Tuesday 31 December 2013

Last Post!

Now don't take the title the wrong way!

Last shop update of 2013 - maybe.

As of today, the Red Skiff is RED and the prospective buyer has confirmed his purchase. we will be showing it in our booth at TIBS, be sure to come by as it is a bit different and quite lovely.

Mahogany sets off the red nicely
needs a few days to harden before turning over.
 And the rudder and two tiller components of the Lightning got a FINAL coat of varnish today as well (Chris)....

Plans for our booth at TIBS are coming along including a raffle of a skiff to the winners choice of colour (maybe). Details to come on this.

On display we will have 2 skiffs, the Lightning and either the TNT or a MiniMax if we get one built in time. Who's up for that project if I get the materials on the 2nd (if Noah's is open)? Anyone like to sponsor our first MiniMax?


Saturday 21 December 2013

Busy Year End and Busier New Year!

Well is has gotten to be the shortest day of the year today - which means boating is only days away! (about 150 days). However we have lots up our sleeve!

Toronto International Boatshow (TIBS)
opens Jan 11th and runs to Jan 17th
Kids & Classics Boatshops Museum has been given a booth in the foyer next to the ACBS

We look forward to this cooperative display

Our plan is to display the elements of our Boats 4 Folks Programme:
1. four kids build a 12' boat in two days - then get in it and row it!
2. The same four kids go sailing in our newly restored Lightning "Bolt"
3. And then they go for a "Sea Flea" ride in our TNT (with moderate power to start)

This redesign of our programme is intended to get some of these kids more "hooked" on the benefits of the boating way of life. The intention is that they will come back and become immersed in the culture of boatbuilding and boating.

We are looking for volunteers to join us on our booth at TIBS, get to know us better and help spread the word! For more info email us at Blackbox@cogeco.ca

Then on Feb 15 2014 Kids & Classics Boatshops Museum is hosting the ACBS Toronto Chapter Winter Workshop event! This will be a blast for sure - To be on our volunteer team contact us at the email above, also check out the ACBS website for tickets if you wish to attend and are not on our volunteer team.

Features of the day include a Chili Contest, and multiple skills development opportunities!

Useful links include:

ACBS-Toronto www.acbs.ca
TIBS http://www.torontoboatshow.coma/

Kids & Classics Boatshops Museum receives award from Ministry!

This unexpected honour was brought to us from the Ministry of Children and Youth Services, Halton Youth Justice Services.

In their letter of invitation to the award ceremony they said we were voted this honour in the "It Takes A Community" programme on account of "our outstanding community partnership with the Ministry, Youth Justice Services" which means Probation Officers.

Further the award states "Your organization provides great learning opportunities in giving our clients an opportunity to develop great skills in teamwork and seeing that they all work toward a common goal". Needless to say this is a most important recognition for us.

Following the award ceremony there was a casual conversation around the table and the feedback about some of the kids we have worked with was most welcome. It seems a few really did have a change of course in life as a result of our efforts.

Our team, their team and awards! (Umm - we're the short ones)

Fall 2013 part one

Well there has been progress this fall, here are a few pics of the action...

Jim preparing the "Red" skiff

Chris lays it on the Lightning
boom and rudder parts


Mike removes the cowl from Gas-Hopper
in preparation for stripping the paint




 K&C volunteers head to Woodwind Yachts for ACBS Fall Workshop....

Our crew consisted of MB, Grant, Jim, Chris & Scott. This was an amazing outing for us as it covered some of the tricky jobs we see coming up (and that we have been putting off).
Ken Lavallette of Woodwind hands
off a 'hot rib' to Jim 
and Jim whips it onto the boat
Grant studies the methods of
re-ribbing a cedarstrip rowboat


Chris 'flies' his rib to the boat


Jim, Scott, Grant and Chris
soak up detailed instructions.

On the way home we put our notes together for future reference. We are already putting some of the hints into use!





Wednesday 9 October 2013

ACBS Fall Colours Tour 2013

In what is now an ancient and honorable tradition ( which is when something is done twice) the Kids & Classics team took Despina on the ACBS Fall Colour Tour. This entailed a 6 AM start from the shop in the Glen with Despina in tow up to Lake Muskoka, putting in at Bala ( after a stretch and a coffee and buying of pastries at the Bala Bakery) motoring down Bala Bay, through Coulter Narrows (a low railroad bridge), out into Lake Muskoka around to East Bay Marina for fuel, then onto the rendevous point, a cottage on Morris island to join the rest of the group.  Then ensued a tour of the lake, a first for this writer, which involved some chart reading, rubbernecking of millionaire cottages and boathouses, meeting the Segwun on her way up past Rankin Island, her sister ship coming down past Christmas Island, and snubbing the odd plastic boat that came up close to investigate.

While the colours were not out in full, the weather, which had not been promising, improved greatly, in fact, the sun came out for a good portion of the day. Wood looked good!

Rendevous at the the cottage, shake hands all round and off to Bala, haul out the boat and on the road back to the Glen, back home by 5.









Monday 22 July 2013

now where was I....?

Right! ACBS Gravenhurst Raceboat Show, July 6. Yours truly and Scott departed the Boatshop at 6:30 AM with a skiff in the back of the truck and Gas-Hopper in tow. We did not get off to a graceful start - the 1945 trailer hitch kept giving us trouble and we even returned to the shop for repairs once. It finally got sorted and we were off but late. On arrival at the show we proceeded to our spot in the Field of Dreams across the road from the show itself. Wayne met us there and helped with booth set-up and the first couple of hours. Great day, met quite a few racers who remember Dave Norton, sold some T shirts but not the skiff. Anton arrived later in the day and assisted with packing up!

6:30 AM - nuff said

Gas-Hopper has a unique look!
beautiful day and beautiful boats



Next year - IN THE WATER!

we did get quite a bit of information and leads for Dave's story

Thursday 18 July 2013

ACBS Gravenhurst, Big Daddy Festival and shop!

First thing, the winner of the skiff raffle on Big Daddy Festival day was Joey who says he never won anything in his life before! He loves the boat and looked into using it with his church but no solution to storing or moving it was possible. He has decided that K&C should sell the boat on a 50/50 basis. So here's the deal!

Make us an offer for this skiff, including oars.
Usual price is $1700
material costs $1200

Tuesday 9 July 2013

4 Kids build skiff and row it!

Our first Boats 4 Folks event of the 2013 season was held on the 4th of May weekend and as usual it was an amazing experience for all involved....

within a couple of hours it looks like a boat!
We had a lovely weekend for boatbuilding outside!


George goes over a fine point of construction

the team has the skiff looking good on Sunday morning

nearly done!

disbelief - it floats and doesn't leak!

a little instruction on rowing...

and we can't get them out of it!

Wednesday 24 April 2013

Gas-Hopper, Lightning and skiff action

Busy, busy, busy in the boatshop these days which is pretty neat really. Work has been proceeding with making up 3 skiff kits for our Boats 4 Folks events this spring. We are racing to be ready for the first one here in the boatshop on the weekend of May 4/5, the next one on the Big Daddy Festival (Father's Day) Weekend also here in the boatshop and a third under discussion in Hamilton Harbour.

Scarphing the panels up so we have long enough material for the sides and bottoms is one of the biggest jobs and George has been at it since the material arrived. He is creating a 12:1 tapered joint between the sheets of plywood so we get two long sheets out of 3 short (8') sheets. One sheet is cut so that part is added to each full one. When the glue lines on the plywood are all straight and equal, the ramp is flat and the joint should work.

George and Ray measuring and cutting
stacking the long and short sheets


and the ramp is soon visible

not done but looking good!
















Anton is meanwhile going at the repair to the front deck of Gas-Hopper. It is fixed, faired, filled and on the way to being feathered out into the old deck. The rest of the green portion of the deck is being sanded out so it can all be painted at once. While the deck is fairly wayvy in spots - it is in good condition with only a few minor spots to fill.


Chase begins the deck sanding
Anton fills the repaired area and flattens


followed by the fairing out process

Lightning waits for varnish to harden, Skiff panels are shaping up
and Gas-Hopper is getting ready for new deck paint.



















More soon - stay tuned, better yet click on the "Follow" button over there on the right.

We also have a new presence on Facebook thanks to some new volunteers. One is a separate page on my Facebook site (Malcolm) but the other will be a virtual museum on line with a panel for each of our boats. I haven't figured out how to put those links on the blog yet but ...

Tuesday 23 April 2013

Despina on the St John River Cruise

Monday Mar 17th was our departure from the Florida YC in Jacksonville, about 25 antique boats of all sizes headed up the river toward our lunch stop.

Guy Marvin of ACBS at Cap'ns meeting
Bosche runabout from Switzerland


lots of bridges - this is I 295

MB and Ron with our new Gatsby crew,
Tom and Brian from New Orleans













Despina at the Crab Shack lunch stop

After an incredible sea food lunch of lobster, crayfish, shrimp and more, we were off again up the wide St. John on our way to Palatka where we will stay 2 nights.

frightning fuel stop!
amazing tress around here (Palatka)


one of Palatka's many murals







The view from our room out to fleet!











Day two was a side trip up Dunn's Creek to Crescent City on - what else - Crescent lake. It was a nice day and this cruise is always interesting - both for the wildlife and the river side life...

entering Dunn's Creek off the St John
elegant surroundings


Oops, better snug up the lines.

one of many fish hunters along the creek
















There are also many really beautifull sights and this run is one of the high points of the trip.

Ibis, Egrets, Herons of many colours everywhere.
one of the biggest we ever saw, 18'?


didn't see any waterskiiers up the creek

just a little one
















Once at Crescent City we got docked and wandered up to the Victorian Inn where a fantastic BBQ lunch was laid on. Sit on the porch and munch.

great food over and over!
nice run down Crescent Lake











More monsters and wildfowel on the run back to Palatka, a nice dinner at the hotel restaurant and next morning we continue up the river. Gretchen has been wanting to get some pictures of the ospreys that roost on many of the channel markers on this section of the river so even though we are among the first boats away, by the time we have "Ospreyed" we are almost last. It doesn't really matter, just get Despina up to her happiest cruising speed at 3000 rpm which is - like most Shepherds - 30 mph and she tends to march through the fleet pretty well on a long run. (not the this matters)

MB shows a few ACBS members the ropes!
one of many nesting Ospreys


he finally lands his sticks..






we clear antideluvian bridge by a good 12"!












Lunch today is at Welaka, a sleepy little town along the river which seems to be swathed in Spanish Moss. Here there is a little boat museum which was jumping two years ago but this year is up for auction two days after we visit. The creator passed away and his many home-made classic steam and gas launches will move on. Huge shrimp buffet lunch - wonderful again, then back to the boats and out onto Lake George, Florida's second largest lake.


Welaka town dock - jammed!
Shrimp buffet being laid out for us..


museum all tagged for auction

neat active boatshop with observation door!

Welaka is full of these trees












Fort Gates Victorian - I could live here!













Lake George is channel marked up the middle because the left side is an active bombing range, and the whole thing is very shallow! At a certain marker we bear off to the right on a heading that takes us to Florida's lovely Blue Springs. We boat right in to the spring itself. Unfortunately it is not warm enough to frolic in the water, as it was two years ago but it is lovely in here! We tow our friends off the sand and head out to Blair's Jungle Den across the lake.


Anhinga drys its wings above crystal clear spring water
We couldn't read it either...



gettin ready to tow the Bosche off the sand

the fleet at the Jungle Den



















Dinner across the river, another very nice outing but our very slow waitress left us stranded without a ride home! Some very nice ladies took care us us! Next morning is our last day on the river and they have cut out the lunch stop so the boats can get over to Tavares for launching into the boat show docks. We will take our time as we are staying at the Lakeside Inn in Mt Dora and will self launch there.