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WATERSKI MagazineWashington's Harold Silkes doesn't have a PWC lift, an 800-watt sound system or a custom airbrushed paint job on his rig. Doesn't need to. The pair of toys gets plenty of looks on Silkes' 120-mile jaunt from his home in Longview to Spirit Lake, at the base of Mount St. Helens.
Silkes restored the 1930 Model A Ford 30-plus years ago, and soon after purchased the (used) 1957 Century Resorter. The Silkes family would drop plenty of sweat into its bilge over the years. The Chrysler-powered (marine flat-head six) inboard has been fully dismantled and restored with new bottom, bows and planks, stainless parts, chrome finish and topped off with eight coats of varnish. During the process, Silkes and crew removed and refastened over 2,000 screws and plugged the holes with new wooden plugs.
The effort has paid off. With Mrs. Silkes behind the wheel, the Resorter has seen over 25 years of use, and “still pulls four lightweight skiers at once,” she says. The couple not only wins our Meguiar's Rig of the Month, but kudos for keeping this retro rig out of the showroom and on the road and in the water – where it belongs.
