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Northwest Classic Boat Club History

Today's Northwest Classic Boat Club has evolved in four stages, dating back to 1996, when Tim Jones displayed Ida Rae and Doug McDonald's 1958 Skagit 20' Express in Tim's booth at the Seattle Boat Show. The freshly-repainted red-and-white Skagit was a big hit, and during the show Tim collected 150 names of folks who'd enthused over the boat, including some who expressed interest in formation of a club to celebrate such vintage fiberglass boats.

Shortly after the Seattle Boat Show ended, Tim and Ida Rae formed the Skagit and Bell Boy Boat Enthusiasts Club, publishing a newsletter called Skag Boyz. After hosting some on-the-water events in the San Juan Islands, momentum gradually slowed and Tim turned the club's mailing list over to Bill Roberts of Whidbey Island, who with great energy created the Classic Skagit Boat Club. The club grew steadily in the early years, even though few members had water-ready boats in the early days. In 2002, Bill received a boost from Kelly Wood, who had launched the popular FiberGlassics website. Over a weekend, Kelly helped create the Classic Skagit Boat Club's initial website and message board-which helped take the club to a new level of growth.

At the climax of some turmoil regarding the club's direction, members held a pivotal meeting in November, 2003, and decided to become part of FiberGlassics with a new club name, FiberGlassics Northwest...allowing the club to appeal to a broader variety of boats and owners. (While the Classic Skagit Boat Club had always welcomed owners of non-Skagit boats, the club name created a bit of confusion for owners of Bell Boys, Reinells, Glasspars and other vintage glass boats.)

FGNW grew steadily during five years of association with FiberGlassics, at least until 2008, when high fuel prices and some discontent with FGNW and its relationship with FG surfaced-a key issue being funding, since membership dues went to the national FiberGlassics club, leaving the local treasury challenged to pay for FGNW insurance, club-sponsored events and other expenses incurred by the Northwest group during its expansion. (FiberGlassics offered a revenue-sharing program starting in 2008, rebating $15 from each $35 membership received, but the Northwest club still fell short by Fall, 2008, despite the much-appreciated dues-sharing from Kelly and Sandi of FiberGlassics.)

During FiberGlassics Northwest's annual meeting on December 13, 2008, members voted to continue supporting FiberGlassics as individual members, but to once again form a locally-based (and funded) association, the Northwest Classic Boat Club. In the process, with the new name, we also broadened our focus to more clearly embrace classic wooden boats, since a survey revealed that more than 40% of FiberGlassics Northwest's existing members owned vintage wooden runabouts and/or small cruisers. (NWCBC also warmly invites owners of other classic boats to participate-specifically, vintage aluminum runabouts and cruisers, which represent a small but growing interest area for old-boat enthusiasts.)

Following formation of the Northwest Classic Boat Club, Kelly Wood of FiberGlassics announced that regional chapters of the national group would be disassembled starting in early 2009, including FiberGlassics Northwest. The Northwest Classic Boat Club's original predecessor, the Skagit and Bell Boy Boat Enthusiasts Club, is long gone, but Bill Roberts recently created a "heritage" website for owners of boats built between 1955 and 1961 by Skagit Plastics of LaConner, Washington. Bill's website, www.classicskagitboatclub.com, is not a boat club, but rather a repository for Skagit lore, old brochures and advertisements, and photos of vintage Skagit boats. We encourage members of the Northwest Classic Boat Club to add to Bill's online library of Skagit information.

Click here for the Northwest Classic Boat Club's 2009 Calendar of Events, and here for Membership Application. If you own any kind of classic boat, we'd love to have you as a member. And if you have questions about the Northwest Classic Boat Club or membership, please contact the club at Box 216, Nordland, WA 98358, or get in touch with Marty Loken, (360) 301-6737 weekdays 9-5, or by e-mail at marty@islandboatshop.com