In period, names like Garwood, Hacker-Craft and Ventnor were respected as a selection of the finest boat builders in the U.S., the original hand-built wooden runabouts are sought after and greatly prized, and they can cost over $100,000. The beautiful reproduction watercraft on offer is one of the nicest and visually most faithful to the original Ventnor 20-foot Runabout.

The original version made its debut at the 1945 New York Boat Show. The art deco-inspired craft first appeared with a distinctive dorsal-finned, beaver-tailed stern, the boat was meant to draw attention to Ventnor's more conventional models. The finned prototype captured the show's "Boat of the Year" honor, and popular demand persuaded the company to produce it. A year later, a finless version (such as this boat) of the Runabout was introduced, and both models became successful sellers.

Ventnor, which had been in business since 1902 and had dominated virtually every major class in racing from the 1920s through the '40s, closed in 1968. That would have been the end of the Ventnor story had it not been for Dick Thede. A 50-year veteran of the marine industry, he revived the Ventnor name and recreated its signature 20-foot Runabout in both finned and finless versions.

From the waterline up, today's Ventnor looks like duplicate of the original, but with advanced materials. What was previously a painted plywood hull is now gel-coated fiberglass. What initially was mahogany (deck, dashboard, interior trim) remains so. Castings and patterns for all the hardware are made from the originals. The seats, gauges, steering wheel and more are also upgrades in quality, while being committed to the feel of the original masterpiece of design. This boat is sophisticated in all respects.