Denise Goodwin had been water skiing since she was 7 years old. As a mechanic, her uncle was used to keeping his boat up and running, so whenever and however Denise could, she would take those opportunities to water ski. Denise wanted her kids to experience some of the things she enjoyed as a child, with boating and camping sitting at the top of her list. In 1986, Denise, with her husband, Todd, decided to purchase a boat so she could have the liberty to ski any time she wanted.

"I sold my 1966 Thunderbird so we would have some extra money," says Denise. "We spotted this small 1963 Elgin 150 at a shopping center in the parking lot. As it turned out, the Elgin 150 and a larger one were for sale. They were asking $1,100 for the Elgin 150. We were going to have to tow whichever one we chose with our '67 Volkswagen bus, so the 150 worked out best."

Sold by Sears Roebuck and Co., the 1963 Elgin 150 had been built by Traveler Boats of Little Rock, Ark. Sears had a number of manufacturers producing boats for its showroom and catalog sales. This lineup would vary from year to year. The deal with Traveler was made back when the company was still known as Southwest Manufacturing Co., and its line of fiberglass and aluminum boats went by the name Arkansas Traveler.

In 1957, Standard Railway Equipment Manufacturing Co. (Stanray) bought Southwest Manufacturing. The new management saw the Sears contract as money in the bank and gave the orders full attention. In late 1964, Standard Railway consolidated its operations from four satellite plants into one large facility in Danville, Ill., closer to the Stanray headquarters in Chicago.
 
As the Sears account began to take over production, the old-line dealers began to complain about getting its orders met on schedule. Needing product to sell and getting no satisfaction from Stanray management, many dealers switched to other brands. When the Sears/Traveler contract abruptly ended in 1966 without renewal, Traveler found itself with few orders from what was left from its dealer network, and by 1967, Traveler  production came to a halt.

When Denise's Elgin 150 was produced, Traveler was at its peak, with national sales and business with Sears moving full speed ahead. The 150 came fully equipped with a 20-inch windshield, upholstered foam front and rear seats, and bow and stern lighting. It weighed 555 pounds and could handle up to 75 hp. It was a family package heading back into a family some 20-odd years later.

"It was in really good shape," Denise says. "We took it home, and cleaned and shined it up. That first year it ran great, but later in the summer, the starter broke, so we had to rope-start it. It had a 1966 Johnson 80-hp 4-cylinder, so rope-starting wasn't easy. Later we put $150 into a new starter for the Johnson, and that lasted for a couple of years but then went out again, so we were back to rope-starting. I think we've finally got it straightened out."

Two years ago, Denise had to replace the floor. "We were out camping, and one of the front-seat brackets went through the floor," says Denise. "We pulled the seats up and found an area about 12 inches by 36 inches that was soft. I suppose we could've just replaced that portion, but I decided to take the whole floor out so I wouldn't have to do it again." Even though the floor was weak, the stringers were still solid, which she just reglassed to the hull.
 
With few modifications, Denise says the boat handles perfectly. "The new floor makes the 150 feel and sound solid," says Denise. "My boat's seats are low enough so you feel like you're sitting down in the boat - a very secure feeling." And to keep her waterski legacy going, Denise has taught her kids to ski behind the boat. Denise says, "Now, we use the boat mostly for wakeboarding and tubing. It does everything that we want it to do so well."