Everybody has a story, click to read about Bartender Boats from those that know them well.
Philip E. Smith — 19′ BARTENDER
“I first heard of the Calkins BARTENDERS around 1962 or 1963 and when the plans became available I purchased a set for the 19-footer. I started construction in 1965 and launched the boat Labor Day 1967. I read as much as I could about building a boat and then I bought Glen L. Witt’s book […]
Dan Payne – 26’ BARTENDER
“I raced a Master Craft ski machine this weekend. Although the Master Craft is a much faster boat, I beat him hands down due to what I believe was sheer intimidation. The sight of the BARTENDERS’ sharp bow slicing the moderate chop, setting the hull down lightly, then rising gently to take another, was just […]
Jonah Green — 22′ BARTENDER
“Thank you again for an excellent product. It took me about an hour to set all the jig beams and frames, and another hour and a half to shim, level, square, and screw everything down. Everything went together perfect. The kit has already saved me a lot of time and hard work. I am very […]
Ron McIrvin — 19′ BARTENDER
“My wife and I fish and cruise the waters around our home on Wrangell Island in S.E. Alaska in a 19 ft. BARTENDER “Patty Lou”. We have made many trips in the boat traveling as much as 20 miles or more to the fishing grounds fishing out the day then returning home. Weather and water […]
Lee W. Baxter – Beaverton, OR
I built my 26′ sport-fishing Bartender Storm Crow in spare time over the course of 4 years. I was guided through the build by George Calkins’ original drawings and instructions, with crucial advice along the way by Bill Childs, proprietor of the Calkins designs. When I chose the Bartender, I admired the looks and the […]
Don Froese – 19′ BARTENDER
We decided to build the BT-19 after seeing Bill’s beautiful cuddy-cabin version. The frame kit was a great way to get started. The frames fit together quickly and accurately on the jig and the overall kit quality was first-rate. The building process was fairly straightforward. If I got stuck on something Bill was always quick […]
Thea & Mike – Orcas Island, WA
On this trip north, with 2 people & camping gear & the 25HP Nissan, we averaged right around 1.5 GPH. We also got a chance to see how our boat performed in comparison to the other Bartenders in the fleet (flock?). Our top speed was naturally slower than the boats with bigger engines, although they […]
Laurence McKinley, MD — 19′ BARTENDER
“Thank you for giving me such a beautiful boat. I received many admiring glances on the way home. In fact, the day I left you I drove to Roseburg, Oregon and the following day, I drove into San Diego. The boat has already gotten quite wet. We went through a hailstorm in the Central Valley, […]
Dave Nussbaumer — 20′ BARTENDER
In the spring of ‘06 I ordered the 19’ Bartender kit and by May of that year had started building the boat. It took less than a year for me to complete it and was one of the most rewarding projects I have ever built. The kit really jump-started the project and made lofting unnecessary. […]
George Marquis – 22’ BARTENDER
“I’m not much of a fisherman but I know what I like in the “look” of a boat. I’d been looking for a safe boat to restore for my 85+ year old father and mother and the whole family at Lake Tahoe. When I saw the BARTENDER, I just knew this was the boat for […]
Paul Fogel – 20’ BARTENDER
In the early 1960’s I saw advertisements for the Bartender at the back of boating magazines showing the Coast Guard version of the 22’ model. From the description and the pictures I had this design on my deferred wish list. By the middle 60’s I started in boating with a Snipe, then a Venture, then […]
Dave Kruger – Astoria, OR
I built a “stretched” version of the cuddy-cabin 19-ft Bartender over the last couple of years, beginning with a frame kit from Bartender Boats to give me a jump start on the hull. The kit was an awesome way to get a hull up fast, especially helpful for a first-time boatbuilder like me, because the […]
Gordon Zumach – 26’ BARTENDER
“My previous boat was a 22’ C-Dory. I will happily tell you that the BARTENDER does NOT have the same function characteristics as the C-Dory. I fish at Neah Bay, Washington. The BARTENDER doesn’t rattle your teeth in the smallest chop, nor the largest, and it doesn’t have a tendency to slide sideways down the […]
Larry Williams – 19′ and 22′ BARTENDERS
“Once in a great while – say, once every one or two generations – something special comes along in the field of human endeavor, something which combines a unique blend of ingenuity and practicality, of creativity and pragmatism, of artist and artisan. For instance, in 1700, it was the violins of Antonio Stradivarius; in the […]
