This is MISS ABIGAIL, a triple cockpit runabout built by Chris Craft in 1938. She has a length of 25 feet, beam 6 feet 8 inches, built of mahogany and powered with a 130-hp engine.
MOULTONBOROUGH, NH – I have always had a love for the mahogany runabouts that once were prevalent on our lakes, and sometimes the coast. The names like Chris Craft, Dee Wite, Dodge, Garwood, Hacker were some of the more noted. They were simply built, carried a lot of power, and had lots of coats of varnish with chrome hardware. When asked to visit the New Hampshire Boat Museum on Lake Winnipesaukee I hastily agreed as I wanted to see what they had for boats.
When I arrived, I met Devon Kurtz, the new director of the Museum, who had just arrived in April. I first asked what brought him to the Museum. He said, “We were getting to the point where my youngest stepson is just entering high school and my wife and I knew we wanted to be in a situation with water and boats. As a museum director, it is hard finding both of those classifications for a museum and when this position opened up, we jumped at the chance. My wife is from the Adirondacks and the lakes region here in New Hampshire is so much like her home, so it was a great fit. The museum itself, from my point of view, is a museum in the making. It was a great opportunity and really being at the ground floor, even though it has been around a long time, it was a museum with a brand-new facility.”
The Museum started in a much smaller space in Wolfeboro. Devon said, “It kind of looks like a 1950s dance hall, an old Quonset hut really. This site is about four times as big, which we obtained three years ago. So, they opened up walls, put in flooring, and built a mezzanine overlooking the main exhibit area. We also did a lot of infrastructure work, like HVAC. We are always working to keep our humidity levels constant for the wooden boat collection. We just received a grant to start construction on our upper floor adding another 6,200 square feet to our footprint and that will be for our small boats collection.”
Every year they have an auction and every other year they do a Vintage Boat Regatta on Lake Winnipesaukee. Devon added, “The auction happened mid-July and the Regatta will take place 12-13 September. We are also featuring different local artists, both painters and photographers, to show their work. There are children’s activities every month and this year we are highlighting water safety. They learn how to wear life preservers, boat safety and dock safety. We are doing that in conjunction with the New Hampshire Marine Patrol and the Mark O’Connell Foundation. That is a family foundation. They lost their father in an ice accident a few years ago. So now they donate money to the region to really emphasize water safety and respect for the lake. We even have a life jacket loaning program.”
When asked what the most popular items in the Museum Devon are said, “The triple cockpits are really exciting, although lately it has been the 1959 Century Coronado. It has a sliding top, looks space age, actually like a Cadillac on the water. The white paint and all of the chrome, everyone notices that. Probably because it is so different from all of the mahogany boats that are in our collection. My favorite is the 1930s Dee Wite. It only has two cockpits, so it is a little bit smaller than all of the rest, but the shape is beautiful. It has the barrel end, so has that classic shape and the really sharp cutwater in the front, but unlike the Chris Crafts, they left all the copper nails and breast screws exposed. You can actually see how it was put together. The instrument panel is so pretty on that boat. That is my favorite. People are just amazed at the technology they have had through the years and engineering and I like the human-interest stories about the boats and the people who used them. So much about boating is not just about being on the lake and seeing what is there, but it is being seen. There is that “look at me” element, especially when we are looking at the triple cockpit mahogany runabouts.”
For those that have never been to Lake Winnipesaukee it is worth the trip. Devon explained, “Wolfeboro is known as the oldest vacation town in the United States. Governor Wentworth made his summer home here in the 1700s. The lake is 28 miles long and 10 miles at its width. It has more islands than days of the year, but only about 280 of them are able to have structures on them. I keep looking for a sea monster named Winnie, but I haven’t seen her yet. Apparently, she is related to both Champy in Lake Champlain and the Loch Ness monster, and they supposedly spend summer together here. Hopefully, we have a growing loon population here. I think that the most surprising thing about the lake to me is the waves that we can get. The other day it was storming, the winds were up, and we must have had two or three-foot swells on the lake.”
So much of history has been lost and that is evident on Lake Winnipesaukee. A number of boats in the late 1800s and early 1900s were built by people in the area. “There were several marinas that built boats,” said Devon, “mostly work boats. Starting in the late 19th century, when the resort communities really exploded, most of the marinas switched over to pleasure boats. You are looking at everything from steamboats to get people to their camps and steam launches and things like that, but it was all tourism based. We have a racing boat downstairs that although came from a Newport marine architect, it was built right in Alton Bay. We just don’t know who built it. There was a female marina owner on this side of the lake down near Wolfeboro and Alton village and she built boats. Now, there is a very thriving restoration program here in the region.”
There are all sorts of racing on the lake, both power and sail. They even have a large contingent of model boat racers.
In the wintertime there are a number of people who go ice boating. “Not just on Lake Winnipesaukee,” said Devon, “but there are more lakes right around here. We even have a number of volunteers at the Museum who go hard water sailing as they call it. They go over 100 mph, depending on the wind. That seems awfully fast when you are about five or six inches off the ice.”
It is great to see their focus on getting kids involved but also learning the basics starting with safety. They have a sailing program with the Town of Wolfeboro for teaching sailing. They are trying to add more children’s activities and are in the process of creating a Junior Skippers club. Kids can also go online for even more activities.
If you have not been to Lake Winnipesaukee, it is well worth the trip, and do not forget to stop at the Museum and learn about their boating legacy. Walking through the Museum I guarantee that you will be fascinated by their history and their exhibits, which in some cases are similar to ours, like the evolution of power boats. I am certainly going back. I definitely want a ride on one of the Museum’s triple cockpit runabouts that take you out on the lake from Wolfeboro.
