2005 Show Poster

Lake Wentworth Rendezvous

Below Copple Crown Mountain, the waters of Lake Wentworth promise a great afternoon in the summer of 1960. At the dock is a 1956 19′ Chris-Craft Capri, the full-blown representation of mid-fifties modern design with its raked bull-nose bow, the blonde wood accents, and the wraparound windshield. It was to be the last true decked runabout Chris-Craft built. Paying a visit just beyond is its forerunner, a 1948 19′ “Red and White” Racing Runabout. This design debuted in 1935 for the amateur racing clubs of that period. Heading out into the lake is a 1960 18′ Higgins Mandalay. An example of the open cockpit successor to the runabout, it also reflects the next wave of automotive-inspiredstyling updates in the late fifties and early sixties. While not one of the more familiar classic boat manufacturers, the Higgins name is legendary to veterans and history buffs of World War II as the designer and builder of the landing craft so key to the D-Day invasion. Pulled up on the shore is a considerably earlier “open cockpit” sport boat, an Adirondack Guide boat, designed to carry 2 or 3 people and their gear, row easily, be stable and seaworthy, and yet light enough for the guide to portage on his back between lakes. The result is a craft that moves and handles almost effortlessly.