New Judging Rules - The Fusion of Categories and Classes

 

This year has seen new judging rules passed by the Antique and Classic Boat Society, and boat shows around the country are grappling with these new rules. As one of the first boat shows to implement these rules, the New England Chapter is setting out to explain how the rules will be used in the 37th Annual Lake Winnipesaukee Boat Show, on July 24, 2010.

 

A first step in understanding the new rules will be presented in a judging clinic by our own chief judge Chris Johnson, assisted by our past chief judge Bo Muller. Both Chris and Bo participated in the national committee that established the new rules. The judging clinic will be held on Friday afternoon July 23rd in a conference room at the Chase House in Meredith. We will also have a display boat for judges and participants to review using the new judging rules.

 

To be sure everyone is aware of the changes made to the rules, this article is intended to explore what is new. We see it as a fusion of categories and classes. Because the purpose of the Antique and Classic Boat Society is to encourage the preservation of original boats, categories were created to determine what is truly an historic boat. The categories we use to judge every boat are Preserved, Restored or Contemporary. An early contemporary boat is a wooden boat built in 1976 to 1985. A late contemporary boat is a wooden boat built in 1986 to the present. Contemporary boats are not classified as preserved or restored. The determination of what is a preserved boat or a restored boat is explained in full below.

While each registrant chooses the category and class for his or her boat, it is ultimately the call of the Judge that determines the correct category and class. According to the Judging Committee of the ACBS: 

"A preserved boat shall have at least 60% of her original wood. Judges shall make a determination by counting the portions of the boats as follows: 50% for the decks, interior and cabin (if any) together with related framing; and 50% for the sides, transom and related framing. Reconstruction of the bottom will not be counted in determining preserved or restored. Repairs shall be made using original workmanship. Original-type materials will be used wherever possible. Extraordinary measures to repair original planking is to be encouraged. There shall be no deductions for repairs to original planking done in a neat and workmanlike manner." 

"Owners wishing to have their boats judged under the preserved category shall present photographs of the restoration, which clearly show the original wood remaining. In the event that adequate pictures are not available, the judges will make the determination. If there is any question, the decision of the chief judge will be final."

 "Many original preserved boats have never had any appreciable restoration and, therefore, have no restoration photos. The originality of these boats is normally obvious to the judges."

 "A restored boat is one which has less than 60% of the original wood as outlined above, but one which still requires photographic and/or documentary evidence that she was an original boat and not a replica. In order to be judged as a restored boat, the pictures of the restoration must show the boat in various stages which clearly demonstrate the boat was always together enough to be clearly recognizable. Building a new boat and taking some wood out of the old one will not qualify the boat as a restoration, but will result in the boat being classified as a contemporary. Once again, the decision of the judges and the chief judge will be final."

The registrant of a boat in a judged show also selects a judging class. The purpose of judging classes is to classify boats of like kind and quality. Judges can then use appropriate measures and judging criteria. For example, a boat without motorized power, such as a sailboat or canoe, should not be judged in the same way that a racing runabout would be judged. The classes used at our show include the following: 

A - Pre-war Cockpit Runabout to 22’

B - Pre-war Cockpit Runabout over 22’

C - Pre-war Utility to 22’

D - Pre-war over 22’

E - Post-war Cockpit Runabout to 22’

F - Post-war Cockpit Runabout over 22’

G - Post-war Utility to 22’

H - Post-war Utility over 22’

 I - Lakers and Launches

J - Reproduction, Prototype, Modified

K - Sail, Row, Canoe

L - Outboard Boats

M - Cruisers, Commuters

N - Outboard Motors

O - Gold Cup/Gentlemen’s Racers

P - Non-Wood Classic Boats

We will use 6 different judging sheets for different classes. The six different sheets include: powered craft, cruisers/commuters, contemporary powered craft, non-powered craft, non-wood craft, outboard motors/unmounted engines. Each boat is eligible for a first, second or third place award in the selected class, depending upon the ultimate score on the judge's sheet. In addition, best of marque class awards are presented for Best Century, Best Chris-Craft, Best Garwood, Best Hacker Craft, Best Lyman and Best Outboard. We also present awards for Judges' Choice, People's Choice (determined by vote count at the show), Best of Show Preserved, and Best of Show Restored.

 

At the boat show, the boats are judged by teams of judges, with each team assigned several classes to judge. The judging teams are helped by the judging escorts. The duties of the judging escorts are to find each boat to be judged, record the judges' decisions on the judging sheets, and to ensure that all boats assigned to the group have been judged. This is a great way to see the boats up close, learn how the judging is done, meet lots of new friends, and really get involved in the boat show experience. We need lots of volunteers, if interested please contact our judging chair Bo Muller at muller@srnet.com

 

 As these new rules are reviewed and implemented at our 37th Annual Boat Show, there are sure to be many questions and concerns. Our judging team will be glad to answer all questions and welcome all comments. Boat show awards will be presented at the Awards Dinner on Saturday evening and a copy of their judging sheet will be available to each participant. Our boat show chairman Bill John and our chief judge Chris Johnson will be available immediately after the Awards Dinner to further discuss any questions, thoughts, concerns.