Boats on parade

Wooden boats remind us of a time when fashion was as important as function. Not only were these boats the fastest in the water in the early part of the last century, they were suave and stunning to behold.

Today, out on Lake Tahoe, you might notice the low-riding Chris Craft, its hull a deep amber-colored wood, skimming the water’s surface, the hum of the engine much smoother than the heavy jets of modern speed boats. An up-close look at a Riva reveals details like wicker-backed seats and numerous silver fixtures, adorning everything from lights to cleats to flag poles—all sleek and aerodynamically rounded to add glinting accents to the finely polished wooden hull.

Brass is shined to its brightest sheen. Wood is varnished to bring out the deepest hue of the grain. Engines are buffed to their brightest gleam.

Wooden boats are as classically elegant as an art deco statuette. And wooden boat shows, like the upcoming Tahoe Yacht Club’s 31st Annual Wooden Boat Week, Aug. 7-14, provide a venue where experts and neophytes get the opportunity to view these antique crafts in their finest condition.

Wooden Boat Week features a range of events, from the Concours d’Elegance (the Contest of Elegance boat competition) to a regatta to a fashion show. All the proceeds from the Lake Tahoe show go to local charities like the Tahoe Maritime Museum and the Parks and Recreation Youth Boating program. It’s a celebration of the past that helps fuel passions for the future.

The highlight of the week is the Concours, which takes place the first weekend. The goal of the competition is to exhibit the boats, many of which are upwards of 60 years old, in like-new condition. It’s like Hot August Nights on waves. The judges take into account every authentic or faux detail.

“We get down to, is the wiring cloth insulated?” says event director Philip Ballentyne. “What’s the color and pattern of the upholstery? Is the drive on the screw heads correct? What shade is the bilge paint?”

And the prize? Prestige.

“It’s not about money,” states Ballentyne. “It’s about having the best boat.”

Due to the great enthusiasm people in the area have for maritime history and the breathtaking setting of Lake Tahoe, this event is, according to Ballentyne, “one of the great ones. … We attract some of the best boats in the world.”

Attendees can expect to see many unique boats—more than 100 in the competition—including the Riva boats, which will compete in this year’s marquee class. Rivas are known as the “Ferrari of speedboats” for their bright turquoise and tangerine-orange accents and glamorous style.

This will be the largest single gathering of Rivas (27 in all) ever in North America, with some boats coming from as far as the Netherlands. To pay tribute to the occasion, members of the Riva family will attend.

So, what does it take to bring an antique boat to a show and why do people do it? Wooden boat experts Ballentyne and Carol Van Etten say they appreciate the crafts and the effort required to present these historic masterpieces in show condition.

The 45-year-old Ballentyne fully immerses himself in the world of wooden boats. He’s a young man for his level of involvement, but with a head of graying hair and a full beard, Ballentyne conveys an aura of wisdom. His manner is welcoming and he displays a calm, intense enthusiasm for the boats he has dedicated his life to. His eyes brighten as he discusses the joy he finds in the smells, sensations and sounds created by the yachts.

“Riding in a wooden boat always makes me grin,” Ballentyne says. “Every time I go out in one of these boats, I think, ‘Wow, am I lucky.’ “

It’s no surprise that Ballentyne is not only the director of Wooden Boat Week and has, in the past, been head judge of the Concours d’Elegance, but he’s also a boat restorer and the director of the Tahoe Maritime Museum in Homewood.

Van Etten is the only female boat restorer in the Tahoe area and an author of several books on Tahoe maritime history.

She became a wooden boat historian and restorer by serendipity. Because of her interest in the subject, Van Etten covered Tahoe’s Wooden Boat Week for the Tahoe World for several years beginning in the early 1980s. Having accumulated a collection of articles, she decided to combine them into a book. She realized if she wanted to write as an expert on the subject, she needed more education. So she went to Sierra Boat Works and asked for a job.

For Van Etten, satisfaction is berthed in seeing a boat returned to its original state.

Although owners of wooden boats put a lot of effort and a great deal of money into owning, restoring, maintaining and showing their wooden boats, it is the boat restorers, like Ballentyne and Van Etten, who often do the bulk of the work.

“It’s rare for someone who has done all their own work to win at a boat show,” says Van Etten.

Professional restorers are the experts to whom boat owners turn in order to find original fixtures (or remakes of originals), upholstery, engines or other mechanical parts. They perform the exacting labor needed to bring a boat to its original condition, like varnishing the hull. Days, weeks and sometimes months are spent restoring and fine-tuning a boat for a show.

Sometimes, a restorer will only put on the final layer of varnish; other times he or she will work with part-makers to recreate a single fixture or with upholstery experts to recreate the original seats.

The world of antique wooden boats is a passion for many, an obsession for some. And such interest isn’t reserved just for those who have watched them since the time of their inception. Intrigue stirs the passions of many who encounter them even today.

Matt Pumphrey, 19, is tall, trim and youthfully handsome, with dark hair and twinkling eyes. He was introduced to wooden boats by his father. He now works at the Maritime Museum, and he loves wooden boats.

“They don’t all look the same,” he says. “They all have individual personalities.”

Pumphrey says the boats “hold a piece of history.” Indeed, the history of a boat is one of its most special attributes. The hulls of these vessels are embedded with stories.

Preserving such history and appreciating the exquisiteness of the past is what Tahoe’s Wooden Boat Week is all about. For those already initiated—who have, as Ballentyne describes it, "the sickness"—as well as those new to wooden boats, this event will be a rare chance to experience a bounty of unique treasures.