E.J. Mertaugh Boat Works celebrates a century of going the extra mile as a fixture on Michigan’s eastern Upper Peninsula.
Not far from the port of Hessel on Michigan’s eastern Upper Peninsula lie the Les Cheneaux Islands, a beautiful collection of more than 36 individual land masses standing proudly over the surface of Lake Huron. It’s a fitting backdrop for a unique celebration that will take place this August as storied boat yard E.J. Mertaugh Boat Works marks its 100th anniversary.
The company’s centennial celebrations will be front and center at the Classic and Antique Wooden Boat Show and Festival of the Arts, held each year during the second week of August. The largest wooden boat show in the world, the event represents an apt salute to a marine business that’s been woven deeply into the fabric of its local community for 100 years. It’s even more fitting given that most of the elegant watercraft on display are themselves regular recipients of preventative care at the hands of Mertaugh’s master craftsmen, if they weren’t sold new by the company to begin with.
Organized by the Les Cheneaux Historical Association in cooperation with E.J. Mertaugh Boat Works, the Hessel/Clark Township Marina, and the Hessel Harbour Association, the boat show presents a unique-in-the-world panorama of meticulously maintained classic wooden boats. “This show is a collaboration of high quality materials, unparalleled workmanship, and pride in the individualism of the owners,” says Kate Conlon, E.J. Mertaugh Boat Works’ marketing coordinator. She notes that a special celebration is planned to commemorate the E.J. Mertaugh centennial coincident with the 2025 Classic and Antique Wooden Boat Show and Festival of the Arts on August 8 and 9, with updates to be posted on the company’s social media platforms.
All photos provided by E.J. Mertaugh Boat Works
FROM HUMBLE ROOTS
Today Les Cheneaux (French for ‘the channels’) still appear much as they did in 1925 when Eugene James Mertaugh — Gene to his friends — first laid eyes on this part of the world. Discovered in 1679 by La Salle, the archipelago has long been part of an important series of water highways and, with access to both Mackinac Island and Sault Ste. Marie, was a vital route for both communication and commerce. Mertaugh quickly recognized a future demand for reliable transportation in the area, and decided to stay. Using scrap lumber, he promptly constructed a boat house in the small port town of Hessel.
The boat house soon became a successful boat repair business, before expanding to become the first Chris-Craft dealership in the world.
“Back when Gene built the boat house, there was a huge need to provide transportation for folks living on the islands,” says Conlon. “That is how people in this area were able to get on with their lives.” Many of the original wooden boats sold in those early days remain with their original families, she says, or remain with the lakefront properties even if the ownership has changed over time.
With few roads, new boats weren’t delivered to the dealership by truck as they are today, but simply driven up Lake Huron from the Chris-Craft factory in Algonac using only a compass for navigation. Of course not all of these delivery runs went smoothly. Among the more harrowing trips up the big lake was a 1928 voyage in Scamp, a 22-foot Chris-Craft Cadet runabout.
“Gene would go get the boats on the St. Clair River, and drive them to the marina. And they were always filled with extra parts since there was no UPS then,” she says. “Back in 1928 he was bringing Scamp from Algonac to the marina, heavily loaded of course. Along the way a terrible storm blew up. He battled 8-foot rollers for hours, and then hit a log in Saginaw Bay.”
After tying himself to the side of the boat, Mertaugh worked in the waves for hours in an attempt to change the prop shaft with his feet before managing to flag down a passing freighter. “It took two hours to haul the boat up onto the deck of the freighter, but Gene eventually got it home,” Conlon marvels. “He was badly battered and bruised, and it took two weeks for him to recover. Scamp ended up in California for many years, but once it turned up, Dad went to get it and bring it back.” That he did, and the firm is currently restoring the vessel with the hope of putting it on public display.
“It takes incredible expertise to restore, maintain and keep these old boats running,” says Conlon. “A lot of the trades have been passed down to second generation woodworkers in our marina, and they have a wealth of knowledge.”
That kind of tribal know-how is what allows E. J. Mertaugh to keep 100 year-old boats looking brand new, whether for proud owners or for use in major Hollywood productions, such as the 2016 Disney film The Finest Hours. Starring a young Chris Pine, the film features a self-righting Coast Guard motor lifeboat that was not quite ready for its close-up, at least until the crew at E.J. Mertaugh swung into action. “The boat was driftwood when we received it, really just a pile of lumber,” says Conlon. “But after a full restoration it was used in the movie. It’s now at the Whitefish Point Museum.”
BACK TO THE FUTURE
Much has changed in the 100 years since E.J. Mertaugh Boat Works first opened its doors, with the company maintaining a unique balance between embracing new technology without compromising the old world craftsmanship that has set it apart. Facility expansions, including the addition of 30,000 feet of heated storage, would clearly make Gene proud.
“I think Gene would be amazed at the equipment and machinery that have streamlined the business and made it more efficient,” says Conlon. “Gene would be thrilled to see that the boats he sold new have endured over the years.”
The business changed hands in the 1980s when it was acquired by Conlon’s grandfather, Bruce Glupker. “Grandpa always had a passion for boating,” she says. “My parents, Brad and Shelley Koster, took over in 2000, so we’ve been involved with it for the past 40 years. It is an honor to be stewards of the unbelievable history of this marina and these boats.
“The future of boating is exciting, and we have seen that a lot of younger people have a renewed interest in and appreciation of wooden boats,” she adds. “They are a labor of love and a slower experience than the newest, biggest, fastest fiberglass boats, but they are just as rewarding, and something that can be passed down for generations to come.”
That sense of heritage and legacy loom large among the glistening waters bisecting Les Cheneaux Islands. The lake today doesn’t look much different than it did 100 years ago, when Gene Mertaugh plied the same channels bringing new Chris-Crafts up from Lake St. Clair. Many of the wooden classics still gracing these waters still look as good as the day they arrived, thanks to the attentive maintenance they receive at E.J. Mertaugh Boat Works.
As the current owners of E.J. Mertaugh Boat Works usher in another century, only time will tell what their legacy will be. But Gene’s vision, steered by Conlon’s family, is full steam ahead.
