Sunday 26 December 2010

The Varnished Truth Christmas 2010

Last week the major event was the venture to Dempster Boats where Ron Frenette lead our volunteer team through the planning, planing, jointing, biscuiting, epoxying and clamping up of 4 skiff transoms! Thank you Ron for your coaching and ascerbic encouragement....
This week the angle cuts and scrollsawing.

Meanwhile back at the shop - nothing happened - everyone went away and had a good time.
Rumour has it that many of our team showed up at a certain party last Saturday which went to 2 AM...
This week however, Lightning beckons and scarphing as well.

Who's on for Tuesday??

Tuesday 14 December 2010

The Varnished Truth w/e Dec 18 10

The core volunteers have been "at it" as usual and visible progress has been made on our key projects.

The Lightning seat structure is complete and bolted in place, George will be figuring out the seats themselves next. Chris meanwhile has completed and fitted the side deck braces and will have them permanently installed this week. Almost time for final priming and painting the inside of the hull! A milestone approaches.











Skiff kit production has received a boost from Ron Frenette and K&C Volunteer Alastair Dempster who is going to coach us on the production of fine transoms and knees next week in their new Georgetown Canoe shop (416 543-2760). They have the equipment we don't have! (well maybe a bit of skill we don't yet have either).

Jim has been sanding away at skiffs and will be into some staining and varnishing this week, lot's of room for assistence here!



The bottom of the big Shepherd has been scraped back to the dolley (ie most of it) and the next step is to draw and plug  some bottom screw holes so they sit flush when re-installed. Voluteers welcome on this one as well.

We'll have a vist from a few members of the local North Halton CPS Bridge this Saturday as well - they are curious and would like to see what joint efforts might be appropriate.

For those who would like to go antique boating in Florida in March next year, there are several ways you can join the team of volunteers planning to go down for the ACBS St. John's River Cruise and the big boat show at Mt. Dora, Fla. Contact Malcolm or Grant if you are curious.

Sunday 5 December 2010

The Varnished Truth w/e Dec 11 10

This was a week of steady progress in the boatshop.

Lightning restoration, Chris has two more deck braces to go and George has all the seat support brackets ready for brass bolts and is starting on the repair of the cedar seat for the port side.

Shepherd detailing, the port bottom is scraped back to the dolley , now on the the stbd side...

Skiff projects, the blue skiff in the "store" has sold and will be headed off to be under a tree for christmas! Jim has finished the varnishing on the next skiff so it needs to sit for a week or so before the painting begins. So this week it will be on to the last skiff for varnishing it's bright bits.

Skiff Kits, we have the material for 3 more sets of transoms etc and The Canoe Shop in town under Ron Frenettes' guidance will help us plane and joint the parts - thanks Ron!

St. John River Cruise 2011, if we are to participate in this event this year the 27' Shepherd has to be in the water in Jacksonville Fla by March 19. It really needs to be in the water in Fla at least a week earlier than that. If you wish to be on this team let us know soon as the booking date is early in the new year. Grant, John and I took the Hunter down to this event 2 years ago and it was a total blast (see pics from that trip)