Last month Scott and I attended the Classic Yacht Show at Bell Harbor Marina. There were about twenty yachts on display, which was hosted by the Classic Yacht Association. This association was organized in 1969 to promote and encourage the preservation of fine old power driven crafts. At the end of your tour, they asked us to vote for our favorite classic yacht. Let’s see who we select.
Yes, that is a Bayliner 4588 on display – guess you could say it’s a classic yacht! (not really). I think they simply were visiting the show. By the way, next week we tour a Bayliner 4588, so be sure to tune in. This was my second in-person show for the year and Scott’s first. While it was small, it was great to be out. The show did request that you sign in for contact tracing due to covid.
Touring the Classic Yachts
We weren’t sure what to expect as we started walking down the docks. Turns out some boats were not open for tours, but we still got to view them from the dock.
As we came upon classic yacht MY Comrade, the owner welcomed us aboard. Once we saw his golden retriever, we couldn’t resist!
This classic yacht has a really cool story. Turns out, he and his wife were NOT boaters. She had spent time on boats as a kid, but they have never owned a boat before. This classic yacht was originally custom built in 1930 by Franck & McCrary on Seattle’s Lake Union. The owner, HW Davis was actually the great grandfather of the current owner’s wife. Her mother was a pack rat and had tons of photos of the boat and she knew who the third owners were. She called them up and asked if they wanted the photos and they told her they were thinking about selling it. Immediately, she called her daughter and said “You have to buy this yacht” and so they did!
Many of these yachts were built around the 1940’s and it was awesome to see how they were designed on the interior. To think that they are all wooden and still look so great, is amazing!
Classic and Timeless
Chris Craft has done a fabulous job recently, of bringing back a retro look of their brand new boats. There’s something about a Chris Craft that is simply classy and timeless.
Everything on this classic yacht was wooden, including the kayaks and dinghy up on top!
MY Dearleap 1929
Next on the tour, was MY Deerleap, a gorgeous 1929 85′ yacht built by Hoffar-Beeching. The current owners have had it for quite a long time (33 years) and they live on the Olympic Peninsula. They did try it out as a charter for one year, but it was too much work. Now they simply cruise and enjoy it themselves with friends and family.
They have done a fantastic job replicating how it originally looked in the 1930’s.
The galley was very large with plenty of room to prep.
They did have the lower level blocked off, but you will see on our next tour, what it possibly looks like.
Classic Yacht MY Linmar
After walking around the show, our last stop was MY Linmar. This 78′ yacht was built in 1932 by New York Yacht, Launch & Engine Co. in New York. The current owners recently purchased this boat after an extensive remodel due to an electrical fire. The work they have done on this yacht to bring it back to life is remarkable.
We were able to go down below and check out the guest staterooms. The current owners rent the yacht out as an air b & b – click here for rental info.
The dining room was one area that was spared from the fire.
When they did the restoration, they purposely left a bit of the char on the wall as a remembrance of the fire. Ironically, they store the fire extinguisher right next to it.
If you want more information on all of the classic yachts we saw, be sure to visit their website at https://classicyacht.org/search/node. Who did we vote for? Watch our video to find out – link at the bottom.
As always, thank you for following our journey. Please subscribe to our blog and vlog to stay updated as we search for our liveaboard. You can also follow us on social @BoatingJourney and #BoatingJourney. Next week, we’ll take you on a tour of a Bayliner 4587! See you next time!
Cheers, Scott and Ally
