Runabout Reflections
I have been asked to share my story about Tuxedo Taxi because she was awarded "Skippers Choice" at the ACBS Tahoe Keys Boat Show in July 1995. Many of you already know her as the 1929, 28-foot Chris-Craft Sedan Limousine that I rescued and restored, but there is more to the story than that.
I have thoroughly enjoyed working on Tuxedo Taxi's lovely form and researching her rather checkered history. However, the most worthwhile and rewarding experiences for me have been in sharing this grand old vessel with other enthusiasts and in reliving the bygone era that she was created for, every time I fire her massive engine and take her out for a spin.
What it must have been like to be at the helm of this speedboat back in 1929 when Lake Tahoe was a pristine wilderness playground for the rich and famous! If I squint my eyes as I cruise the shore now, in order to screen out all of the "tupper ware" craft that ply the waters, I can easily imagine how the original owners felt; the sound of the deep growl from the "big" A-70 V8; the cushioned ride of the long narrow hull; the luxury of rich red leather upholstery and roll-up windows. Ah, the grandness of it all!
But I happen to know that I have something that the original owners didn't have in their original overhead cabin dome light. This time around it has a standard white bulb and an extra red bulb for "mood lighting" on special moonlight night occasions! How about that for modern technology?
Incidentally, the name Tuxedo Taxi came into being when Mimi and I decided to rename her with a name that called to mind the era that she exemplified. "Tuxedo Junction" was a pop song written in 1929. A "water taxi" is what she was. A friend coined the name Tuxedo Taxi and that is who she became!
It has been a year now since I restored Tuxedo Taxi and returned her to Lake Tahoe after a fifty year hiatus. She was delivered to the Radcliff family, co-owners of Sunnyside Lodge on the West Shore, on March 29, 1929, for the grand sum of $5,850.00. The family christened her Mary Ann in honor of Mrs. Ann Radcliff.
Mary Ann spent the next twelve years cruising Lake Tahoe as a personal boat for the family and as a tour boat with regular runs to Emerald Bay and Sand Harbor. During World War 2 she spent four years laid up in a storage warehouse at Obexers Marina because of gas rationing.
In April of 1944, Alvin Davis, a plumbing contractor in Vallejo, CA, bought Mary Ann for $1,000.00 and moved her to Clear Lake, CA, where she was treated like a lady and loved for what she was, an aging but grand craft. Then about ten years later, when Mary Ann became just an "old boat," Davis moved her to Vallejo and put her into service as a San Francisco Bay "work boat." He used her to haul plumbing supplies, mostly toilets, all over the Bay and Delta.
Needless to say, Mary Ann's glory days were over. Finally she was hauled out in a boat yard in China Basin in San Francisco, and eventually abandoned by Davis as a derelict. She sat out in the weather for at least five years before she was spotted by friends of mine who recognized her as a rare runabout and decided to buy her for storage charges. $1,500.00 was spent in buying the boat a transporting her to Tahoe City, CA, where it was hoped that someone would come along who would want to restore this decrepit but historic old vessel.
Roy turned out to be the silly person who took on the challenge. I have no regrets and now I have a boat that I respect and love! Yes it is possible to "love" a boat. There is a great quote from the childrenÕs book The Wind In The Willows, "There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much fun doing as simply messing about in boats." I have been "messing about" with Tuxedo Taxi for a year now and I think I know her very heart and soul.
This restoration project has truly been a study of following my passion. Now I want to share this great boat with anyone who cares. At the Lake Arrowhead Boat Show in May 1995, Mimi and I took 76 passengers and one Spits dog for rides! At the Tahoe Keys Show we hauled fifteen friends for rides to Emerald Bay. The day after the "show," Mimi and I took a circumnavigation cruise of Lake Tahoe, with a stop at the West Shore Cafe for lunch, and probably experienced some of what the first owners felt back in 1929. It was kind of a daydream day.
This mellow boat show event took place on the clear and cool weekend of June 2 & 3, 1995, and involved some 61 wooden boats, 20 woody cars and 3 vintage T-34 aircraft. Three Northern California A.C.B.S. members attended the event, although only two boats were shown from this group.
Paul & Jackie Mehus attended but did not show a boat. They were gracious to personally bring back all of the hardware they won last year at the 1994, Show with their 1955 18-foot Chris-Craft Cobra, "Sassy": First in Class Lake Arrowhead 1994, Best of Show Lake Arrowhead Ō94.
Don & Anne Veihmeyer brought their lovely 1940 19-foot Chris-Craft Custom Runabout, "Flicker."
Roy & Mimi Domke showed their 1929 28-foot Chris-Craft Sedan Limousine, "Tuxedo Taxi," and took home trophies for: First in Triple Cockpit Class, Chamber of Commerce Perpetual Award and Best of Show.
There was a parade and air show on Saturday afternoon that involved all of the wooden boats, about one hundred spectator boats, a paddle wheel steam boat, a fire boat and the three buzz bombing airplanes. It was an exciting and fun time, and best of all, everyone survived the experience.
Sunday was ride day for spectators and friends. The unofficial record for rides given in a single boat goes to Roy & Mimi Domke in "Tuxedo Taxi": seventy six adults & children and one Spits dog (held by its owner in the rear cockpit). Its too bad Al Schinnerer's Miss Arrowhead had carburetor problems. Al has always set the passenger carried record every year at Arrowhead in honor of his former tour boat.
One last remembrance of this fine weekend has to be the "Hill from Hell," the 6,000 ft. twenty mile climb up the mountain from San Bernardino to Lake Arrowhead. I almost had to retire my trusty Chevy Blazer from duty after that one.