"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 them. Safe, seaworthy and funky lookin' to boot.
     We found a 1961 BT-22 (hull # 127) that had been sitting in a barn in Mendocino, California for 14 years and needed a lot of love and attention. Not knowing anything about restoring old boats turned out to be less of a problem than we thought as we soon discovered the BARTENDER group web site and were able to get all the advice we needed. The restoration took about 9 months and was a real family project. We're really proud of the results.
     With our mahogany bright work and the double ended look, we turn more heads at Lake Tahoe's annual Wooden Boat Concours d'Elegance than many of the expensive official entries. As far as performance, our 1970's vintage 160 HP V-6 moves her right along and in fact when there is any kind of chop on the lake, many of the vintage Chris Crafts with much bigger engines have a tough time keeping up because they can't handle the chop like our BARTENDER."

George Marquis – 22’ BARTENDER
Lake Tahoe, CA

"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 1880's, John Moses Browning revealed the
Winchester Model 1886 Lever Action Repeating Rifle, in
1919 Orville Gibson came out with the L-50 guitar with
the first "f" holes seen on a guitar.  In the 1950's,
in the world of powerboats, something extra special
came along - the 22 foot BARTENDER designed and built
by George Calkins.

I own a 19' BARTENDER and I have just begun to build
a 22' BARTENDER from one of the outstanding kits
developed by the new owner of BARTENDER BOATS - Bill
Childs.  I live and boat in Alaska, an area of
extremes, where the water is cold and the weather and
seas unpredictable.  The BARTENDER has handled all the
seas I have yet experienced with aplomb, handling
waves, wind, following seas, and strong currents with
ease and safety.  When I'm 25 miles out from port, I
may be in one of the smallest boats that ventures out
so far, but I am also in one of the most seaworthy
boats out there.

And one thing I must add - the BARTENDER is just plain
fun.  The 19' BARTENDER hurdles waves like a dolphin,
shoulders waves with a nonchalant shrug, and leaps on
plane like an arctic loon springing towards the sky
with only my low power 35 hp motor.  The BARTENDER
evokes a feeling that I think far too few of us feel
far too seldom-a feeling of joy. 

As I boated this past summer past hanging glaciers,
under blue skies or pounded by pouring rain, with sea
otters milling about or whales breaching next to my
boat, or pulling in brightly colored rock fish from
the ocean's depths, I experienced feelings of pure,
undiluted joy - the Joy of BARTENDERING."

Larry Williams – 19' and 22' BARTENDERS
Anchorage, Alaska  

"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, so much so that I had to pump out the boat with the vacuum at a gas station.

The favorite that I received was from this young kid who was running the gas station in San Diego who, at midnight, comes out of the gas kiosk to make the following comment:
     "Gnarly! The boat looks like a surfboard for old people!"

Anyway, I just wanted you to know how incredibly happy I am with the boat. I am absolutely overwhelmed by the beautiful simple craftsmanship. I have looked at it very, very carefully and everything that has been done has been done to the highest standard. I am very proud to own this boat.

I will send you photographs as the building progresses. I am probably your happiest customer."

Laurence  McKinley, MD -- 19' BARTENDER
San Diego, California

“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 pleased.”

Jonah Green  -- 22' BARTENDER
Heathsville, Virginia

    "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 conditions here can change quickly and a day that starts calm can end stormy with rough water caused by wind, current, and strong tide rips that frequent these waters. The BARTENDER is a good rough water boat. Several times we have traveled out to fish running the boat on plane but came home mushing along at 10 to 12 knots -working our way through some pretty rough stuff to get back to the harbor. The double-ended BARTENDER will handle a following sea with ease. We have spent countless hours trolling in the boat some of the time in strong winds and when trolling downwind the big swells just slide by and the boat tracks straight without any tendency to broach. It is a comfort to be able to trust your boat. George Calkins 19 ft. BARTENDER lives up to the notes George wrote on the construction drawings "For Rough Water Fishing". 

     Almost every time we launch the boat someone will come up and compliment us on the looks of the boat and say--isn't that a "BARTENDER"--now that is a boat!!."

Ron McIrvin -- 19' BARTENDER

Wrangell, Alaska