Member Boats: Late Classic beginning in 1976

1979 Caravelle 17.5’ Powered by a Mercruiser 165 hp

Owned by Mike & Denese Yancey of Tulsa, OK

Caravelle Boats were manufactured in Conway, AR by Centark Industries which went out of business in 1982. The brand was resurrected in California and is still being sold today.

This 17 ½ foot fiberglass boat, was manufactured in Oct. 1979 with Serial # CNHO4434M79C, with a 165 HP Mercruiser I/O. In 1986 she was advertised for sale in a very poor neighborhood as part of a bankruptcy sale, but the boat looked good and was affordable.

We used the boat regularly and in the spring of 1991 discovered a leak in the transom where the outdrive was mounted. Upon further analysis, discovered the flooring was getting spongy, so it was time to do a major renovation. Everything was removed and disconnected the top deck from the hull and set it to the side. When the flooring was removed, the plywood stringers were ground out. Then using what was left as a pattern, new ones were made. A local fiberglass guy made a new plywood transom and glassed everything back together. I then had all the upholstery recovered and installed new flooring and carpet. Effectively, she was back to new condition.

We have used the boat regularly for the following 20+ years, keeping it in a garage or carport and out of the weather. Original gelcoat still shines, however it may be time for another minor renovation soon as the upholstery is showing 20 plus years of wear.

The engine is all original, having never been rebuilt. With no hour meter, it is hard to say how many hours of use it has on it but still runs perfectly. Both of our kids learned to water ski behind this boat, and are still doing so today as it is still the best water skiing boat in the fleet.

HOWDY IV was delivered to the Arrowhead Match Club on Lake Winnebago, Missouri.  She was named after a 1930 Race Boat owned and piloted by Howard Ingram, who raced HOWDY and won 3 of the 5 years the race was held.

Howdy II was my dad’s outboard boat on Okinawa at the end of WWII.  Howdy III was my Class D Stock Utility Runabout – one of four wood boats we built in the 1950’s.

HOWDY IV is docked at Lake Winnebago when not trailering to a river cruise or an annual trip to Ontario, Canada for more than 29 years.  Log of River Trips includes:

• 2014  Mississippi River to St. Louis
• 2015  Cumberland River, Nashville to Paducah, KY
• 2016  Tennessee River, Knoxville to Chattanooga, TN
• 2017  Ohio River, Pittsburgh to Gallipolis, OH
• 2018  Muskingum River Stockport to Marietta, OH (hand operated locks)
• 2019  Table Rock Lake, Heartland Classics Classics Cruisin’ event 

1982 Skiffcraft 24’ Hardtop Powered by Mercruiser 488 188 hp

Owned by Dick and Janet Baner of Eureka, Illinois

Wave Toucher IV was purchased in the fall of 2014 from ACBS Sunnyland Chapter member Jim Flack, Mt. Dora, Florida. Post-purchase test run was on Lake Dora and the Dora Canal.

We did another section of “The Great Loop” in this boat, which replaced the ‘65 Carver, with John and Carolynn Thompson in February, 2015. We intended to run from Mobile Bay to Sarasota Bay. However, when we reached Carrabelle, FL where we had to leave the Intercoastal waterway and travel in the open Gulf of Mexico, we faced high winds and 5’ to 6’ waves. So we had to turn around and return to where we started. We will be doing another section, Chicago to Lake Barkley, Tennessee in September.

I seem to be hooked on Lapstrake boats.

All of my boats have the word “Toucher” in their name as a follow up to my homebuilt aircraft that were all named “To Touch the Sky”.

Home Port is Grand Lake of the Cherokees, Oklahoma.

I wrote Vintage Race Shop during the summer to ask them if they had ever seen the boat. Bill Johns thought a guy named John Ford had built the boat, which turned out to be a fact.  Bud Finkl built Packard boats but they were fiberglass reproductions of vintage runabouts, never a wood boat.  A call to Gary Scherb in Florida verified that Bud had contracted John Ford to build four boats, three 18 ft and one 26 ft.  Gary also told me his company did the finish work on the boat and installed the very hot (250 hp) V6 Chevy engine built by Flagship Marine Engine in Punta Gorda, Florida.  It has hydraulic steering and transmission.

My first outing in Pub Decision was on Lake Keystone, my home waters.  I got fairly comfortable with it on flat water before I pushed it to its limit, a mere 50 mph on the GPS, but it would start to bounce.  I later added some wedges under the transom which stopped the bouncing and slowed the boat a couple of miles per hour.
We made all of the Heartland events in 2010 and thoroughly enjoyed them. Pub Decision is so much fun to drive in calm waters.  I personally don’t mind a bit of chop but it gets quite wet!
I’m not sure who named “Pub Decision” but it suits me as I grew up in English Pubs.

The idea for the name Sails Call came from when I was in sales and my boss would call and ask where I was.  I would always answer saying I was on a sails call so it was the perfect name for the sailboat.   The Hunter 36 Vision is designed as a comfortable live-aboard for a cruising couple.  The free-standing mast eliminates the need for shrouds, backstays, and spreaders. The interior layout includes vast amounts of teak and is similar in usable space to many 46-foot sailboats. Bobbie and I spent many years sailing with our family, friends, and recently, grandchildren.  Many a quiet night was spent on the hook tucked into a cove as we enjoyed overnights and longer cruising on Beaver Lake.  We were limited to the north 2/3 of the lake as the Highway 12 bridge would not allow her 62 ft mast to go under.  We recently had Sails Call pulled for upgrades and service work.  Then relocated Sails Call to the Grand Lake Sailing Club. We are now enjoying exploring a new-to-us lake and training our son Brendan (Heartland Classics member) and his son Hunter to become the new Captains of the ship.