Wood runabout9/24/2023 We're not entirely sure what the boat was called when new. Logan, apparently something of a teetotaler, did not specify an ice chest. It has a few special touches that set it apart from the other triple cockpits built that year, like a folding top designed by automotive coachbuilder Dietrich. It's called a 28-40 because it is 28 feet long, and its torquey Scripps Model 202 inline-six can push it to a stated top speed of 40 mph. Clair River northeast of Gar's proving grounds - the waters around Detroit's Belle Isle. ![]() Its boatbuilding arm had just relocated to Marysville, Mich., where Lake Saint Clair meets the St. This particular Gar Wood model 28-40 triple cockpit runabout, now named “Katie's Choice” (Katie, whoever she is, apparently has superb taste), was built in 1930 for Gar's brother, Logan, then president of Gar Wood Industries. The 1930 Gar Wood model 28-40 is so named because it is 28 feet long and designed to go 40 mph. Today, they're recognized, along with Chris-Crafts and Hackercrafts, as some of the finest and most collectable runabouts ever produced. Garfield “Gar” Wood, a Tony Stark-like entrepreneur/inventor/daredevil - the first man to travel over 100 mph on the water - often crammed Packard powerplants into his series of record-breaking “Miss America” speedboats. Miss Daytona, designed for pure speed in 1929, was essentially built around a motor devised by Indy legend Harry Miller. ![]() Look at nearly any speedy watercraft borne of the Machine Age and you're sure to find some connection to the automotive industry. We've learned a lot about making faster boats, more efficient boats, flashier boats, since 1930. The vessel charges over the waves effortlessly it gets up on plane quickly, water rising up to kiss its keel mid-hull, leaving behind nothing but a thrumming engine note and a picture-perfect vee wake. To say that a Gar Wood 28-40 Triple Cockpit runabout floats across the water isn't just obvious - it's an understatement.
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