Whitefish hosts wooden boat show this weekend

Dozens of antique wooden boats will parade the shore of Whitefish Lake this Friday evening as a kick-off to the Whitefish Woody Weekend II classic boat show. Organizers hope the event is a step in resurrecting Whitefish’s long-forgotten love affair with boating.

“There is a long history of boating here,” said event organizer Tim Salt, of the Big Sky Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society. “We want to recognize and rekindle that interest.”

The use of motor boats on Whitefish Lake dates back to Whitefish’s earliest days as an incorporated city. By 1906, boating was considered “quite the thing,” according to Pilot archives. Residents would travel to the Point of Pines pavilion at the head of the lake on the Butte, the first large boat on the lake.

An official Whitefish Lake Boat Club was established in 1908, and by the 1930s the Whitefish Lake Regatta was in full swing.

At its peak, crowds numbering in the thousands would gather at City Beach to watch boat racers vie for the coveted Aluminum Cup.

At one point the Whitefish Regatta was the longest-running powerboat race in the United States. The final race was held in the early ‘90s due to waning interest.

Salt hopes that the three days of events surrounding Woody Weekend II conjure up memories of the way it used to be.

Kicking off the weekend June 28 is the evening boat parade. Classic wood boats dating back to 1926 will cruise the shores of Whitefish Lake. People are encouraged to watch from shore or to drop anchor in their own boat. The atmosphere should be party-like, Salt said.

“There’s nothing like seeing a whole wave of wooden boats go by,” he explained.

Boats will leave The Lodge at 8 p.m., traveling toward City Beach first, then along the west shore to the head of the lake and back to The Lodge following the east shore. The entire parade should take about an hour.

Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., all of the antique boats will be on display at The Lodge. The public is welcomed to check out the boats and mingle with boat owners.

“Every owner likes to talk about their boat and share stories,” Salt said.

Sunday, the boats will be on the water again for a poker run beginning at 10 a.m.

Most of the boats in the show will be from the Big Sky chapter. Expect to see refurbished antiques and new boats that retain the classic look. Some of the new boats are self-built and most house powerful engines.