Feature Story

THUNDER + MEMORIES

The Allure of Wooden Boats

by Tim Miller photos by Jeannie Knecht

On most lakes in northern Indiana, Sunday morning is a time of relative peace and serenity. But on Lake Wawasee, Sunday mornings are a little different. If there is a little mist still on the water you may hear them before you see them, but everyone can hear them, and nobody seems to mind. A growing number of residents on Indiana’s largest natural lake are maintaining and using vintage wooden power boats from an era that ended many decades ago.

On Sunday mornings at 10 a.m., anywhere from a dozen to 30 wooden power boats gather in front of Oakwood Resort and circle the lake. They call it the Thunder Run for a good reason. These boats sport 6- and 8-cylinder inboard gasoline engines and they are loud. “Wooden boats sound different [from modern boats] because very few have a muffler,” said Luke Knecht, a wooden boat owner who, with his wife Jeannie, manages a Facebook page, Wawasee Wooden Boats. “I would often apologize for the noise when I was arriving at or leaving a restaurant dock, only to have people say, ‘no apology necessary… I love that sound,’” Knecht said.

Photo by Susan Stump

The sound is not the only thing that makes these boats unique. In a day before fiberglass and aluminum hulls, these classics were constructed entirely of wood. The type of wood used could vary depending on the manufacturer. “There were boats that were lapstrake, which used pine covering boards, and some manufacturers, perhaps Higgins, used marine-grade plywood for the hull, but Chris-Craft, Garwood, Hacker Craft, Century and Riva all used mahogany,” Knecht said.

“Chris-Craft probably makes up a majority of the boats here on Wawasee,” said Jeff Guyas, owner of Wawasee Slip, which services and maintains about 50 wooden boats on the lake. “The marina here was only the third Chris-Craft dealer in the nation. We have some customers whose parents bought them brand new and they still have them. They’ve got other boats, but they still have the family boat they grew up with.”

Operating one of these boats is unlike anything modern boaters have ever experienced. “Older boats smell different,” Knecht said. “Upholstery is often leather so the mixing of that with the wood and gas and oil smells is very distinctive.” The controls on these boats are also quite different. “Many have stick shifts for the transmission, separate from the throttle and have manual chokes for the engine

Art Show at the Oakwood Resort

The 6th annual Oakwood Fine Arts Festival presented by Chautauqua-Wawasee was originally scheduled for Saturday, June 13. As of the time of this printing, the Arts Festival has been rescheduled to Saturday, August 15. Please mark your calendars! At this free event, there will be 20+ local and regional artists displaying their work. Food vendors will also be available, and the restaurant in the resort will offer a full menu with both indoor and lakeside outdoor seating.

Also—please note that due to social distancing mandates, the 4th annual wooden boat rally, previously scheduled for June 13, had to be cancelled. Stay tuned to the Wawasee Wooden Boat Facebook page for information on next year’s event: the 2021 wooden boat rally, where a variety of wooden power boats will be on display on the water and on shore.

and maybe even a control to advance the spark for starting the motor. There are also fewer gauges to tell you what is going on with the engine. So, you learn to listen and sense through vibrations and smells if it's running properly,” Knecht said.

“The throttle is in the center of the steering wheel. There is a little lever there, you advance the throttle, by moving it up or down,” Guyas said. There were also none of the safety features modern boaters take for granted. There was no blower to exhaust fumes that might accumulate, so it was necessary to lift the engine hatch and air it out before starting the engine. It was also important to check the shifter before starting the engine because “you could start them in gear,” Guyas said.

Eventually, lighter materials that were easier for the weekend boater to maintain and operate took over the leisure boating market. In 1971 Chris-Craft built its last mahogany hulled boat, a 57-foot Constellation. It was the end of an era, but enthusiasts across the country are preserving these boats and keeping the history— and thunder — alive. “It’s kind of like driving an old car,” Guyas said. “It’s the sound, the feel, the ride; it’s just a whole different feeling.”

Not surprisingly, the Thunder Run attracts more than just boat owners. Residents on shore wave and cheer. “These folks don’t own, maintain or operate a wooden boat but still love them,” Knecht said. “I get the feeling based on the comments on the Facebook page, they are standing on shore saying to their kids, ‘Dad used to have one of those,’ or ‘they just don’t make them like that anymore.’” They certainly do not. For more information about other Chautauqua-Wawasee programs visit www.chautauquawawasee.org

To learn more about wooden boats check out:

» Wawasee Wooden Boats,

www.facebook.com/wawaseewoodenboats

» Wawasee Slip Inc, www.facebook.com/wawasee-slip-inc » The Antique Boat Shop in Fort Wayne,

www.antiqueboatshop.com

» The Antique and Classic Boat Society Inc, www.acbs.com