By Miles F. Porter IV, Frisco Bay, Colorado 2010

     It’s a good marriage between classic wooden boats and America’s icon plastic Chevrolet Corvette at Frisco Bay Marina on the shore of Colorado’s Dillon Reservoir.
     Better known as Lake Dillon, the Town of Frisco’s marina co-hosts Rendezvous on the Rockies, an in the water boat show, sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Classics Chapter, while just up Main Street, the town features its annual Looking Glass Corvette Association show, which draws 600 of the fiberglass sports cars.
     On a Saturday in late July, the Rocky Mountain Classics’ members’ boats line the modern dock system. During each of the last two years, nearly 3,000 fans walked the docks to see a fleet of 30 plus wooden crafts of a wide variety of builders including Chris-Craft, Century, Hacker and others.
     With the lake sitting at 9,017 feet above sea level and 75 miles west of Denver on I-70 and the surrounding snowcapped mountains of the Colorado Rockies, it is a boat lover’s paradise with its crystal clear, blue water, mountain vistas and fresh air. Just short drives from the lake are the towns of Breckenridge and Vail.
The 2010 edition of Rendezvous on the Rockies was Saturday, July 24.
     “Our chapter members really enjoy staging this show — we have a lot of fun,” said Bill Tordoff of Frisco, where he’s the chapter secretary when not restoring boats with Wayne Spaulding at their “Wonderful Woodies” shop near Breckenridge,
    “Rendezvous in the Rockies has become the premier Rocky Mountain Classics Chapter on-water show, in a season that runs from early June to late September at lakes near Alcova, Wyoming, down to Pueblo, Colorado, with stops at Lake Loveland, Grand Lake, and Denver’s Sloan Lake,” Bill explains.
     Boat lovers vote on People’s Choice and in 2010 — again — for the third year, it was Kit Phillips’ “Tootsie,” a 1940 Chris-Craft barrelback triple cockpit powered by a 460 Ford V-8, restored by Charlie Peak of Alcova, Wyoming.
     This year’s voting was decided by one vote as “Tootsie” edged out “Touche,” Hal and Kay May’s 1930 24-foot Chris Craft triple. The Mays are from Cheshire, Oregon, and have relatives living in Frisco.
     Highlighting the event was the appearance of a Chris-Craft founding family member, Chris Ann Smith-Braaf, a great-granddaughter. She is a regular on the regional show circuit with her one-off “Chris’ Craft” runabout, presented on her 16th birthday, and a restored 28-foot 1957 Chris Craft Sedan Cruiser, named “Chris Craft II.”
Chris Ann and husband Bob Braaf live nearby in Tabernash, not far from Colorado’s classic boat haven, Grand Lake.
     The chapter serves up a noon Texas-style barbecue to fellow boaters and marina staffers. Other treats and beverages are available at the marina’s Island Grill, making for an enjoyable weekend. A Saturday night dinner gets all the boaters together for recognition of boats and owners.
     Lake Dillon offers two marinas: Frisco Bay, on the Westside, and Dillon and Tiki Bar on the east. It is an enjoyable drive around the lake which is owned by the city of Denver.
     There are 26 miles of shoreline, and over 3,300 surface acres, multiple campsites and excellent water for canoeing and kayaking among the islands.  Depths of the high mountain lake, fed by three rivers — The Blue, Ten Mile, and Snake — run to 285 feet of clean, clear water. The protruding peaks of submerged mountains offer quiet coves for exploring and picnicking.
     The chapter’s annual meeting has been held in Frisco in October at Wayne and Cindy Spaulding’s Boatyard Pizzeria and Grill four times out of the last five years. The 2009-10 chapter president is Jim McGoughy of Colorado Springs.

Miles F. Porter IV
ACBS-RMC Bilge Pump editor
1959 14-foot Correct Craft Atom Skier — “Blondie”
P.O. Box 237, Frisco, CO 80443
970-668-0968 home/office
970-485-3717 cell
milesfporteriv@aol.com