ACBS BOAT SHOW GRACE & SPEED … IT’S LIKE ‘MAGIC ON WATER’

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

GRAVENHURST — Peter Moore’s 1955 Shepherd was not the oldest boat in the water.

But the big brute was the latest and one of the greatest at Saturday’s Antique and Classic Boat Society (ASBS) show at the Muskoka Wharf.

Nomad’s Barrie boat owner said he’d had it out only once before, last Thursday on Lake Simcoe, before trailering the “classic” up north to the 41st show.

And it drew just about everyone to the end of B dock to see the 27-foot brown beauty, a “Commuter Model 130” with two Chrysler 318 Hemi inboard engines (8 cylinders, 180 horsepower) and gorgeous golden seating that glistened in the all-day sun.

Moore said he bought Nomad many years ago when it was a white boat and only had it restored recently because of COVID.

Peter Moore had two Shepherd boats in the show, including this 27-foot 1955 Nomad beauty.

But his was not the only classic or “vintage” boat work among the more than 150 entries that drew huge crowds to the free event they dubbed ‘Magic on Water.’

Moore also had his 1953 Miss Scarlet Shepherd “Custom sedan” in the show, with its Chrysler 331 Hemi 8-cylinder, 250 HP engine.

He had plenty of competition — and nearby.

In the slip next to him was Gordon Baker’s 30-foot Glenavey II Minett-Shields, an “antique” with a 6-cylinder Scripps engine and 200 HP.

A man admiring it with his son told him he remembered seeing on the Muskoka Lakes as a kid before Baker bought it 25 years ago.

The new owner took a half dozen of his friends and family out for a rumble, which thrilled viewers dockside during the fires of two “Boats in Motion” tours of Gravenhurst Bay.

The oldest entry was the 1902 Makalika, a 23-foot Lozier “Double-Ender” owned by Rob Dilworth. It was one of nine listed for sale.

There were dozens of other Greavettes and Ditchburns, which emcee Norah Fountain did her usual great job of announcing the comings and goings of the ACBS show entries — even going out on the docks to report on the boats and interview boat owners and visitors.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, a couple of boats were electrically-powered, said Mary Storey, the Muskoka Discovery Centre’s lead historian.

But not her “dippy” — “no way.”

Her 1947 Greavette  dispro is an 18.6-foot disappearing propeller dual-purpose canoe with a small centre-placed motor that can be shifted up out of the water into the boat allowing it to glide over rocks.

A classic, this dippy is a 2-cylinder with 4 HP. It’s hand-hoisted Coventry Victor Midget engine will stay that way, she laughed.

Her’s was in a slip next to her husband John’s 1949 Greavette “Runabout,” which she said is not a “speed boat.” But it’s got a 6-cylinder Scripps engine with 110 HP!

Boats, boats and more antique and classic and vintage boats — about 150 in all — some were more than a century old and filled the Muskoka Wharf’s Bay docks Saturday.

Many of the boats were more than a century old and had white balloons tied to their bows billowing in the breeze above to show their historic vintage.

Ten others were on display in the Muskoka Discovery Centre as part of its permanent storage collection that includes many canoes used in the recent National Canoe Day celebration.

And it wasn’t all on the water, a large nautical land display featured several boats, old parts for sale and street vendors in the adjacent parking lot. Kids could carve a mini paddle by shaving its pre-cut sides or build a boat made of noodle pieces. And there was a scaled down version of the old field of dreams boat sales.

Former ACBS president Jamie Smith was on hand promoting the new Canadian Race Boat Hall of Fame and Event Centre building, which begins a year’s construction next month on Hwy. 118 just west of downtown Bracebridge near McMaster’s Muskoka Fine Foods.

Another past president Stan Meeks had his eye on the Wenonah II — as it left port for a cruise — where he will be celebrating his 83rd birthday party this weekend.

A formal ACBS member’s reception followed in the Lions Pavilion.

Scott Dunsmoor shows how the 1960 Falcon ‘Gentleman’s Racer’ performs on a run around the Bay.

It’s a slow go at first for this ‘Boat in Motion’ — but wait till you see her take off …

Gordon Baker takes his time getting out of dock to give his passengers the full experience.

 

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