These classic wooden boats get classic gold leaf graphics

Back in the 1950s, the pleasure boat of choice was the Chris-Craft, a sleek mahogany boat with beautiful lines and a powerful inboard motor. Fiberglass came along and changed boat building forever, but thousands of fine old Chris-Crafts remained, along with a following of those who love the finely built boats.

Alan Johnson of Alan Johnson Grafix, Blairstown, New Jersey, has been lettering these vintage boats since the 1970s, when he first moved to the shore of Lake Hopatcong to escape the advertising world of New York City and open his sign business.

He’s lettered boats for a marina there that has always specialized in the maintenance and repair of wooden motorboats for three owners and has watched the restoration business change. Today, Katz’s Marina specializes in bringing these vintage boats back to life.