Pride, gleam hallmarks of festival

For Hope resident Bud Moon, antique wooden boats are more than just a hobby – they are a family tradition. Moon has restored approximately 14 boats in his lifetime; and when his children were young, the hobby offered him and his boys a chance to spend time together. “I was always in the workshop asking a lot of questions,” said Moon’s son Brandon.

Bud Moon and his wife, Susan, are just one of the 25 sponsors of Sandpoint’s second annual Wooden Boat Festival, which will be held next weekend..

Moon is a member of the Inland Empire Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society, the group responsible for bringing the show to Sandpoint. He is excited for Sandpoint to host this event for a second straight year.

“We have been involved with wooden boats most of our lives,” said Moon. “This is a great opportunity for Sandpoint to have this, and the marina is an ideal spot.”

According to Chris Knapton, president of the Inland Empire Chapter, last year the event drew about 10,000 people to the area and approximately 50 boats. He expects about the same number this year, and the event will also include several new boats.

“There’s a tremendous amount of wooden boats in the area,” said Knapton.

The boats will begin to arrive Friday, and the show will officially open at 10 a.m. the morning of July 10. Some of the events planned for the weekend include a model boat demonstration, a boat parade and an awards barbecue.

Knapton said boats will be judged in several categories including people’s choice, skippers’ choice, best runabout, best presentation and best utility boat.

Something unique this year is the sponsorship of two youth groups that have built their own wooden boats, one from Sagle Elementary and the other from Sandpoint High School.

“Our objective is that through time we can provide scholarships to help the students go to one of the boat-building schools on the coast,” Knapton said.

One of the boats on display at the show will be Brandon Moon’s 1961 Lee Craft. It is a boat that has not only provided him with an outlet for his hobby but also offered him a glimpse into history.

“They all (wooden boats) have a history,” he said, “and I’ve been able to track the history of mine.”

His boat was originally intended as a racing boat, but when the finished product did not meet the expectations of the intended owner, he declined to buy it. The boat then went to a man in Whitefish, Mont., and was later sold to someone in Spokane. It eventually landed in Sandpoint, where it was discovered next to a day-care center. According to the Moons, the boat was getting ready to be converted into a sandbox until they rescued it.

“Brandon brought it back to life,” said his father.

Tracing its history, Brandon Moon contacted the original owner in Whitefish, who was anxious to know if the boat was for sale. It held many memories for him; all his children learned to water ski behind it. But a divorce had followed, and the boat was a casualty of the breakup.

Another benefit of involvement with the wooden boats is the camaraderie among the owners.

“There are a lot of people from different walks of life that exchange ideas,” said Bud Moon. “There is a common bond between the people.”

Brandon Moon compares his work on wooden boats with that of car restoration. He said that after restoring a 1959 Chevy pickup, he discovered that a lot of people at the car shows have not done their own restoration work. But the world of wooden boats is a different story.

“A lot of wooden boat owners do the work themselves,” said Moon. If asked how many coats of varnish they have on their boat, chances are that most boat owners will be able to give a precise answer, he said. “There is a real pride of ownership.”

Moon encourages people to not only attend the Wooden Boat Festival, but also ask the owners for a ride in the boats. He said most people, including him, are happy to take people for a ride and enjoy answering questions. But don’t be looking for Moon to part with his boat anytime soon. The time involved in restoring it and the memories will not allow him to sell it.

“It’s priceless,” he said.

Brandon Moon’s boat is on display at the Bonner Mall until the day of the festival.