Anyone who knows me knows I'm a Chrysler Fan thru and thru, and when I got involved in Chrysler Boats and Chrysler Marine in general it seems to reason that I would want to learn as much as possible about it. That's how this website started and continue to evolve.

Last fall I was contacted by  Bob Adair who was one of  boat designers at the Plano, TX plant and we started talking. Bob has been able to share a lot of insight into the design studio at Chrysler boats. ( Make sure you read Bob's article on the "CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE CHRYSLER BOAT STYLING/DESIGN DEPARTMENT " ). I mentioned to Bob that I would like to meet him and Jack Gempel someday when I was in the area and he said they would like that so the stage was set...

The last weekend in January saw the start of the Dallas boat show and a perfect reason to fly to Dallas and meet up with Bob and Jack. I invited Franz and Paul of Franz Marine to join me in Dallas for the show and meet Bob and Jack and they were able to make the trip also. 

Thursday:     I Flew into DFW airport on Thursday, picked up my rental, a 300 Chrysler Touring ( couldn't meet the Chrysler Guys driving a Brand X car now! ) and headed for the hotel. I settled in and looked over the questions I was hoping Bob and Jack could answer.

Friday: I got up and had breakfast and since I wasn't suppose to meet Franz and Paul until later  I decided to check out Dallas a bit. I went out for a drive and learned what real traffic is!!! I have been to Chicago, L.A, Detroit but nothing was even close to this, I really have a new respect for the folks who live in these large towns, I just can't imagine putting up with the traffic each and every day. Later that evening I meet up with Franz and Paul and we were waiting for Bob to meet us at my hotel as we are going out to dinner with him. Bob shows up and we decide to check out a rib place just down the road. Now remember Bob has never met any of us but he is one of the friendliest people you could meet. We sit down to eat and the conversation turns to boats, who designed what boats, how they got ideas for the designs, and idea's that didn't make it to production. Bob just kept our attention all night long, and was more than happy to answer any questions we asked. Franz being a Chrysler dealer in the 70's has questions that only someone in the business would think of, and Bob does his best to answer those also. Bob shares how he was able to get in with the Chrysler Boat design studio by staying in touch with Jack after he left MI and finally sealing the deal with a phone call to Jack. We finish talking and head back to the hotel and make plans for meeting up to attend the Dallas boat show on Saturday. we all say good night and I head off to my room to make notes of all the things we covered at dinner.

Saturday Morning: Bob picks me up and we first have breakfast and go over a bunch of brochures he has and provides me with a bunch I didn't have, again the conversation turns to the boats. We start talking about the Shallow Vee Conqueror and how Bob had this idea to have a drop down boarding door just behind the driver. He mentioned that they became concerned that if the door ever opened at speed it would be a safety issue and they decided not to use it, but if you look at your Shallow Vee you MAY still see the line where it was in the hull mold,  ( Check your boat if you see it take a picture I'd like to see it! ). After breakfast we drive out to Plano to where the old Chrysler plant was. It is all warehouses now but the Plano Water tower is on the southwest corner of the old property. The Property was 40 acres and had a 477,400sq ft of warehouse, offices, engineering and manufacturering and had approx.400 people employed. I took some pictures and shed a tear that I'm on Holy ground and we head to the boat show.

 Looking south on west side of property

Looking east along back railroad tracks

Looking North along the east side.

On the way down Bob mentions were meeting up with Guy Didawick who used to be a Regional Sales Manager for CBC, and also Lou White who was Quality Control Manager. We arrive at the show and meet up with Guy and Lou and call Franz and Paul to find out they are running behind so we start out around the show without them. It was interesting attending a show with these guys because they are looking at designs, and things most folks wouldn't look at.. We stopped to look at a new Allison boat and the lines on the hull sure had a resemblance to the original shallow Vee Conqueror infact we were calling it a "Shallow Vee2"..

Allison SS2000 kind of has a Shallow Vee look

Franz and Paul meet up with us , we finish up the show and head out. Bob drops me off and we agree to meet about 5:45 to go over to Jack and Maryellen Gempel's home and then out for dinner.

Saturday Evening:  Bob and his wife Pat meet us at my hotel and Franz and Paul and I follow over as we go to meet Jack and Maryellen. As soon as we walked thru the door I knew it was going to be a fun night, Jack opens the door wearing a Chryslercrew jacket, and he was excited to see us. I had been kind of nervous wondering what kind of reception we would get but everyone was wonderful. What started out as a trip to meet 2 of the original crew turned into a small reunion sort of with 7 member present, we had Jack Gempel, Bob Adair, Nick LaNicca ( all designers), Alan Johnston (Plant Manager), Pat Adair ( worked in CBC' s Personnel dept), Lou White ( Quality Control Manager), and Guy Didawick (Regional Sales Manager for CBC ).

L to R Bob Adair, Pat Adair, Al Johnston, Jack Gempel, Nick LaNicca

Lou White, Doady Didawick, Guy Didawick

We talked at Jacks house for about a hour and then we headed out to dinner at a local Italian restaurant that Jack and Maryellen recommended. I have to say to be in a room with all these folks was very special and truly amazing. After dinner we returned to Jacks house where we talked to after midnight and the time just flew by.. everyone had stories to tell, and I only wish we had more time to talk as they were all funny, and interesting. It really impressed me that after almost 25 years since the closing of Chrysler boat plant these folks still have a tight friendship, it truly shows that this was more than just a job to these folks they were a family, and they still enjoy seeing each other. I was also touched by their generosity as Jack gave me some of his memorabilia from Chrysler, as did Bob, Guy, and Lou shared a complete set of Chrysler Crew news. These folks are just very generous and I feel honored to be entrusted with these. I will set up a special page showing the collectables they shared in the near future. But the most important thing these folks shared was their knowledge, their stories and the information they shared with us. memorabilia is fun but it doesn't tell the story and these folks do have a story to tell, and that's one thing I want to preserve more than anything the History of Chrysler Boats and the folks who worked there.