Wooden Boat Show

Emerge from your cozy cabin or hotel suite at Big Bear Frontier and head just footsteps to Big Bear Lake to see the Antique Wooden Boat Show! Every fall the community of Big Bear awakes from their quiet slumber from the night before and heads to the Antique Wooden Boat Show. Weeks of preparation go into this annual boat extravaganza. Boat owners climb aboard their vintage wooden boats to swab the decks, and make sure their boats are ready to dazzle onlookers and out-spiff the competition.

Chris-Craft Wooden Boats

Chris-Craft is legendary in the realm of antique wooden boats. In 1874, at the ridiculously young age of 13, Chris Smith made his very first wooden boat. It was obvious from this point on that he had a remarkable talent when it came to creating aquatic vessels made of wood.

Over the years Chris developed a hankering to race. As he polished and fined tuned his boats, ideally made for racing, his creations eventually became known as Chris-Crafts for the brilliant craftsmanship that went into each and every boat.

At the time of World War II his boats were so popular, that they were used to help launch the D-Day landings. To present day, Chris-Craft is the only manufacturer to create recreational boats that have also served in the military. These days, right here on Big Bear Lake, locals and visitors from afar come to admire the beauty of these magnificent vintage boats.

Chris-Craft's aren't the only attraction. Previous years have displayed a 1922 Hacker, fantastically constructed of rich mahogany, along with a 1930 Sea Lion, one of the very first flying boats.

As the 40's, 50's and 60's arrived so did the realization that fiberglass provided less of a warp-factor than wood. As fiberglass became the material of choice, the way of the wooden boat soon dwindled. Those in attendance will surely find a profound appreciation in these majestic boats of the past.

After perusing a bounty of vintage aquatic vessels that have stood the test of time, and redefined the term speed boat, it's always a splendor to ease back, relax and think about all the fine boats you saw in your comfy cabin or hotel suite at Big Bear Frontier.