TOPIC: MYSTIC SEAPORT.. LOVELY PLACE BUT...

this is called "THE WOODENBOAT SHOW" nowhere does it mention fiberglas or aluminum. we wanted to visit mystic seaport and register for the show for a number of years, but i will not go until they change the name of the show, and welcome fiberglas...if ever. i have emailed them a number of times about this over the years with no response. Ron
Philadelphia Chapter ACBS and proud supporter of FiberGlassics.

The Wooden Boat Show that is held at Mystic every June is actually run by Woodenboat magazine and is therefore all wooden boats. I have never seen a boat made from anything but wood at that show. It's a great show if you like wooden boats.

Dear ACBS Members,



You are invited to the Summer ACBS meeting June 25 - 28, 2015. It is being held in conjunction with WoodenBoat Magazine's 24th Annual Boat Show at Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut. Click here for the "Invitation & Registration" and for more details about this event.





Regards,

Stanley Struble

ACBS Director

215-262-5877

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.


looks to me like this show is only for wood.

Doug is right.... the show is sponsored by the wooden boat magazine... a great magazine by the way. Your arguement has no validity; the chapter is holding a summer meeting in conjunction with an established boating event which will guarantee additional ACBS exposure amongst the gathering of boating enthusiasts. It makes a heck of a lot of sense.

no arguement here. i just keep asking them every year why not invite glassics,especially since just this past winter, the acbs made it well known we are welcome, and now we are not invited! who don't want us there? the acbs chapter or wooden boat magazine.i'm sending this thread to my chapters president. hopefully he can give me an answer, and i'll post it here. got this pic from a wood boat magazine btw. lol

NOT GOING TO GET ADDITIONAL ACBS EXPOSURE BY NOT WELCOMING GLASSICS...THATS FOR SURE!

It does seem a little odd for a group that says they are embracing all types of classic boats to hold their meeting at such an exclusive event.

As they say, actions speak louder than words...

DUH,
why cant I get my ford truck in a car show put on by chevy?

i have a chevy 3500 and your welcome here anytime.
NOT

Did anybody see the "April Fools" joke WoodyBoater pulled on their Facebook page?

no i didn't mark, but i'll check it out.

Hi Guys,
Peter Stephens here, Executive Director of ACBS. Just wanted to clarify a few things.
ACBS was invited by WoodenBoat to hold our quarterly meeting in conjunction with their annual show. It is my understanding that this invitation has been extended to us for a number of years. You should not assume that because we accepted the very gracious offer of one of our stakeholders, just as you are, that it diminishes or detracts from our commitment to recognize classic fiberglass boats for what they are: classics!
I just returned from the ACBS Sunnyland chapter show in Tavares, FL where there was a great display of classic fiberglass boats. I expect to see more and more classic fiberglass at ACBS shows this year. The public loves the design and lines of these boats and you are welcome at ACBS! No question there are still some "old school" thinkers out there but the classic boating world is changing and you are a welcome part of that change. ACBS's job is to recognize, embrace and promote ALL classic boats!
I'll be looking for you this summer. Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions!
Thanks!

Peter
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I am a classic boater and owner of a number of boats of all types of hull materials. My first classic boat was fiberglass and I have never harbored a bias against glass, or any other material for that matter. I was also Chair of the ACBS committee which studied the questions around glass inclusivity and recommended the changes which we adopted last year. I feel I am positioned to speak on the matter.

What we are trying to do is break down the former "compartmentalization" which seemed to be apparent in boat classifications and appreciation, and move towards an inclusive view of classic boating as a hobby, irrespective of hull material. I may have personal preferences in boats (we all do) but in no way should these be the arbiters for an inclusive hobbyist organization, and nor should any other single person's views.

I have never been to Mystic Seaport, but from what I understand it is home to a wooden boat museum, and recognizes not just recreational boats, but commercial and non-recreational ships of years past. I am very interested to see it and would not miss it.

Peter has addressed very clearly the position of the ACBS, and perhaps, if the offer were extended, we would consider holding a future meeting at a "fiberglass show" as well? Who knows, but my hope is that we continue to move towards "classic" boat shows and the differentiation between hull materials fades. This show is not an ACBS show, and we are guests there. The hobby of classic boating will prosper through a more inclusive attitude and in an era of diminishing interest in clubs and fraternal organizations, I don't think it can withstand continued fragmentation based on construction material.

Like Peter, I just attended the Sunnyland show in Florida, and I also spent 5 full days on a river cruise with 26 other classic boats. These included all manner of materials and construction styles and all were equally welcomed - from the 1988 Hurricane Deck Boat to the 1929 Chris Craft 28' triple. We have a wonderful video of a gorgeous Riva Ariston rafting up beside a 1979 Glastron 27' (and others). If you want to see what the ACBS is about now, look at this video on WoodyBoater today. It is not about exclusion and bias any longer.

People may cherry pick and point to the show at Mystic as an example of exclusion, but you will not see this at ACBS shows anywhere that I know of. Sunnyland, and the great participation of fiberglass and other non-wood boats, is a real prototype for us and the broader hobby to follow, and it is happening elsewhere. The changes we introduced last year have largely been heartily embraced throughout our chapter network.

We hope that this attitude toward inclusions and acceptance is also present in the Glassic community, and extends to none-fiberglass boats. Lastly, I just arranged the photo shoot of a 1986 28' Chris Craft Stinger for the Brass Bell, the publication of the Chris Craft Antique Boat Club. The most enthusiastic proponent of this was our 82 year old Editor, Bill Baldwin. The largest classic boat hobbyist groups are talking the talk here but also walking the walk - I can assure you of that.

Best Wishes,

Paul Harrison
Director, ACBS
Director, Chris Craft Antique Boat Club

Still would appreciate an answer. Can I or can I not bring my fiberglas boat? Ron Vuyosevich Pniladelphia acbs chapter member since 2005..

LakeErieGuy,

WELCOME ABOARD.

yours, satx

Oberon02,

WELCOME ABOARD. - Nice info, too.

Fwiw, I don't see "wooden boat only" shows as any different than our club's Mercedes specialty shows. = You won't find any antique Corvettes, Cadillacs, Aston Martins, Rolls Royces or any other marque in our shows, as they are for M-B.

just my opinion, satx

used to have a few ford thunderbirds....never considered taking one to a corvette show....john

You are comparing apples to oranges, in my opinion. A marque or specific model show would be a different matter, which is what you appear to using as a comparison. I would certainly not bring a Century to a Chris Craft show, or a Donzi to a Glastron show, but I would bring any of those (and just about any other old boat) to a "classic" boat show.

I am not sure what you are implying, or if the implication is in reference only to the Wooden Boat Show, presented by Wooden Boat Magazine, or the broader classic boating hobby. A show sanctioned and presented by the ACBS will not be a "wooden" boat show, but one would realistically not expect much different from a Wooden Boat Magazine-sponsored show.

It is worth pointing out the ACBS (Antique and Classic Boat Society) has never had the word "wood" in its' name and there was no demarcation between hull materials in either the mission statement or the visions statement of the organization - ever. The ACBS was founded in 1975, at a time where the oldest fiberglass boats were perhaps 20 or less, so it would be hard to have called them classic at that time, and in fact the ACBS barely recognized any post-war boats of any construction back then. Time marched on and attitudes changed - fortunately.

Personally, nothing interests me less than a show full of only one model or marque of car, or boat for that matter. I prefer variety in the items on display, and the people. I can see much to admire and appreciate in almost any old car or boat, and I enjoy seeing as many as I can.

The definition for me, at the boat show my wife and I organize in BC every year, is just his: If a person bring a boat that is meaningful to him and in which he takes personal pride, he is in - simple as that. That separates just "old boats" from those which receive special recognition or care and attention from the owner. It really can be a simple as that, and has nothing to do with hull material. I let the boat owners decide what is classic and what is not by virtue of their own attitudes, not mine.

Respectfully,


Paul Harrison

OK Just my 2 cents. All boats being built right now , will someday be considered Classic. Not in my day but just how many are wood VS. Aluminum and Fiberglass. If they refuse to change it seems membership could go nowhere but down over time.God did invent trees. He also invented rocks pulverized into sand, melted into glass. So many thing wondrous things have come about from natural resources. Maybe changed by chemical processes and heat. Hey they make boats out of concrete too.

Do not assume because ACBS as an organization has now accepted and in some cases overtly welcomed glassics, that each chapter follows their lead. I'm a member of this chapter and contacted them about hosting a fiberglass Chris Craft rendezvous in conjunction with either the Mystic show or their Essex show. By the way , that show is called Mahogany Memories. Exclusive enough for you?
After a couple quick emails it became clear that glass is really not going to be welcome in Mystic but maybe, perhaps, the "right" fiberglass boats may be ok in Essex. That is the chapters position, NOT the ACBS position as a whole. In fact, the main ACBS organization is struggling to bring everyone on board with the fiberglass inclusion issue and some chapters think it's great, some not so much.
My opinion is that the leadership knows it's a necessary evolution and whether or not they want it to happen, glass boat owners will eventually be an equal if not majority of their members. It will take decades but it will happen. Change isn't easy. I take the slow and steady approach. A few nice examples of glass boats at each show, then a few more, and a few more. If we all get too excited, bitch and moan, it just diminishes the fact that all have the same hobby, the same issues, and the same goals.
I do not have and never have had a wooden boat. But I love looking at them and I can understand very passionate wood boat folks being very protective of their hobby. I love glass boats(I own 4) and I appreciate the ACBS making the change. However, I do believe clubs and associations have the right to govern who or what is appropriate for inclusion. Everyone doesn't have the right to belong to every damn club, group, and association on the planet just because they feel "disenfranchised". Nobody is stopping any of us from starting the Fiberglass Boat Snobs of America and hosting the Wood Boats Suck Show each spring.
Put another way, would any of us be the slightest bit offended if the ACBS announced that next year they were going to host an all fiberglass classic boat show?

Craigjudge:

"Nobody is stopping any of us from starting the Fiberglass Boat Snobs of America and hosting the Wood Boats Suck Show each spring."

That is an absolutely classic comment...hilarious but right on the money. It's about classic boats, not about hull material, which is a stupid and narrow-minded distinction that separates people instead of bringing them together. Maybe the dissenters should establish the Misanthropic Vintage Boat Society in which they could spend all their time despising each other for their points of view.

Now...if we can just find a way to exclude all those damned aluminum boat owners. We just don't need "those people!" See what you can do, OK?

Make wake, not war.

ok...i'm done, got my answer.

Are today's "Kumbaya" comments from ACBS HQ Executives nothing more than an attempt to sell ACBS memberships and top up the bank account? They always seem to reference non-wood boats and finding new / younger members in the same self-promotions.

So a few fiberglass boats show up for the St. John's River Cruise prior to the Sunnyland Boat Festival and ACBS HQ is quick to take credit for that? Did they send out personal invitations to those boat owners or did those non-wood boat owners just decide to attend on their own?

Non-wood / fiberglass boats have been participating in the Sunnyland ACBS show for years, long before the recommended "changes" were adopted by ACBS HQ last year.

The "changes" that ACBS HQ is so proud of was adding some fiberglass / non-wood boats to the "early contempory class" and then changing the name to "late classic" - period.

All watercraft up to and including 1975 were already included in the "classic class" before these "changes" were adopted.

So other than a few aggressive comments on this forum, what exactly is ACBS HQ doing to promote the inclusion of fiberglass / non-wood boats into their organization?

I'm going to call B.S. on that one. You're new here. You need a dose of forum etiquette. That is to say, you need to learn to express your opinions in an inoffensive manner. Until then, please keep them to yourself. Personally, I can't think of another thing I want to hear you say and I seriously doubt that I'm alone.

I have two vintage glass boats,but I personally see nothing wrong with a chapter putting restrictions on the type of boat in the show.Never been to Mystic, but I for one would love to see just vintage wood boats only, as it would be more of a time capsule and obviously the event sponsors forte . And I like to see only fiberglass and aluminum boats from the same era in a show. And mixed shows are cool too.Bottom line is each chapter should have the right to deny or allow whom ever they want to. It's their chapter.Basically what Craigjudge said. Just my two cents..worth .5 cent

The show at Mystic Seaport is NOT an Antique & Classic Boat Society (ACBS) event.

ACBS is having it's quarterly Board of Director's meeting at the show location and in conjunction with the show. There is NO ACBS watercraft show at Mystic Seaport.

Mr. Andreas Jordahl Rhude

Several years ago I visited the Mystic Seaport tourist area. It's an interesting place to see and catch up on local east coast history of boats, life, sea related artifacts. When I was there the whaling ship Charles Morgan was in dry dock getting refurbished/refitted and you could tour the wonderful old ship. I think it would be a nice place to have a gathering but the whole theme of the area is wooden sailing vessels and their construction/maintenance. Visit their website. IMHO even a 1930's/40's woodie would be out of place there. Maybe set up a show in the parking lot but certainly not on the site itself.
www.mysticseaport.org/

vuyosevich wrote:

ok...i'm done, got my answer.

:

there will be 50 spaces available for acbs members boat land displays, no restrictions on hull type, so i'm registering and will see what transpires.

Jim Miller, president of
WoodenBoat, has reserved spaces for up to 50 ACBS boats to be
in a land display

Since I live 4 miles from Mystic Seaport and have been a member and supporter of their community sailing programs since 1985, I feel qualified to answer. Everyone is correct that the Wooden Boat Show is a strictly wood event sponsored by Wooden Boat Magazine. This event has been going on for several years. The ACBS quarterly meeting is being held in conjunction with that event. At the end of July, the Seaport also sponsors the Antique and Classic Boat Rendezvous, which welcomes almost any boat (pontoon and rubber excluded) of any construction type 1970 or earlier. My Aqua Ray has been a fixture there for the last several years and has won a few awards. They would love to see more classic glass. In fact, Quentin Snediker, who runs the shipyard and was in charge of the restoration of the Charles Morgan is a classic glass fan. One of John GIbson's Custom Crafts came from Quentin.

If anyone is out visiting the Seaport, let me know and maybe we can catch up for lunch or a boat ride.

To follow up on my earlier post, when I inquired about my Chris Craft Rendezvous, my info was forwarded to Shannon McKenzie who is the Director of Waterfront Programs at Mystic Seaport. She informed me that there had been a year cutoff of 1970 up until last year but the cutoff would be 1980 this year. Based on the email she sent me I didn't get any negative vibes from her about the fiberglass issue whatsoever.
I have attended this show as a spectator in past years and live pretty close to Mystic. This is a wood boat Mecca. The show had some super expensive examples of some over the top restored boats. Not as many small runabouts as larger wood cruisers from what I recall. I personally would feel out of place with any of my glass boats plus it's salt water and I'm inclined not to want to introduce a couple of my sweet water boats to salt. My reluctance is not so much about hull material as quality. Best way to put it is it would be like bringing a 71 Z28 to the Pebble Beach Concours. Great car that would fit in 99% of shows. Just not that one.

carigjudge, I typically take the Aqua Ray to a lake (usually Gardeners) and run it for a 1/2 hour or so to flush the salt water and other crap from the Mystic River. The water at the Seaport is technically brackish, but if you do the Sunday parade down river, that gets you to salt water.

This is a troubling thread at best. The rationale for the wood aspect of the show has been expressed and documented by well regarded individuals in the hobby. with all this credible testimony there is still a drive to put a glass boat in their show as some sort of statement. This cavalier attitude that one has a "right" to be in a show simply because he has an old boat is only driving a wedge into a relationship in the developmental stages of the two groups relationship. We are seeing similar circumstances throughout our country and it never has a positive outcome for either side. I would hope some serious thought goes into any further consideration in "infiltrating" this great show.

Regards,
IBS

PS Before you try to discredit me based on my low post rating let me assure you I have been here from the early days when this was run by a dedicated visionary and his wife. No I do not post a great deal because I would rather have a wrench, tiller or throttle in my hands rather than a mouse and a keyboard. maybe we all should take a day or so and wrench or run the boat.

I agree with IBS, especially when the Seaport has another show and they welcome classic glass there.If you are going to spend your time and money to come up here, do it the last weekend in July.

well i guess you 2 gentlemen didn't read my last post. i've been graciously invited to bring my 14' piece of s..t plastic to the woodenboat show. don't know if my complaint (if ya want to call it that) had anything to do with it, but the acbs director says he wants me there. i hope the woodenboat honchos feel the same way. i'll try to get g3 tony to attend also. mystic seaport here we come. probably the first non-wood boats to attend this show. maybe you can make it too Todd,and Dave,and Frank,and Tim, and.........

Ron

hmmmm...maybe i can sell some fiberglassics calendars up there. ya know, come to think of it...ken send me some t-shirts and bumper stickers.

I would like to say that the acbs shows I have been to ,in the last 3-4 yrs fiberglass has been welcomed,now at one time before it was a little different but they are trying and we need to work with them,When I filled out my reg for sunnyland there was a place to reg for cruise and all events,,it didnt say no fiberglass,,it was open to all,,I thank sunnyland for the amount of boats in and out of water they do a great job,I think we need to support them all and be glad they do it,just my opinion and we all have them ,,get out and boat,,Bill Anderson

and what may you be doin the end of june , bill. that sammoan would leave them speechless.

I think I am in mich then wis,,these are closer Bill

Ron, I just got off the phone with Jim Miller. He is the p[resident of Wooden Boat. Wooden Boat rents the entire Mystic Seaport and Jim does not want to allow anything other than Wooden Boats. We have to abide by that decision. I am attaching a copy of the registration form. I hope we see you there even without the Fiberglass boat. The ruling of Wood only is not ACBS position as we are in favor of including Fiberglass as well as Aluminum in our events. You should have had an email invitation and form last week.

Regards,



Stanley Struble

ACBS Lake Hopatcong Chapter

International Director

215-262-5877

WELL IF THATS THE WAY THEY WANT IT....

I'm staying out of this fight !
To me... This entire thread is useless and a non issue.
Just because a magazine that strictly discusses and promotes wooden boats
Invites the ACBS (which encourages all materials... pre-1980)
Doesn't mean.... Pick on the ACBS because they are there to an all wooden boat show .
If you're pissed, don't buy wooden boat magazine !!!!

coming up stan...hope to see you.