Classic Craft

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if you have a Classic Craft with a great story to share! My dad, Peter Grimm, a career yacht broker, bought Loose Shoes in 1985 from a friend in Door County, Wisconsin. The owner had bought the boat intending to restore her. She had been taken apart and stored in a barn, but no work was done. My dad bought her, brought the hull home, and began to puzzle the pieces and hardware back together. One of the hardest jobs was lining up all the bronze screws as he put the interior back together. My mother, Nancy, worked tirelessly to restore the leather interior. Ultimately, they replaced the linoleum fl oor because the original was in bad shape. They were able to fi nd vintage linoleum to try to keep it authentic. Dad was quite good at the engine mechanics and was able to do most of the engine work himself. A local boatyard did the varnish to make her beautiful.

Dad’s inspiration for the boat was his next-door neighbor who had the same Chris-Craft model but one year older, named Edjeken. It has always been owned by the same family and kept in a boat house on a dolly; railroad tracks carry the boat in and out of the water. Loose Shoes originally had a hardtop, but when Dad restored her, he left off the top and found a windshield that fi t perfectly. The two boats were identical except one had a green leather interior and the other red. In 1998, both Loose Shoes and Edjeken were trailered in the Egg Harbor 4th of July parade with the sign “100 years of boating in Door County.”

Once Loose Shoes was restored, our family used it throughout the summer. We often took it with our friends and their boats out to Chambers Island to picnic. We waterskied behind the boat; you had to really hang on as you waited for her to get up out of the water and onto a plane. My favorite was just joy-riding on Green Bay with my dad. If it slowed too quickly, a large wave would spray into the back of the cockpit, soaking an unsuspecting passenger.

Mom and Dad took some overnight trips across Green Bay to Michigan. Of course, they watched the weather forecast closely because there’s no shelter in Loose Shoes. My dad enjoyed showing her in antique boat shows and won a couple of Best of Show awards for the restoration. He even trailered Loose Shoes down to his home in South Florida and showed her in Mount Dora.

In 2015, when my dad was no longer able to use her and keep up with her maintenance, he sold her to a collector in Michigan who has done a complete restoration of his own. The new owner sent photos of her, and Dad was very pleased that she was being treated so well.

Loose Shoes was a very signifi cant part of our family for 30 years. I will always be grateful for that season in my life. —Karyn Grimm Herndon, Wilmette, IL