Dallas Winter Boat Show to Feature Yellow Jackets

Market Hall in Dallas is a beehive of activity as major boat retailers from around the metroplex use semi tractors to move their gleaming white yachts into place in the cavernous exhibit facility.

And right in the middle of the action on Monday morning, Feb. 1, was the installation of four WBA/ACBS Yellow Jackets on the mezzanine level of the Hall. Boat show crews used a 5-stage forklift to hoist the boats, trailers and all, onto the second level, where the display will take shape this week.

Many WBA members have already volunteered to staff the show, Feb. 5-14. If you haven't volunteered yet, contact Mark Webster.

Clay Thompson provided a personal and fascinating look at his many restoration projects over the years.

Canyon Creek Country Club was once again the venue for a wonderful Annual Installation Banquet for the WBA. About 40 people attended, all bedecked in black and white, the evening's theme.

Lucas: So Close We Can Taste It.

Above: The forward cockpit will be posh accommodations for Skipper Troy. Tuck-and-rolled black leather upholstery and side panels really set off the gleaming mahogany finish.

Below: The dream has become reality. How would you like to be at the wheel of this beauty? All that remains to be done is the fitting of the rubrails and the painting of the water line with bottom paint.

Troy Marshall's 1948 Hacker

Above: Robin and Troy rebuild the Hacker's fuel pump. Troy says, "It works OK, but you don't want to be out in the middle of the lake and have this thing go bad." Better safe than sorry.

Below: View from the middle cockpit shows glove boxes, leather upholstery and fine finish. There's yet another cockpit behind this one. Play your cards right, and Troy might give you a ride.

Chuck Pool's '55 Yellow Jacket:

Above: Lew White fits deck hardware on the newly buffed foredeck.

Below: Side graphics are authentic to 1955 specs. Bob Adair made the pattern, painted the red, and applied 1/8" pinstripe tape and repro Yellow Jacket decals as the boat's finishing touches.

Ready for the Boat Show

Above: The boat as it appeared on Friday, January 29. By the next day, side decals and pinstriping had been completed by Bob Adair, and the boat was out, on its way to Market Hall.

Below: Upholstered seats installed. This boat will be among four featured at the Dallas International Boat show, Feb. 5-14.

Shop Talk and Musings:

Seems like Yellow Jackets are getting more than their share of attention this year. Well, that's because the Dallas Boat Show folks invited us to display these North Texas speedsters this year. As you probably know, the space we get at the boat show, and the theme of the display, are at the discretion of the Show managers, based on space availability (otherwise known as unsold space) and management's promotional ideas. Yellow Jackets have always been near and dear to Boat Show organizer Franklin Pillsbury IV (see '50s vintage photo of Franklin with Yellow Jacket partner and spokesman Roy Rogers below), since his dad sold the boats for many years in Houston and Dallas. Looks like space sales were strong this year (another good economic sign). Our Yellow Jacket display will be in a good, high-traffic area on the mezzanine by the bar, so don't look for us on the main floor. It's a good location for the little boats, and a great spot to talk with folks about our club.

Also, a hat tip to our new President, Jim Wolfe, who is making serious progress on the frames of his Century Coronado. See photo below, right.

Please take a look in the shed or garage for the leftover parts or other saleable items you can donate to the club. Bring them to any WBA meeting, or contact David Kanally at david@historywithheart.com for pickup.