Jay Thelin’s love for wooden boats began in 1958 when he was hired as a boat rental agent and a pier manager in Kings Beach. In those days many of the rental boats were wooden Chris-Crafts, and one Gar Wood. Jay purchased the Gar Wood with his brother and stored it at Sierra Boat during his school years in San Francisco.

After graduation he gravitated back to Lake Tahoe and ended up working for Sierra Boat to pay off his Gar Wood storage fee. After four years there Jay started his own boat restoration business. Jay restored wooden boats and furniture for ten years before starting the Thelin-Thompson Co., which created the very well known 2000 wood heater.

Jay has spent years collecting beautiful pieces of these famous boats of the past and has assembled a fabulous collection. Jay creatively depicts the golden age of wooden powerboats (1930-1960) using fragments of these boats in artistic arrangements.