Forty-five boats since Lee Anderson got the bug to restore wood boats in 1985, he still owns the 19-footer that he started with, a 1938 Chris-Craft Resorter, as well as the definitive collection of vintage North American boats, with many valued in the millions. Anderson is now focusing on pre–World War II one-off race boats, such as the 1924 Baby Bootlegger, which won the American Power Boat Association Gold Cup in 1924 and 1925, and storied models from then rock-star builders, including Gar Wood and Hacker, and even rarer Canadian mahogany brands. To make the cut, a boat must have a history so intriguing that it makes other collectors jealous.
He inspired his neighbor, John Allen, who also owns one of the country’s largest and rarest collections of classic wooden boats. “I’d see Lee running those boats before anyone else was interested, and it kindled my interest,” says Allen, 67. His first acquisition: a 1929 Gar Wood triple-cockpit in 2001. “That was 29 boats ago.”
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