Member Boats: 1919-1942
Boats presently or previously owned by members of the Heartland Classics Chapter.
The Antique and Classic Boat Society (ACBS) has designated age classifications which include boats of all hull material and purposes. Although well known for wooden pleasure craft of the mid 20th century, the members’ appreciation of historic craftsmanship and styling blended with the purposeful utilitarian use of all vessels leads our members to be guardians of all types and ages of watercraft.
Diamond Lil
1930 20 ft. Model 100 Chris Craft owned by David Wysong.
Engine: 130 Chrysler flathead
Owner: David Wysong
Name: Diamond Lil
Twice a winner at the Heartland Boat Show

Liberty Belle
1930 20 ft. Model 100 Chris Craft owned by Terry & Julee Nibarger
Now powered with a 1960 Chevy 283 engine with 125 hp.
Three Wishes
1930 Chris Craft, 26′ runabout named Three Wishes owned by Clay and Patty Thompson.
Moxie
1930 Chris Craft 100 “Moxie” owned by Jim Frechette
I bought the boat in rough condition from a vintage car dealer in Oklahoma City. The day I went to pick it up was about two weeks after the Federal Building there was bombed. The force of the explosion had blown out the windows of the dealership and damaged a few cars. My boat, which was stored in a back garage, was not damaged but it really would not have mattered as it needed a total restoration.

Duchess of Leawood
1931 Hacker Craft Roustabout 24′ named Duchess of Leawood owned by Bill Overman
Old Paint
1940 Chris-Craft 25′ Express (Red and White) “Old Paint”
I have owned this boat for nearly 25 years. It still has it’s original Chris-Craft “M” engine (130 HP) which has been rebuilt twice. The boat received a new bottom in 2000 and has been featured on the cover of the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club magazine, The Brass Bell. I was going to name the boat “No Varnish” because there is none but my wife came up with “Old Paint”. That is a reference to the faithful horse in an old cowboy movie that always brought it’s rider home safely. “Old Paint” has cruised several times on the Tennessee River, lakes in Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri and Lake Dora in Florida.
This boat was delivered new to Austin in 1940 and I am the second owner.
Woodwind
1940 Chris Craft 19′ Custom Barrel Back named Woodwind owned by Buddy & Sherri Butler This boat left the Michigan factory on May 23, 1940 bound for its new home in Clayton, New York. It spent many years on Lake George, New York until it was sold to its second owner near Atlanta, Georgia. The new owner performed a restoration which was fairly accurate except he installed pigskin colored vinyl in place of the original pigskin leather. It remained in Georgia until the second owned passed away in the early 2000’s. Butlers purchased the boat from the estate and started researching the boat. Buddy discovered that the orange deck seams and waterline were a one year only (1940) option along with the pigskin colored leather. The boat has its original restored flathead Chris-Craft M engine (130 h.p.). The bottom and numerous side planks were replaced. The boat was named ‘Woodwind’ since both owners are woodwind instrument players, Clarinet and Saxophone in particular. Woodwind’s home port is Oklahoma City and may be seen at numerous Heartland Classics events.
Songbird
Songbird is a 1940 Chris Craft Sportsman Utility 22′ powered with a Chris Craft 95hp engine. She is owned by Tim and Kathy Noonan. Homeport is Hot Springs Village, AR
Blue Moon II
1942 Chris Craft Deluxe Utility 18′ “Blue Moon II” owned by Jim Frechette
This is an 18′ model that I found in Massachusetts and shipped to Austin to restore. I have owned it about 4 years. The unique feature of this model is the ventilating windshield. Most boats have solid windshields to keep you out of the wind but in Texas heat, it is nice to have a breeze. The front windows push open as much or as little as desired. I also added a bimini top to add shade or keep you dry in a sudden rainfall.
I previously owned an identical model of this boat but I found that the front seat did not have as much room as I wanted so I sold it. It was named “Blue Moon” because of the rarity of the model. After I sold it, I was relating the story to one of our club members and he asked why I didn’t just move the seat back. I set out on a search for another boat and during restoration, I moved the seat back several inches. Now I have “Blue Moon II”.
This boat is powered by the original “K” engine (95 HP).