In 1956, 11-year-old Randy Mueller took one look at the Martinique Express and fell in love.

He knew immediately he’d found the boat of his dreams. For years, Mueller fantasized about cruising one of the sleek, 42-foot yachts through the San Juan Islands.

“When I saw the look of it, it just took my breath away,” he recalled. “It looked like an awesome, big runabout. I said, ‘Someday I’m going to own one of those.’”

It took 30 years, but Mueller finally realized his dream. On Saturday, his 1956 Martinique Express, Starlight Express, joined 57 other boats on display at the annual classic boat rendezvous held at Bell Harbor Marina on Seattle’s waterfront.

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Put on by the Classic Yacht Association, the show featured more than a dozen boats built by the legendary Chris-Craft Corporation, founded in Michigan in the 1880s. Boats on display dated back to the 1920s and ranged from cozy cabin cruisers to larger yachts and a single sailboat, a 72-foot gaff-rigged schooner designed by Ted Geary and built in 1920.

Hundreds of visitors strolled the docks Saturday and Sunday, touring the boats and taking in the gleaming wood and vintage details. Among them was Mark Lanfear, whose 1948 bridge deck cruiser, Carol M., was part of the show. Lanfear previously owned a restaurant in Eastern Washington and bought the boat—his first—to launch his dinner cruise company, Enchantress Cruises. He admits he knew little about classic boats before purchasing his.

“I just jumped in, and I’m learning a lot and having a great time,” he said. “What appealed to me (about classic boats) was their charm and their beauty. They have a spirit that modern boats seem to lack.”

Among the show’s main draws was its largest boat, the Olympus, a 97-foot yacht built in 1929. Visitors looked into the ship’s elegant dining room, its table laid out in china and crystal, and strolled the same decks once trod by President Harry Truman. The president was friends with former Washington Gov. Mon Wallgren when the ship was owned by the state’s Department of Fisheries, which ostensibly acquired it for use as a fisheries patrol vessel.

Instead, the Olympus was primarily used as the governor’s yacht. Truman was a frequent visitor, fishing off its tender and playing poker onboard. The ship has been privately owned since 1949.

On Saturday, show organizer Jim Paynton ushered visitors on and off the Olympus‘ boarding ladder. Paynton started the annual rendezvous in 1997 and said it’s the only show he knows of that is focused on classic wooden motoryachts. The show has more than doubled in size since its inaugural year, which included about 23 boats.

“It’s an amazing show,” said Paynton, whose 1940 Chris-Craft, Maranee, was on display. “It’s a world-class show. To have 58 wooden classic powerboats in one place is very unusual.”

For Paynton, the appeal of classic motoryachts lies in their marriage of form and function. “They’re such incredibly beautiful works of art, but they’re also well-designed as nautically efficient vehicles,” he said.