Antique Wooden Boats Highlight This Weekend at Hessel
28th Annual Boat Show, Festival of Arts Begins With Friday Barbecue
By Amy Polk

Brian Horsburgh drives the AnTiki while his father, Kip, and grandfather, K.P., enjoy another summer ride in the AnTiki.

With around 125 wooden classics already registered, volunteers are preparing to present the 28th Annual Les Cheneaux Antique Wooden Boat Show and Festival of Arts in Hessel Saturday, August 13.

Boat Show activities will begin Friday evening, August 12, with a “Get Acquainted” barbecued pork dinner at E.J. Mertaugh Boat Work’s storage shed in Hessel from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The event is a fundraiser for the Les Cheneaux Music Boosters, and proceeds support Cedarville High School and Middle School band programs. Under the direction of Music Director Alan Jacobus, Cedarville High School’s band has performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City and in Australia, and has been invited to perform in China next year.

A street dance from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. in Hessel will conclude Friday activities.

Saturday morning will begin with the Les Cheneaux Lions Club pancake breakfast in Mertaugh’s storage shed in Hessel from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. The breakfast is a major fundraiser for the Club, which distributes scholarships to community students and completes a variety of community improvement projects.

The Festival of Arts and Boat Show opening ceremonies will begin at 10 a.m. The Festival of Arts will feature 70 fine artists, who will sell glass, pottery, paintings, jewelry, sculpture, photographs, textiles, wood carvings, and wooden furniture.

The show will officially open after 10 a.m., and Channel cruises by Arnold Transit Company. Katydid’s of Hessel and Soo Locks Train Tours will offer free rides on a motorized “train” around Hessel throughout the day.

Awards will be distributed at 3 p.m. The People’s Choice Award is selected by spectators, and anyone who wants to vote for their favorite boat must use the ballots inside Boat Show programs. The ballots must be turned in before 2 p.m.

Admission to the Boat Show and Festival of Arts is $7 for adults and $3 for children ages 12 to 18 years. Children younger than 12 will be admitted free of charge.

This year, all volunteers from past and present shows will be honored for their work in making the boat show an annual success.

This year’s two feature boats are the 2004 Best of Show, Chief Mackinac, owned by John Allen of Gull Lake, Minnesota, and Naples, Florida, and the An-Tiki , a graceful little launch owned by Kip Horsburgh of Cedarville and Cleveland, Ohio. They will be displayed prominently in the show.

Chief Mackinac is a custom 32-foot, Consolidated launch built in 1918 and owned by Hardy family of Chicago and Marquette Island near Hessel. She was originally named Molly and used as a utility boat and was subsequently owned by the Seiberling family of Marquette Island and the late Ray Ackerman of Hessel.

The boat's original engine, probably a 70 hp Speedway, was replaced shortly after World War II with a 115 hp Chrysler.

She has been restored by Classic and Antique Boats of Hessel. About 99 percent of the boat is original, said restorer Jim Mertaugh, which is impressive, considering the boat’s age and frequent use.

Chief Mackinac took Best of Show, People's Choice, and First in the Launch Class at the show last year.

The An-Tiki , a sleek, 21-foot, 1906 Truscott launch, was found rotting on a Cedarville shoreline by Ken Horsburgh of Cedarville and Palm City, Florida, who bought it from Con and Helen Shoberg for $1 and had it restored by Marvin Tassier in 1970.

She won Best Launch at the third Les Cheneaux Boat Show in 1979 and has been in three or four shows since.

The boat originally sold for $450 and was fitted with a gas, one-cylinder engine.

She is now owned by Mr. Horsburgh’s son and family, Kip and Jean Horsburgh and their children, Mark, 20, and Brian, 17.