met dozens of wonderful people in the club, and would encourage anyone who thinks they are short on time to get involved, and try at least one activity. There are plenty of things to do and the club can always use more help coordinating events and planning for the future.

By the way, I have again changed my mind on what the "perfect boat" is. This year it's a 1930, 30 foot HackerCraft triple cockpit runabout with a V-12 Scripps engine. Todd Warner found this gem lying in South Dakota just waiting for a new owner, probably the last one in existence. (This definitely sounds familiar.) What a boat! Todd and Dan have started a complete restoration are hoping to finish sometime in 1999. "With a boat like this, what more could I ask for ?"