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 Vintage
Race Boat Shop
We maintain vintage wooden boats
About Us
We maintain vintage wooden boats,
by providing year round maintenance
and treating each boat with special care.
Also building reproduction vintage boats.
Click
here for details
Bill John - owner/driver
Donnie McLean - riding mechanic
Jim Kondrat -
special projects
Vintage Race Boat Shop
7 King Street - PO Box 332
Wolfeboro, NH 03894
603-569-5824
John1948@metrocast.net
Our shop services include:
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We maintain vintage wooden boats, by providing year round
maintenance and treating each boat with special care.
Including spring launching ceremonies, summer maintenance, fall
pull out, winterizing and storage. We
specialize in bottom detailing and varnish work.
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Summer performance tune-ups and oil
changes - using Amsoil Marine Synthetic oil
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Motor performance upgrades - carburetion,
ignition, exhaust headers
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Propeller performance upgrades - custom speed props and
modern 4-blade technology
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Bottom detailing - wood and surface repairs and lots of
sanding
for a very smooth bottom
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High quality paint & varnish work - using Interlux paints and Epifanes varnishes
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Custom upholstery and boat covers - by Steve Rollins
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Custom boat lettering & trailer graphics
- by
JC Signs
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Custom marine engine building - by
R&L Engines
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Custom boat trailers - by
Eagle
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Reproduction vintage race boats -
Gentleman's Racers,
Jersey Speed Skiffs & Ski Boats
 If you get a chance, please stop by and join our
Saturday
Morning Gatherings.
We provide fresh pots of coffee, shop projects
to discuss, a big screen TV and usually have some
vintage boat racing videos playing in the background. If you would
like to
join our therapy group, put on your grubbies and
come join the fun. We usually have around 15/20 vintage wonderers attending,
with a couple of stools and chairs,
hot coffee, way too many donuts, and lots
of good vintage
boat banter.
Join us,
the coffee is usually ready by 9:00
AM - please bring donuts!!!
And we share our passion for vintage wooden boats by posting
many photos of our projects and activities on our
hyperactive Website, which is updated almost daily.
Project photos
Trading Dock
Vintage Newsletter
Saturday Morning Gatherings
Reproduction Vintage
Boats
Some background
on our crew:
Bill John - owner/driver
In
the Spring of 2002, I finally took the plunge, casting off my career
in Corporate America, where I designed, installed, and managed
large corporate information systems for over 30 years, and started
my new, semi-retirement career with my own Vintage
Race Boat Shop, located here in beautiful Wolfeboro, NH.
It was time to follow my dream and my bliss, working on vintage
wooden boats and maintaining my own hyperactive vintage race boat
Website. I was ready and well qualified, after 25 years of "on the
job" training - owning, maintaining and modifying my beloved Gar
Wood Speedster -
Obsession
 Vintage
race boats and boat racing are in my blood, and our
fifth reproduction project will be a reproduction of my grandfather's Sally Ann Jr
a 225 hydroplane that was an APBA national champion.
My grandfather, William Edgar John Sr. was a
naval architect, owned a shipyard in Rye,
 New York, raced in several inboard
classes, and was inducted into the APBA's Honor Squadron in 1955, two years after my other hero, Gar Wood. My
father, William Edgar John Jr. raced
International-One-Design sailboats on Long Island Sound where he was Fleet Chairman for many years and
was the first President of the IOD class, based out of the Larchmont Yacht Club
where he was very active. My grandmother was also active in the early days of
power boat racing in this country. She actually drove and won quite a few APBA
boat races, and I have two large trophies that she won in 1914.
Both my grandfather and
grandmother are in the above photo.
Donnie
McLean - riding mechanic
Donnie
McLean, my friend and riding mechanic, also
joined me in 2002 at the Vintage Race Boat Shop.
But due to family obligations, kept his day job
and moonlights at the shop as time allows. Donnie
was born and raised in Fort Myers, Florida
before migrating north to Wolfeboro. A confessed
river rat and hot rodder, he built and ran
wooden flat bottom ski and race boats while in
Fort Myers, where he developed his mechanical
skills and love of performance boats.
  Donnie
and I make an excellent team, creating synergy
and enjoying the camaraderie while running our
vintage race boats and on the
Vintage Race Boat
Circuit.
We
have a lot of fun at our vintage events, but we also
love working on our vintage boats back in the shop ???!!!
Jim Kondrat
- special projects
Jim Kondrat is also part of our crew and
helps us on special projects. Most recently,
Jim helped us with motor installations and
rigging on several reproduction projects.
Click here for our Reproduction Vintage Boats
We have a passion for all vintage and classic boats including
outboards, classic glass, inboard runabouts, skiffs, flat bottoms, hydroplanes,
gold cuppers, and especially historic vintage race
boats. And to follow our passion, we support and promote the
following organizations and participate at their vintage
events. But it is important to remember that these
vintage events are really social events, and every event
is actually a reunion and gathering of good friends, with our
beautiful vintage boats in the background, pulling us
together. All are welcome to come join the fun, with or
without a boat. We
hope you will consider joining these very active
organizations, and
please be considerate and register early for their
events. This lets the
volunteer organizers know you are planning to attend,
enabling them to properly plan for the boat count for
the show/regatta, and the
head count for the socials.
Please
be considerate and register early !!!
ACBS Vintage
Events
 Since
1979, we
have been active members and promoters of the
New England Chapter of the Antique & Classic Boat
Society. We are current board members, continue to maintain
the
chapter Website and we are also very active
promoting and participating
at local ACBS vintage events right here on beautiful Lake
Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire. This year we are busy promoting and organizing
the
38th Annual
Antique & Classic Boat Show at the Meredith public docks. This is a huge
gathering of beautiful vintage wooden boats,
with
large crowds and over 80 vintage wooden boats on
display at the docks and in the park area.
ACBS Website
2011 Event Schedule
Clayton Antique
Boat Museum Events
 Since
1992 we have been active members and promoters of the
Clayton Antique Boat Museum, located in the beautiful
village of Clayton, NY.
We have participated and run hard at every
Clayton Vintage Race Boat Regatta since they began in
1992, and our beloved
Obsession
is the only boat that has never missed a
scheduled vintage heat at Clayton.
Clayton Antique Boat Museum
Website
2011 Event Schedule
NH Boat Museum
Vintage Events
 We
are also active members and
promoters of the New Hampshire Boat Museum,
located right here in beautiful Wolfeboro. We were board members during the early
years and also started their museum Website. And since
2000 we have been working year round, promoting and
organizing our
Wolfeboro
Vintage Race Boat Regatta an historic event
that brings the vintage race boats back to beautiful
Wolfeboro Bay. It only happens once every two years and this
is the year, so check out the link and come join us!!
NH Boat
Museum Website
2011 Event Schedule
APBA Vintage Race Boat
Circuit - the summer circuit
 Our first
American Power Boat Association sanctioned vintage race boat
regatta was at Clayton, New York in 1992, when we got a chance to run
our beloved vintage race boats on an actual race course, running some pretty
hot laps. Since then,
in the spirit of Gar Wood and Orlin Johnson, we have run our Gar Wood
Speedster
Obsession on the
APBA Vintage Race Boat Circuit. Like vintage car racing, there are actually
people out there who run their vintage race boats on APBA sanctioned race courses, and participate in a very active
- APBA Vintage Race Boat Circuit.
APBA Vintage Website
2011 Event Schedule
Wolfeboro Vintage Race Boat Regatta
- Sept 14-17, 2011
CRA Classic Race
Boat Circuit - the winter
circuit
 The Classic Raceboat Association (CRA) is a
Florida based organization that was formed to facilitate the exhibition
of classic race boats of all types from the early
1900’s to the 1980’s. All classic race boats are welcomed, and during
the winter months when the APBA summer vintage circuit
is in hibernation, we haul
My Precious down to sunny and warm Florida to
participate in a growing CRA winter vintage
circuit. Because of the sunny and warm Florida weather and the flat
water on the small inland Florida lakes, these regattas
attract large boat counts with well over 75 classic race
boats at the last several events. We do have fun running
our vintage and classic race boats in the warm Florida
sun, and through these CRA sanctioned regattas we also
run safely, and the public gets a chance to see the rich
history of powerboat racing on a growing CRA Winter
Vintage Circuit. Check out these links !!!
CRA Website
2011 Event Schedule
Roar n Soar at Fantasy of Flight -
Nov 12-13, 2011
Vintage & Classic Race Boat
Regattas
Our vintage & classic race boat regattas are run under the rules and regulations of
either the Vintage
& Historic Division of the American Power Boat Association
or the Classic Race Boat Association. This is pretty serious stuff,
complete with surveyed race courses, safety inspections, drivers meetings, crane launching and demonstration heats usually of 5 or 6 l aps.
We do have
fun, but safety is our main concern, and we have a great record of running safe
and fun events. Please consider joining us, for all the adventures and all the fun!!!
Photo Archives of
Vintage Events
Vintage Race Boat Shop
7 King Street - PO Box 332
Wolfeboro, NH 03894
603-569-5824
John1948@metrocast.net
If you get a
chance, please stop by and join our
Saturday Morning Gatherings
Some related vintage race
boat links:
Return to Our Beloved Vintage Wooden Boats
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