Hidden Wooden Boat Collection Comes to Market on Lake Hopatcong

Hidden Wooden Boat Collection Comes to Market on Lake Hopatcong

A decades-assembled collection of boats, engines, and parts will be offered publicly for the first time this June at Bridge Marina on Lake Hopatcong

Lake Hopatcong, NJ - On the shores of Lake Hopatcong, a sprawling collection of antique wooden boats, engines, parts, and memorabilia - largely unseen until now - is being brought into public view for the first time. 

Built over decades and housed across multiple buildings at Bridge Marina, the collection spans a wide cross-section of American wooden boating history, from the late 1920s through the early 1960s. Visitors to the marina encountering it for the first time tend to have the same reaction - pausing, looking around, and taking a moment to process the sheer volume and proximity of what’s there.

“There’s far more here than people expect,” said Ray Fernandez, president of Bridge Marina. “People walk in, go quiet for a minute, and then start pointing. It’s not just a few boats… it’s everything around them. Boats, engines, and parts, all in one place.”

The collection includes more than 70 wooden boats, over 100 vintage marine engines, and thousands of original parts and accessories sourced from across the country. Well-known builders such as Chris-Craft and Century Boats are represented well, alongside a mix of complete vessels, restoration projects, and the components that support them.

Rather than a narrow group of showpieces, the collection reflects the full ecosystem of wooden boating - finished boats, project hulls, engines, and the parts that connect them - assembled over time and held together in one place.

Bridge Marina acquired the collection as part of a recent expansion, taking on the responsibility of organizing and preparing what had become a deeply layered and wide-ranging body of work. After evaluating its scope, Fernandez made the decision to bring it to market, creating an opportunity for collectors, restorers, and the general public to take part in what comes next.

“We see this as giving the collection its next chapter,” Fernandez said. “Some boats will be restored, some will support other projects, and some will introduce new people to wooden boating. But all of it moves forward from here.”

The collection will be offered this June through Mecum On Time Auctions, a nationally recognized auction platform that brings together serious collectors. Bidding will open online in May and conclude during a three-day on-site event (June 11–13) at Henderson Bridge Marina on Lake Hopatcong.

Preview access and additional details, including catalog listings, will be released in the coming weeks.

About Bridge Marina

Bridge Marina is a full-service marina on Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey, offering boat rentals, a boating club, boat sales, service, and education. With a focus on hospitality and access, Bridge Marina helps both new and experienced boaters get on - and stay on - the water. For more information, visit www.BridgeMarina.com