Wednesday, August 17, 2011

The Door County Classic Boat show and Museum

Well, I just found some great photos on the SD card in the camera from Door County, so we will take a quick trip back there! These shots are from Door County Maritime Museum Classic Boat festival in Sturgeon Bay, WI. We saw a poster for this and of course, Rick had to go. Fortunately, this turned out to be a great event!

Not only were there a number of individually owned classic boats of all kinds, but there were also some full size museum displays -- such as this Chicago fireboat that was still in use. Built in 1937, the boat is very low to the water (under 15') so it could get under the bridges on the Chicago River.

Here is an interesting boat -- no car -- actually, it is both! This is the famous amphicar. Built in the early 1960's, these cars could drive on the road in normal fashion, then go down the boat ramp and into the water. There are twin propellers in the rear (stern?) that the driver (captain?) could engage to chug across the lake. Just make sure that you don't open the door!

The museum was excellent and Rick learned quite a bit about the area and the shipping traditions that are ingrained in Sturgeon Bay. There were a number of ship yards that were developed and boat building was a big business in the early 1900's. In fact, a number of WWII warships were built in the area and transited the Great Lakes to get to the Atlantic Ocean.

Rick was very interested in the large propulsion display! This early Diesel was fully restored and as you can see, is a BIG engine.

Of course, Rick's favorites had to be the classic outboard motors. He has a couple of these and enjoyed the restoration process of getting them running again.

Orinda was reminded that while the lakes provide great transportation during the summer, but in the winter (which is long in northern Wisconsin), ice is the norm! So, these large ice boats, dating from the 1930's are the vehicles of choice. These boats really go and heel well up on two runners at speed.

This was a great classic outboard and was totally original with the motor, boat and trailer that was initially sold in the mid 1950's. The rig looks like new and would look right at home behind a '57 Chevy.

Finally, we took a tour on the deck of a real tugboat. This boat was used for several decades and was actually converted from steam power to Diesel in the later 1940's. This was done by removing the upper deck (that Rick is standing on), pulling out the large boilers and engine, and installing several WWII surplus Diesel engines. That is quite a project, to say the least!

1 comment:

Chuck and Anneke's RV travels said...

I remember that tugboat, thanks for the revisit.