Who we are.
After taking ownership of Sunflower in 2017 we set up The Lakeland Classic Boat Company, a small company based in the beautiful Lake District. We are in the process of finishing the renovation of Sunflower, an 18ft Century Sea Maid, we also produce parts that are no longer in existence or very difficult to find.
Soon Sunflower will be available for Weddings and Special Occasions, find out more in our drop down menu.
Sunflower
Sunflower is an 18ft 1952 century Sea Maid. She was purchased in the Summer of 2017 from The Antique Boat Show and Auction, run by the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, New York. Her restoration started out at BoatArt in Minnesota where she was brought back to life. Sunflower has now been shipped to England to her home in the Lake District where her restoration will be finished.
A bit about Century Boats.
The Century Boat Company was of the America's largest producers of runabouts and utilities, just behind Chris-Craft in total production of these popular models. The company was founded in 1926 and much of their early work included the construction of standardised high performance hulls that were successful in outboard racing competitions. Century's production boats are remembered for their advanced styling innovations, high speed performance and their devotion to single-planked bottom construction.
The early post World War II Century runabouts were given the model name, Sea Maids just as Century's utility models were designated Resorters. The Sea Maid is a superb example of Century's twin cockpit runabout, recognized for its tastefully designed combination of a light and dark mahogany deck pattern that was often referred to as the Torpedo-Line deck.
In the post war years, light blond wood finishes seemed to enjoy unusual popularity as a symbol of the refreshingly new futuristic post war enthusiasm. Light coloured woods and bleached mahoganies were being used more frequently in furniture, interior paneling and on boats. Chris-Crafts 1946 Custom Runabout was one of the first to combine both blonde and red shades of mahogany on the deck and on the transom. With rival Chris-Craft leading the way, Century was quick to follow and their new Sea Maid Runabout along with their new Resorter models, were finished with an attractive two tone mahogany deck beginning in 1947.
Century's two tone deck styling was well received and seemed to open a door to become a styling leader in the industry. Success provided the motivation to continue to be creative and move ahead of the field. Soon Century Boats became recognised as the boats with the most advanced styling. The 20 foot Sea Maid was introduced in 1950 and continued virtually unchanged through 1954 with a total production of 83 boats. 1954 was the final year for the Sea Maid model name.
