Wood Boat Restoration Lake Tahoe

Antique & Classic Boat Restorers

Sierra Boat is one of the oldest and largest Antique and Classic Boat restorers in the country. We were finding and restoring wood boats when they were being burnt in other places. In fact, Sierra boat which was established in 1952, has always worked on wooden boats because that’s what boats were made of in 1952. We have always had qualified staff to work on old woodies, so with over 50 years in business and over a century of combined staff knowledge, why would you take you boat anywhere else. As testament to our work, our boats have garnered more awards at the Lake Tahoe Concours, arguably the toughest in the county, than any other restorer.

Restoration

Philosophy

Our restoration philosophy is biased more toward preservation than restoration. It is our belief that once a boat has lost much of its original wood, it has also lost its soul. For this reason, we tend to preserve as much of the original boat and structure as possible. The exception is the bottom. Not only must a boat float, it must be safe. We utilize the latest technologies when reconstructing a bottom and take great care with is most important aspect of the boat. Most important, our bottoms are built to last with some of our earlier work being over 40 years old and still going strong.

Of course the quality restoration of wooden boats includes the fine craftsmanship and finishes, but it is much more than that. In order to restore a boat properly; you must research the boat as to correctness of wood, finish, upholstery and mechanical details. Because our shop is able to provide all of the aspects of restoration under one roof, we can control the quality of the project from stat to finish. (See the section under Mechanical Restoration for our engine and mechanical services) Familiarity with a variety of boats also helps. We have nearly 300 wood boats stored here. Chris Craft, Gar Wood, Hackers, Century and the largest assemblage of Rivas in North America. These boats are a great guide in helping us to correct antique and classic boat restoration.

Affiliates

Meet some of our affliate brands