Classic Boat: Back In Action
When Leah Glowacki’s dad brought the family’s 1960 Volksboat back to life, she got to relive one of her fondest childhood memories.
by Lee Wangstad
With the latest issue of
Boating World tucked tightly under her arm, Leah Glowacki prepared for the flight from
home on yet another journey to her parent’s summer cottage on Loon Lake, located outside Thunder
Bay, Ontario. Once the flight was well underway, she read through the magazine until she got to the
last page. Her heart stopped. Reading the article (“
A Blast From
The Past,”) about Dave Panetti’s Volksboat sent her mind spinning back to 1970, when her
parents, Paul and Lydia Glowacki, had first purchased their cottage on Loon Lake.
Shortly after they bought the cabin, Paul bought a used Volksboat, thinking it would prove to
be the ideal family boat. Powered by a 25-hp Scott, Paul felt it was slightly overpowered for such
a small boat. After a couple of years’ usage, he opted for a larger runabout. He didn’t trade in
the Volksboat, but instead put it into storage. After a few years in the garage, it migrated
outdoors, under a roof attached to the shed.
When Leah got off the plane, she knew that her first order of business would be to discover
the whereabouts of their old Volksboat. It was still there, behind the shed, but the roof had
collapsed on it, and the little boat was full of leaves and debris.
Boaters cant' help but notice Leah Glowacki's super-fast
1960 Volksboat coated with the boat's original colors.
Leah and her husband, James Allen, cleaned it as best they could, but it had developed an
8-inch hole in the bottom close to the transom, and the finish was badly deteriorated. Putting the
Volksboat back on the water would have to wait.
Volksboats were originally imported from Germany, but by 1959 were being manufactured in the
United States by Volksboat Inc. of Chicago. The 10-foot runabout weighed a scant 125 pounds and was
rated for up to 25 hp. Available in two models, the fully loaded Continental sold new in 1959 for
$485, while the Utility sold for $395. Initial low price, economical operating costs, and doing
more with less all had an appeal to buyers in the late ’50s.
Volksboat was in the process of setting up a national dealer network when it announced in
November of 1960 that it was renaming the company “Jet Boat Inc.,” and the boat would be called the
“Jetra.” Its new advertising plan called the Jetra “America’s first compact sports boat.”
When Leah and James returned to the cottage on Loon Lake in the spring of 2007, they were in
for the surprise of their lives. Her father, Paul, had taken the Volksboat and gotten it completely
restored at a local boat shop.
“I couldn’t believe it,” says Leah. “He had the hole in the floor repaired and the boat
painted in the red and white colors just like it was originally. Before he had put it away so many
years ago, he had taken the interior out and carefully stored the cushions in the garage. They were
still just like new! This was really exciting.”
James even got the engine purring again. “Initially, he worked on it and worked on it, but
couldn’t get it to run,” says Leah. “We had given up hope. We left it overnight and went back out
in the morning, and it fired right up and has run beautifully ever since.”
According to Leah, the boat is “too fast.” “I mean scary fast,” says Leah. “You ride so close
to the water that you really don’t notice just how fast you’re going. We have a Moomba, kayaks, jet
skis, you name it, but this is completely different from anything we own.”
Leah says it really draws a lot of attention. “Everyone on the lake loves it,” she says. “Dad
always hung on to this boat, because he knew there was a reason [to keep it around]. I’m going to
keep it now so my niece Paige can experience the fun that this boat provides.”
“It’s just soooo cool skimming across the water at full speed,” says Leah, “but that’s when
it’s scary too.”
