Debut Performance

John Fleming has been a regular at SML’s Antique and Classic Boat Show and Festival for several years, enjoying strolls up and down the docks to get a close-up look at the magnificently restored watercraft on display each fall.
    But this year, Fleming’s experience will be different. This year, he’ll be in the game.
    “10 Fold,” the Union Hall resident’s 1968 Chris-Craft Grand Prix, will make its first public showing at the event, which will take place Sept. 18 at Mariners Landing.
    “John has always said that the good things you do in life come back 10 times over,” said Linda Fleming, John’s wife and fellow boating enthusiast. “When we found out this boat was hull number 10 of this model, I said, ‘That settles it. You have to call it ‘10 Fold.’”  
    When Fleming moved to Smith Mountain Lake, he had no plans to get involved in restoring antique boats. A ceramic tile specialist based in Manassas, Fleming used an installation job in Charlottesville as an excuse to visit SML. In 1997, he bought property near Blue Ridge Campground on Gills Creek. Later, the couple found a parcel of land they couldn’t resist in Union Hall with 400 feet of waterfront along Standiford Creek.
    Fleming had always been interested in antiques and was fascinated by old wooden boats. In 2005, a newspaper ad for a 17-foot Chris-Craft caught his eye. He headed to the Bedford side of the lake to have a look, made an offer, and it was his.
    “I was still working and had no time to work on it until 2008 when I moved to the lake full time,” said Fleming, who had met John Rieth, an experienced member of the SML Antique and Classic Boat Society, who offered to help launch the boat.
    “As soon as we backed it down [the launch ramp], water started pouring in at the joint where the transom meets the bottom,” said Rieth.  “Dried-out wooden boats always leak for awhile before the bottom planks soak up and expand, but this was more than normal. We had hoped to switch it from one trailer to another. I said, ‘It’s going to sink before we can make the switch. Haul it back out.’”
    So the boat sat on its trailer until the home-building slump cut into Fleming’s workload.
    “A blessing in disguise,” he said. “I finally had time to think about fixing up the boat.”
    Online research led Fleming to Seth Katz, a restorer who worked from a marina on Lake Hopatcong, located just an hour away from Linda’s son Nathan’s home in Nyack, N.Y.  
    “I towed the boat up there for Katz to evaluate,” Fleming said. “When I saw the incredible restorations in his showroom, in the water, and in process, I knew I wanted him to do the work.”  
    Katz, it turned out, had already restored a 20-foot Grand Prix, a big brother to Fleming’s boat. Chris-Craft built 35 20-footers and 50 17-footers over the course of about three years.
    “He had a strong desire to see mine done right,” Fleming said. “I think he hopes he’ll get a chance to buy it when I’m done with it.
    “He had to replace the mahogany deck and interior panels, but the hull — which I feared would need a lot of work — was salvageable.”
    Katz cleaned up the motor, arranged for re-upholstering, fixed up the trim and instruments and installed a new gas tank. He had to remove a ladder and replace a bow light that had been added by previous owners.
    “Now it’s ‘100-percent correct,’” Fleming said, applying a term antique boaters use to mean restored to factory authenticity.
    And while it may look almost too pretty to use, the Flemings enjoy taking “10 Fold” out for evening cruises along the upper Blackwater several nights a week during warmer weather.
    “I love to sit back there,” Linda said, pointing to the bench seat across the stern. “The spray and the engine sound are fantastic.”
    Asked what it costs to get a 43-year-old Chris-Craft restored to like-new condition, Fleming grinned and said: “About 10 times what you think it’s going to cost. Turned out the name applies in that way, too.”
    Then, noting that he’s still installing tile a few days a week, Fleming added: “I pretty much had to go back to work to afford my retirement hobby.”

20th ANNUAL ANTIQUE & CLASSIC BOAT SOCIETY FESTIVAL AND SHOW

What: In-water display of nearly 50 antique motorboats from up and down the East Coast. Family-oriented event with music, food and a variety of craft and collectible vendors. Regular demonstrations of the boats on display and free rides on the steam-powered launch “Ben Gunn.”

When: Sept. 18 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: Mariners Landing Resort and Conference Center

Cost: Admission and parking are free. Donations will be accepted for the Huddleston Rescue Squad.

More info: woodenboats.net