Antique and Classic Boat Show returns to Skaneateles for 23rd year
Show celebrates 40 years in the Finger Lakes
By Lauren Young
Staff Writer
For 23 consecutive years, hundreds of vintage and collectible boats have adorned Skaneateles Lake, from restored race boats to antique runabouts, becoming a summer tradition for many residents and boat enthusiasts in the Finger Lakes region and beyond.
For Skaneateles’ 23rd Antique and Classic Boat Show anniversary, shown once again on the north shore of the lake at Clift Park, over 40 antique and classic boats will be featured on and off the water from July 27 to 29, with opportunities to speak to the owners and enjoy the “perfect landscape” Skaneateles has to offer for the show, said Tara Lynn, executive director of the Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce.
“We are beyond thrilled to be hosting it,” she said, adding that it’s a “beautiful location” for residents and visitors to “enjoy and take in the lake” while visiting diners and shops alongside the water.
The annual event is hosted by the Antique & Classic Boat Society (ACBS) which will celebrate its 40th year of the boat show.
After the show journeyed through the Finger Lakes, from Cayuga Lake to Oswego Harbor, it finally landed in Skaneateles where it has since found great success.
This year, featured boats will include mahogany runabouts from makers such as Chris-Craft, Hacker and Gar Wood, as well as launches, sailboats, canoes, rowing craft and race boats, many restored to their original condition.
“This is an outstanding venue for an Antique and Classic Boat Show,” said Rick Nelson, president of the Finger Lakes Chapter of the ACBS and boat show chairman. “These boats are special and mesmerizing.”
He added that the 40 plus water slips with a nearby pier walkway are ideal for the public to view these striking boats, with at least 40 land display spaces in Clift Park on the shoreline.
“We like to highlight our docks,” said Lynn, referring to their state-of-the-art docks. “We’ve seen [boat show] numbers grow since we’ve had our new docks.”
Lynn said the show first landed in Skaneateles when a new location was being sought out for the boat show, and the docks were the selling point.
“What a lot of people don’t know is, that without the Antique and Classic Boat Show, there would be no docks here,” said Lynn.
Because Skaneateles was lacking docks at the time, a committee came together to receive town approval to build the docks, where they have been even since.
These new docks – now two years old – were redesigned to have slips that are two feet wider and with ‘fingers’ that are 24 feet longer and wider.
The main dock is also a full six feet in width allowing for a more secure footing.
Lynn said her favorite event is the boat parade, which she said is “very special,” and “always a very beautiful event.”
The show is a judged event, with awards in 35 categories and entries judged in accordance with the Antique and Classic Boat Society (ACBS) standards.
The show will also include a boat show raffle, a display of antique model boats by the Syracuse Model Boat Club, a youth boat judging competition, historic tours of the village, presented by the Skaneateles Historical Society, knot-tying demonstrations for all ages and music in the park, featuring local bands like the Diana Jacobs Jazz Trio and the Soda Ash Six.
Dick Sherwood, committee member of the Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce’s Dock Committee, also makes hundreds of little wooden boots every year, so children can come by to paint one and take it home.
“Each one is made with love,” said Lynn. “We’ve always had a robust schedule, it’s just such a lovely event. The key is just walking through the park, listening to the live music and looking at all the antique boats.”
The Syracuse Model Boat Club will also have boats on display and the Skaneateles Historical Society will be hosting historic tours of the village on Saturday and Sunday.
The show is sponsored by M & T Bank and is organized by the Finger Lakes Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society and the Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
The full schedule of events can be found online on the Finger Lakes Chapter of the ACBC website at acbs-flc.org/boatshow. Admission is free.
While the City of Syracuse has recently been working on some intake pipes at Skaneateles Lake in Clift Park, the forecast shows smooth waters for the boat show, as the City of Syracuse will cease work in Clift Park the Monday before the show so that the village can prepare accordingly for that weekend.
“We have been working side by side with the village to ensure the show will go on,” said Lynn.
Last January, The Town of Skaneateles, the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board and the Skaneateles Lake Association developed a Nine Element Watershed Plan with the state Department of Environmental Conservation to reduce nutrient loading after intake pipes at the lake were found to be contaminated with algae toxins as of last September.
The show is handicapped-accessible. For more information, go to skaneateles.com or call the Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce at 315-685-0552.
