Fay Bowen Special Launch - Very Unique, Historical

Fay & Bowen launches and runabouts are the slim, glistening, brass-bejeweled ladies that still slide over the waters of the Adirondacks with the poise of socialites arriving at the opera. Since 1901, Fay & Bowen boats have been as linked to the Adirondacks and their mountain lakes as the region’s ubiquitous guide-boats.

Few of the Great Camps were without one or two; Lake George alone had three Fay & Bowen dealerships; and the list of Fay & Bowen owners in the 1920s reads like a Who’s Who of prominent Americans from Victor Herbert to the Uihlein family, brewers of Schlitz beer. The enterprise that Mr. Fay and Mr. Bowen started in 1895 as manufacturers of bicycle parts in Auburn, N.Y., and moved to Geneva, N.Y., in 1904 after switching to marine engines and boats, seems to have been a straightforward and uncomplicated company. And it seems to have consistently done a couple of things very well. It built engines and gentleman’s launches and it sold them successfully through a large dealer network. It didn’t have the flash or energy of powerful personalities that often stood behind the other powerboat builders of its era. It lacked a lucky Chris Smith, an aggressive Gar Wood, an artistic John Hacker, a wealthy Horace Dodge. Compared to its competitors, Fay & Bowen was staid, small-town, uncompromising in its devotion to a first-quality product and a style of boat and boating that finally couldn’t compete with the speedboats of the 1920s.

“Moonlight Serenade” is a fully restored 1914 Fay & Bowen special launch, hull #495. She has always been on Lake George, and the current owner purchased her from Morgan Marine (now Hacker Boat Company) in 1986, and did a complete restoration and repowering (1986 Marinized Ford/Zodiac 100HP). Since then, “Moonlight Serenade” has been with her current owner, and has always been in a boathouse and professionally maintained by Hall’s Boat Corp. in Lake George Village.

“Moonlight Serenade” has won 8 ACBS Exhibitor’s Choice and People’s Choice awards at the ACBS boat shows on Lake George over the recent years. She is nothing short of a head-turner, and represents an unparalled opportunity for an antique boat enthusiast or collector to acquire a very rare, award-winning boat.

“Moonlight Serenade” is in excellent, “show” condition, and can be immediately enjoyed for regular and frequent use. The current owner has enjoyed countless hours on the water with her right through the 2011 season, and she is only needy of a new owner who will enjoy her for many seasons of future use. The current owner is putting her on the market after 26 years of ownership simply because he is paring down his collection of wooden boats.

Features: