Kids & Classics Boatshops

Canvas The Lightning!

2012-02-18T16:20:00.000-05:00

Was this day ever going to arrive! Somehow it seems appropriate that we gave the Lightning new life today just as the smoke clears from Scott's ceremonial Viking Ship burning! Perhaps for all of us in the shop the "laying on" of the deck canvas has represented the great turning point in this restoration. No sweat from here on. Here's the morning in pictures...

A final sanding, cleaning and tacking..

Paper and taping all around...

Dry fit the canvas and rough cut...

Rolling out the first area for epoxy...

Many hands flatten the canvas into epoxy

next the side decks...

pull out and flatten the canvas...

cut-outs done, front deck laid, more epoxy!

Trim excess all around after stapeling...

There! Nothin to it! One Lightning deck!

WOW what an accomplishment for a bunch of beginners! I think we really will get this boat in the water this summer - stay tuned...

new author

2012-02-12T00:09:00.000-05:00

Hey, it's Scott writing as a new contributor. This is a test.

I went up to my buddy's place up near Dundalk two weekends ago, to clelbrate UYphellya, that great mid winter festival celebrated by the Scandinavian nations, which culminates with the burning of a Viking ship, to usher in the New Year and make propitious offerings to the gods. And then eat and drink alot.
So I built a boat and burned it.

Where there's Lightning there's dunder (-heads trying to install a deck)

2012-02-11T22:28:00.000-05:00

We are proceeding carefully after MUCH RESEARCH, nudge nudge wink wink...

Today the first coat of sealing epoxy was paddled and rolled out on the Lightning's deck - two coats went on as the stuff was dissapearing into the bare plywood deck like you wouldn't believe!

This week it will be sanded out so next week (drum roll), the canvas goes on! MANY HANDS NEEDED

Chris tapes off to prevent drips.

Scott and Chris do the finishing touches

Once the canvas is on we'll have to sand and paint it. We were thinking it would look great in natural tan canvas but epoxy is not UV tolerant and has to be covered or it goes chalky fairly soon. Then we'll be on to lots of varnishing the trim and seats etc - most of which have several coats already.

On the little Shepherd Outboard the hull is ready for the original bottom boards to go back on so we are plugging all the screw holes with sticks and epoxy. As everything has shrunk over the years and as we are going to put the original boards back on - they will be in a slightly different location and the new holes will have to drilled as required. This will allow us to tighten up the plank clearances to new specs.

George has a system, plugs are flying into place!

Great news this week! We can confirm that a date has been set for our first Boats for Folks Skiff building event with kids fighting cancer. This will take place in Toronto as a joint venture with an organization that specializes in helping these kids. Intended date of the build is May 5/6.

Big Daddy Festival is on again this year in the Glen and Kids & Classics Boatshops will be part of it. Events at our boatshop will include a Boats for Folks skiff building, an antique boat show, Paint-A-Boat (the other side of Wavecrast) and likely some other features tba!

If you wish to become involved in our activities this year call about attending our pot-luck boatshop meeting this Thursday Feb 16, 6:30 to 9 pm. 905 873-0141

Of Tops and Bottoms...

2012-02-04T22:18:00.000-05:00

Lots of activity this week, beginning Tuesday evening with Trevor and George under the Shepherd with sandpaper and scrapers. Trevor found a note written in pencil on the number one forward deckbeam which said "6 sets 16 foot" - suggesting these were the first set.

"6 sets 16 foot"...

"I love sanding!"

By Saturday all four projects were in some level of action. With the pitching in of new volunteer Rajmund, he and Jim sanded the first primer coat of the skiff out pretty flat, tacked it and laid the second coat on. This one came out really well.

Ray and Jim lay it on smoooth!

really looking good here...

Meanwhile the insides of the Shepherd outboard was ready for a varsol wash and a fresh coat of Epifanes Woodfinish Gloss. George, John and Anton crunch through to make this all happen today.

lots of corners and hidden areas...

Anton and John get at the bow while it is open

Eventually there are 4 of us under there brushing away but what a difference! Too bad this is mostly out of sight in the finished boat! We are already working on stripping and cleaning the inner and outer original planks for the bottom. This week (or two) might see them all done and ready to go back on the boat!

under the bow deck - pure gold!

closing the last section!

At the other side of the shop Chris has showed up with the 86" wide canvas for the deck of the Lightning. Today some last minute fairing and smoothing of edges where the canvas will be stretched over the deck. With luck we'll epoxy the deck Tuesday night, sand it Thursday night and be ready to apply the canvas next Saturday. Lots of hands required to pull the canvas - so come on out!

Chris studying

Chris studying...some more

Today we had Jim, Ray, George, John, Anton and MB out. Amazing what was accomplised with many hands and it is inspiring to have projects move along so quickly as well.

Roni and Wayne will be attending a meeting in the Glen Monday night regarding the planning of the Big Daddy Fetival on Father's Day weekend - June 16 / 17 this year. We'll have the full story for you next week's edition but we will have lots going on at the Boatshop Museum! For sure there will be a need to bring in some funding to make all of this happen - let us know how you would like to pitch in...

Sand Putty & Paint - some more...

2012-01-28T17:17:00.000-05:00

John puttied the Shepherd screw holes, George and Jim carried out some final sanding of the frames and rails while Chris tacked the skiff and readied it for it's first coat of primer.

tacky, tacky, tacky...

sand, sand, sand...

George removed the last of the Sikaflex from where someone had sandwiched plywood on the transom.

scrape, scrape, scrape

fill, fill, fill...

then everybody got painting, Chris on the skiff and the rest on the Shepherd. Feels like a huge step ahead once finishes begin to go on. Although on the Shepherd we will be back into gooping and scraping to ready the original planks for re-installation. The plan is to re-set all the inner and outer planks to their original spacing of one popsicle stick width appart. We suspect this will mean that the last plank on will be a new one to make up for the 50 years of accumulated shrinkage - we'll see!

First coat done!

over and under

A really great day to leave the shop with finishes done and drying. Lots of participation all week and two projects really moved ahead. We reviewed the pros and cons of staining the cedar dinghy to mask the years of wear and tear on the outer hull. Cedar looks so lovely with clear varnish on the bare wood but this girl had been bumped around, original finish half scraped off then painted green and that half scraped off - it looked really dubious to bring it back. We decided to mask off a rectangel and apply 4 or 5 coats of varnish to see if the stains and scrapes mute out enough to live with....

first coat - marks do jump out!

Michealanglo and the Cisteen keel?

See you next week at the Kids & Classics Boatshop!

Anton, Tevor and George have at it!

2012-01-27T21:15:00.000-05:00

Projects are really moving along this week - it's really great to see this happen.

Our "apprentice boatbuilder" Trevor has been out to every session this week and received detailed training from Anton our Master of Preping. It is so easy to sand through previous layers when trying to achive a 'flat' surface between coats of finish - especially at edges. Trevor has becaome quite good at this and we are looking forward to seeing the results as the skiff he was involved in building last springs Big Daddy Festival weekend begins to see paint this weekend.

Anton "If you can feel it you will see it"

"Dr." Anton mixes a batch of epoxy

George went at the Shepherd dressing the holes we had filled earlier in the week - so all the underwater frames and longitudinals are ready for grey paint on Saturday. Next we will scrape and sand the underside of the decks and sides for a few coats of varnish. Most of this will be out of sight when the boat is finished but we just "had to do it" anyway.

Filling and sanding old screw holes

George and the 'final touch'

Finally Thursday night, the skiff was ready for primer and the Shepherd was ready for grey paint on its nether parts - so our attention turned to the transom...we've been stalling this off! We are not sure but we think this is not the original transom covering. It is 3 pieces of plywood and there are bad spots in them - it has to be redone.

If anyone out there knows for sure how Shepherd would have covered the transom on these boats - we'd love to hear. We would prefer to layer it with three solid mahogany planks. The catch is they would only be about 5/8" thick and that may be why plywood is there now. Whoever put the plywood on used something like Sikaflex - what a job getting that off - chisels, axes, masonry hammers, saws...

just getting started!

resorting to destruction...

and DONE!

Amazing what many hands can accomplish in short order!

We are always open to seeing new faces - especially on Saturdays. Visit the Beaumont Mill Antiques & Collectibles Market in Glen Williams and we are just across the parking lot.

Boatshow and Boatshop this week!

2012-01-22T18:21:00.000-05:00

There was one good reason to venture past the ACBS booth into the TIBS this year and yours truly did so - to see the amazing new steamboat "AREZOO"! This is a work of art. Chris and I saw this boat apparently her first day in the water at his yacht club - Mimico. She was at the show and I had a chance to speak with the late owners daughter, Barb and learned that the steam equipment came from Peter Freebody on the Thames River in London, UK. The details of this boat are impeccable.

AREZOO at Mimico

Steam engine & controls

The ACBS booth was fun as usual, our own Harry Sutton was the Master of Ceremonies - sort of (really his wife Ruth). Displays included the requisite Dippy, several outboard hydros presented by Richard and Bill Shorney who we will hopefully see at our shop one of these days and a really lovely Ackroyd 9' rowboat much like the one in our store booth except it is beautifully restored by Kenny Lavalette of Woodwind Yachts (where Chris purchased Puffin).

Ruth & Harry Sutton at ACBS booth

Ackroyd Dinghy

Meanwhile back at the Kids & Classics Boatshop, the chips are flying and so was the 16' Shepherd! George and John went at the hole plugging like fiends and they are all done! Rails and frames are being sanded in preparation for paint this week.

plugs trimmed and being sanded

Shepherd flying on 2 cranes!

Meanwhile Chris and Jim went over the bottom of the skiff and decided that it need a bit more filling if we are to achieve a finish up to Anton's standards - question was "where is Anton?"

This week should see the grey part of the Shepherd repainted and the first coat of primer on the skiff. No word on the 96" wide canvas for the Lightning yet. We are going to look into applying a bit of stain to the bottom of the cedar dinghy which might soften the contrast with iron stains in the wood.

Drop in any Saturday morning to see what's up at the Kids & Classics Boatshop in Glen Williams!

of porcupines and paint...

2012-01-07T18:10:00.000-05:00

Chris was in and sanded away on the skiff followed by Scott who did a bit more, tacked it off and with George laid a second coat of the Buff colour on the inside of the boat. One more sand and paint should finish the inside - perhaps later this week.

Chris cleaning up!

Scott & George - artistes!

George plugged more screw holes in the chines and keel of the Shepherd out board, John arrived later and drilled out the broken screws and plugged those too. All holes are now plugged with splints of mahogany and epoxy, they need to cure overnight so they can be sawn off flush tomorrow. Once that is done we will roll the boat over onto it's starboard side so we can remove the planking from the port side and do all the same to it.

George sticks it to the Shepherd

starboard fully porcupined

Meanwhile Roni reinvented the whole booth in the mill, dragging the shop team in to move around all the big bits! We added some shelves, pulled out boxes of freshly donated 'stuff' and began loading the shelves. Looks completely different now and she's just getting started! I believe Scott has 'volunteered' to impart a creative note into redesigning how we tell our story in the booth - watch for this development!

Roni and the New Look...

Let's see, where would this go best...

A great day in and around the boat shop!

I you like old boats, old motors and helping kids - come on out for a visit!

Saturdays from 9 to at least 1 pm

Tuesday & Thursday evenings from 7 to 9 pm

call 905 873-0141 for more information (Malcolm)

paint, varnish and rivets are flying!

2011-12-10T17:20:00.000-05:00

a great day today (Dec 10 11) - lots got done...

Quail was taken outside and washed to remove the residue from the oxalic acid bleaching. George and Bob neutralized her with a baking soda wash as well. Next she can be sanded to see if that process did much to get rid of the water stains.

Scott, Grant, John and MB hauled the two Peterborough cedar strips and the 1946 Lightning down to the Norval barn and stowed them away inside. Now we just need a place to store Wings.

George and Bob sanded and applied the first colour coat to the inside of the skiff - it looks great! We'll leave it for a few days to set, give it a light sanding and another coat of Epifanes Buff.

Chris and Scott applied the first coat of varnish to the Lightning coamings and deck trim parts. They'll need a coat a day for the next 4 or 5 days then sit to harden a bit before another sanding followed by a few more coats. Further research and conversations with Rick at Noah's has led us to come back to using real canvas on the deck, but set in epoxy.

John and MB went at the copper rivets in the bottom of the 16' Shepherd and by late afternoon today at least half are out. We're thinking of setting the boat up on it's side for the next phase of the restoration - removal of the outer bottom planks

See you Tuesday and Thursday evening, 7 - 9 or next Saturday 9 to at least noon!

Lost Souls show up! and stuff happens...

2011-12-03T19:39:00.000-05:00

Scott jumps in - well, leans in...

Lots happened this week in and around the shop....including the return of our long lost core volunteer Bill Bowmer! (and our only somewhat lost Scott)

Trevor preps the skiff for paint

Trevor sanded and helped apply another coat of paint to the skiff while mastering tossing a line!

Line laid out like a bar!

Trevor winds up for the toss..

Skiff is almost ready for colour on the inside...

Lightning is ready for deck covering and Chris has almost decided how we are going to do that. More original trim is ready for varnish as well. We are trying to retain as much of the original material as possible but still have a beautiful result.

the cleanup after the dumking

Three projects moved along this week!

16' Shepherd is out of the pond and back in the shop after a rinse out. The Merc Marathon is being reduced to it's components towards a full restoration - John in charge of that one.

6 weeks ago like this...

Today a bit more promising!

Quail our cedar tender was bleached with oxalic acid to reduce the black iron stains. Again we are hoping to be able to return it to a bright finish - won't be perfect but we'll see. Huge improvement so far!

This week we' hope to get the Shepherd off it's trailer and onto dollies. While it did take up immensely after 3 weeks in the pond, it is not tight by any means so...we'll be doing a bottom rebuild before anything else. A venture into new territory!

Quail will next be sanded with 60 grit to see what happens to the stains and to smooth our the best of the damage to her planks.

Colour coat on the skiff

and Lighting trim ready for varnish? (Chris?)

Of outboards and sailboats..sinking and otherwise!

2011-11-28T08:31:00.000-05:00

Here's what's up at our community boatshop this week...

Lightning sailboat:

Chris and Trevor restoring trim

Kayce poping plugs for Chris

method of canvassing the deck is pretty much settled, real canvas laid in epoxy - just a bit of research into the best epoxy for this app to complete.
team has decided to retain as much of the original trim parts as possible so we have been repairing, plugging, sanding and staining all the miscellaneous coamings, corner blocks etc getting them ready for varnish, possibly this week.

Skiff:

Kayce sanding skiff

first coat of primer

first coat of primer on the inside on Saturday, more this week.

Shepherd Outboard:

really - it will float (next summer)

Merc 6 cyl outboard attacked by John & Anton

John pumped out the hull which is sunk in his pond and she floats far better than when first immersed (water level didn't change as it went in the first time - leaked literally like a sieve!) One more week in the water then a final test to see how much it tightened up - then back to the shop.
Mercury Marathon 700 (70 hp) has been partially disassembled on the way to a full restoration although there doesn't seem to be any serious damage. We did hook it up and get it running first.

Chris Cavalier:

acquisition of this 30' 1961 ChrisCraft Cruiser is complete, she has a good survey and will take very little to be ready for the water in the spring. Plan is to truck it to Manotic near Ottawa, do minor spring maintenance then cruise her to Picton.

Why not come out and join us Saturday mornings (9-1), Tues and Thus evenings (7-9) or pass this on to someone you know who might enjoy messing about in boats while helping kids learn new skills! Perfect for parents and their kids to share a learning experience over the winter then go boating with us next summer! We teach boating skills to our youth and adult volunteers which is part of the reason for the restoration of the Shepherd Outboard (the other is that it is really cool) - if you have some or even NO boating background we can take you from rowing to small outboards, big outboards, small inboards up to twin screw inboards and of course sailing!

See you soon!

November in the boatshop and beyond!

2011-11-18T21:47:00.000-05:00

Well the 27' Shepherd is covered and over at the quarry - not a perfect solution but OK. Next year hopefully we can afford a fitted cover if we still don't have indoor storage.

We have the materials to make a similar cover for Wings too if a team can come together to tackle it.

Still have 2 Peterborough's and our 1946 Lightning to go to the Norval barn from behind the boatshop.

The 16' Shepherd is soaking in the pond at the quarry to see if it will take up over the next couple of weeks. If not it is new bottom time - curious though because the inside of the bottom looks good with no obvious failures...

1960 Lightning has been the subject of research into the various ways of covering the deck - boy lots of opinions out there in the ether! We are considering a hybrid of our own creation - 1. epoxy the deck and perfect it. 2. lay 96" wide real canvas in wet epoxy. 3. apply several coats of S1 epoxy sealer to the canvas. 4. prime and paint with Epifanes yacht paint (our usual technique). Our thinking is that this will make the canvas impervious to moisture intrusion but leave the look of canvas when complete.

Quail, our 10' cedar dinghy has it's bottom stripped and ready for bleach which we now have. The bleach is Oxalic acid which is specifically used to remove the black water stains from the wood. Now if we just knew how to mix it and apply it....anyone? The 5 1/2 HP Johnson outboard has been somewhat torn down in the process of seeing if it will run and be restorable - needs coils, points and condensers for sure!

31' ChrisCraft Cavalier, a new donation. This boat was offered a few years ago but we didn't have the formula to accept it then. It was re-offered a few months ago and we have gone through the process of surveys and other due diligence and reached the conclusion that we should accept it. The boat is in very fine condition with very minor work required to put it in the water next spring near Ottawa. K&C volunteers will cruise it to it's new home in Picton where Grant will care for it and where we will be looking to create a new local K&C programme with youth in that area as well as using it for volunteer outings similar to last summer's Supertest outing in Picton.

Come on out to the Boatshop in the Glen on any Saturday morning between 9 and noon - see what's happening and join in by all means.

Boatrides, new deck and other September wonders!

2011-09-29T11:16:00.002-04:00

Well a huge milestone has been passed with the installation of the new deck on the Lightning, Tuesday evening! Many hands "on deck" was never more appropriate...

George, Scott, Chris and Jim - Ready!

Next the Sikaflex...

Lots of bronze boatnails...

DONE! off to the pub...

Next it will need to be faired (Anton are you listening?) then painted and canvassed.

Meanwhile the skiff parts need a few coats of varnish to be finished, although the painting can begin on the hull.

Motorhead Volunteer Bernie has taken on the restoration of our 5 1/2 HP Johnson over this winter and to go with it we have brought a pretty little 10' cedarstrip tender called "Quail" into the shop for restoration over the winter as well.

Jim records how the rope gunnel fits.

Stripping under way..

With a new jug of stripper on hand, the final layer of bottom stripping can be completed on Quail.

So far it looks like the planking is all OK although she will need a new external keel and skeg.

Lots of us have been out riding in Despina, our 27' Shepherd which is based at Outer Harbour in Toronto until after Thanksgiving. If you would like to be a Gatsby supporter and be invited, let us know!

Grant, Roni & Hunter and Gretchen all smiles...

Our primary purpose (with Despina) is to promote a new Sick Kids Boatride programme for next summer. If you would like to be part of this programme either with connections to kids organizations, connections to sponsorship or an active roll in delivering the activities, let us know about that too.

Picton, Miss Supertest and Us

2011-08-19T23:19:00.000-04:00

Report on K&C Footprint in Picton...On Aug 6-7, several of us went up Picton, invited by Grant, to see/stay at his new cottage, and take in the anniversary of the record breaking races won by Miss Supertest. We all converged on Prince Edward County on Friday: Rob and Scott, hauling the Richardson cedarstrip, John by himself with the Hunter and Malcolm and Gretchen with the big Shepherd.
All the boats were put in the water for the weekend thanks to the good graces of the PEYC, all boaters fed and watered by same. What was the name of the beer again...?
Weather was gorgeous on Friday, a mix of sun and cloud and a little rain on saturday, and ditto on Sunday, but nothing to discourage boating.
Went to the Picton airport Sunday morn to see the race boats on display. Miss Supertest, Canadiana, Mickey One, many others. Excellent display of boats and engines by the Antique Outboard Motor Club.
Good runs with Shepherd and Hunter, Saturday: on bay of Quinte, up to Deseronto, initial docking at deseronto yacht club, then moved to docks by the ramp at centennial Park.
Lunch in Deseronto, a bit of a hike, which could have been avoided if we'd just used our first dockage.
Sunday: Shepherd experienced some starboard engine hiccups after fuelling, which meant not going too far afield, but Scott and Rob got driving lessons, each taking the helm for good chunks of timewhich made the day infinitely more enjoyable.
Grant's house is amazing, as was the hospitality of Grant and Lois, as is the whole area. Hopefully there will be many more expeditions!

Kids Transform Skiff this week!

2011-08-14T23:38:00.000-04:00

great progress at the shop! Trevor and Scott (jr) have been out several times and are getting into raising their skills levels. They are becoming quite productive and self motivated - great to see!.

The skiff is all sanded and stained, ready for a few coats of S1 Sealer this week

The lightning deck assembly is sealed on the underside and ready to be flipped and fastened to the boat - a huge milestone! It is looking really fine.

Despina still needs to have a bit of carpet work done but she is just waiting to see if we can arrange a slip this week.

A new development! Volunteer Bernie would like to restore one of our outboards and we settled on the '57 Johnson 5 1/2 hp for a start. Parts will be relatively available and this will create a little brother to our trusty '57 Johnson 18 that you may have seen on the Richardson cedarstrip.

We have a 10' cedarstrip skiff which looks to be in fairly good condition but needing restoration, it is a pretty boat and would look great next to the Richardson with the 5 1/2 on it. Would this appeal to a team for restoration this winter?

Boatrides wonderful last weekend!

2011-07-25T21:56:00.000-04:00

A wonderful time was had on Sunday when volunteers George, Anton and skiff builder Trevor trailed our Hunter runabout to the Humber ramps. The lake was a touch bumpy with 3' rollers but no problem! We headed around the point to the MCC and fellow volunteer and now Folkboat sailor Chris. After a lovely lunch on the balcony of the club, we haeded off in the boats.

Anton elected to go sailing with Chris and Lisa in "Puffin" - a beautiful sight out on the lake - and the rest of us headed off in the Hunter to give George and Trevor their first experience running an inboard.

We ran over to Ontario Place then part way up the Humber River - perfect day on the water. Later we headed back to Chris' club for a refreshment and to collect Anton. Back to the ramps to close a great day!

As for this week at the boatshop, here's what's up:

Trevor's skiff, more sanding and detailing - starting to look pretty good.
Lightning, add deck
27 Shepherd, continue reworking fuel fill plumbing and tail end of the wiring.
17' Shepherd, trailer needs to have other side wheelbearings done. Boat can come over from quarry for this.

Day Out in the Toronto Islands

2011-07-25T16:04:00.000-04:00

Pictures, courtesy of George and Malcolm, of the Hunter out yesterday in and around the Toronto Islands.
They cruised around the point to MCC and met up with Chris and Lisa - on their new folkboat - had lunch at the club then off boating. Some of it was slow going with the rollers coming in but as long as you pick a line you can make out pretty well. Everybody in the Hunter got wet but it was warm! Lovely day! Boated until about 4:30 or so.

(Your esteemed blog writer was putting out marks for the Cross Border Open Design Races hosted by the Mississauga sailing club that same morning and we had waves of 4-6 ft. and very dicey conditions.
How you guys managed it is beyond me!)

K&C Skiff donated to Camp Huronca!

2011-07-13T13:04:00.000-04:00

PRESS RELEASE

Date: Wednesday, July 13^th, 2011

Event: “Project Rowboat”: From “Kids and Classics Boatshops” to “Camp Huronda”.

Times: 11 AM: Kids & Classics Boatshop Museum, 586 Main Street, Glen Williams, Ontario L6G 3T6 Contact: Malcolm Black – Founder (905-873-0141)

4:30 PM: Canadian Diabetes Association “Camp Huronda”, 1252 South Waseosa Lake Road, Ontario, P1H 2N4 (705-789-7153)

Contact: Sue Taylor – Regional Director, CDA (519-673-1630)

Sometimes the stars align and very good things happen!

When Bob Kayser, a retired business executive, bought raffle tickets from an old friend to support his volunteer work with “Kids and Classics Boatshops” in Glen Williams, Ontario – he didn’t expect to win the handmade rowboat crafted so lovingly by the kids-at-risk who are helped there! Nor did he have a place for it.

When his name was drawn on Father’s Day, Bob decided to donate the classic skiff to Camp Huronda, a residential summer camp for children with Type 1 diabetes near Huntsville, Ontario, in the name of Jay Gilbert, a recent MBA graduate whom Bob had met through his own mentoring activities in London, Ontario, and who’s life story to date has been so positively influenced by his 15 summers at Camp Huronda and by his strong advocacy for those with Type 1 diabetes like himself.

So on Wednesday, July 13^th, 2011 “Kids and Classics Boatshops” founder Malcolm Black will host the rowboat hand-off event in Glen Williams at 11:00 AM followed by the launch at Camp Huronda hosted by Camp Director Amanda Grassick and other Canadian Diabetes Association delegates at 4:30 PM that afternoon.

Kids and Classics Boatshops Museum is a non-profit, volunteer organization committed to the transformation of lives. The particular focus is kids-at-risk to deliver a self esteem boosting program called “Boats For Folks” through which four kids build a 12’ rowboat in two days and then get in it and row it. The kids are encouraged to return to learn more advanced boatbuilding skills by working on the shop’s fleet of antique boats. In addition, learning the skills of sailing and rowing fosters the development of positive social skills.

For more information please visit kidsnclassicsboatshops.blogspot.com

Camp Huronda is owned and operated by the Canadian Diabetes Association and lies on a beautifully wooded peninsula on Lake Waseosa near Huntsville, Ontario. This superb 110-acre setting offers permanent camp facilities for children with Type 1 diabetes through carefully planned day and evening programs that provide children with a summer of adventure, fun, activities, new skills, and health care.

The camp offers four 2-week sessions in July and August for 8-15 year olds, as well as two 1-week sessions for 8-10 year olds in August.

For more information please visit www.diabetes.ca or call 1-800-Banting (226-8464)

The boat has just left for Camp Huronca and here are a few pictures of this little event.

Bob, Gunby kids, Jay & Malcolm

Add Sue and Christine from CDA, London

Pictures by Rob Currie, K&C volunteer...more to come from Camp Huronda, Jim & Shirley Steeves went north to the camp on behalf of Kids & Classics Boatshops!

Design for Mural for Big Daddy Day

2011-05-31T15:40:00.001-04:00

One of the activities for Big Daddy Day will be getting folks to help paint a mural on the side of one of the boats in the yard.

Here's the proposed design!

Spring in the boatshop!

2011-05-07T21:44:00.000-04:00

with the weather finally breaking a bit, the shop door is open again and there has been lots of progress.

Lightning!

George and Alan scarphed the side decks to the front deck

Katie Rogers worked the scarph joint on the rear deck panel

Everybody had a finger in applying the white primer to the inside!

scarph the rear deck panel to the deck assembly panel

second coat of white primer to inside - try for final primer coat.

Skiff!

Katie and Chris touched up the chine joints this week and touched up the primer today

sand out the white primer flat. If it flattens without going through - it is ready for colour.

begin painting the interior with the Buff colour.

Big Daddy Festival!

lots of books of tickets are out for the skiff draw. If you want a ticket or you can sell some tickets

, call Wayne Koning at 905 877-7342

If you wish to participate in one of the events that day call Roni at 647 302-7824

Shepherd Team returns from Florida!

2011-04-01T22:16:00.000-04:00

well the great adventure is behind us - what a blast! Long drive south hauling 5 tons of boat and trailer but all went smoothly. Once in Jax we had a few issues to solve with the boat and we finally launched on Friday 18th. Ron arrived so we took a slow cruise to the city - all well.

Florida or Bust picture!

Ron digs into wiring issues

Grant & John up to the task

Monday we head up the St John River

Despina at the Crab Shack for lunch

Shepherd team chows down

Dennis, Ron and John - back on the river

the fleet at Palatka Mon & Tues night

Despina at Tues lunch-Crescent City

BBQ lunch at B&B in Crescent City

Mike, John & Grant racing "Triples"

really - we're not racing!

little 'gator at Corky Bell's Restaurant

Wed AM leaving Palatka

In the boatshop at Walaka

the "fleet" at Blair's Jungle Den

top down - John runs the river!

Ibis, herons, gators and Osprey - every day

approaching Lake Monro & Sanford

lunch on Lake Harris near Mt Dora

MB rides with old friends on Dancing Bear

more pictures to come. We lost our boating on the final Sunday trying to solve a mysterious fuel problem on the port engine. Lots of fun was had by all on our team and we learned some new benefits our Despina can bring to our "Boatride Museum"!

More anon....

Great Adventure Begins!

2011-03-15T05:51:00.000-04:00

What a mad scramble the last few weeks! Tha "Shepherd Team" is heading out in a few moments towing the 27' to Florida for the ACBS St John River Cruise. This will be the boats real maiden voyage since her restoration by your team. LAst week we decised to repack the wheel bearings and ended up installing new axles, brakes and wheels.

Grant reinstalls cuddy locker doors

While you amy have seen the boat in the water a few months ago for one day there was still lots of work to do...scrape and sand the bottom then paint with new antifouling - tear the cuddy appart and refinish it all - pull out the head and rebuild that! etc etc

Rob and Rob fix engine wiring

Jim polishes the bowl...

Anton assembles the pump

THE BOOTH!

2011-02-13T18:22:00.001-05:00

All this time we have been running the blog, we haven't done anything to talk up the Boats4Folks Booth, which is located inside the Beaumont Mill building as part of the Antiques & Collectibles market!
Our erstwhile volunteer, Veronica Lester, has been spearheading this part of the Kids N Classics Universe.

Here is some more info regarding the booth:

Kids & Classics Boatshop Museum - Fundraising Booth

Calling all volunteers, community supporters, and nautical entrepreneurs! The Kids & Classics Boatshop would like to announce its goal for aligning our Beaumont Mill Antique & Collectibles booth to fundraising with a theme…boats…boats…and more boats.

We believe that dedicating the booth’s content to a single focus of “boat related articles” we will successfully draw increased attention to our kids-at-risk program, generate donations to purchase the needed materials to carry out our work, and become the stop and shop place for nautical enthusiasts!

We are announcing opportunity for all Mill vendors and local community entrepreneurs to “sale” their “nautical” items through our booth! All you need are saleable items that meet with our theme and a willingness to support our local community kids at risk by donating 30% of your sale. 100% of all donations go directly back into the kids program.

Having said this, we continue to accept and encourage ALL donated articles and will use them in our new monthly and ongoing silent auctions. Our glass display case will be converted into a silent auction display case !!

We welcome everyone to get on board!! Please contact Roni Lester @ 647-302-7824 or Malcolm Black @ 905-873-0141 for more information.

The Varnished Truth w/e Feb 19 11

2011-02-12T19:53:00.000-05:00

OOps I seem to have gapped a few weeks! However it doesn't mean nothing has been happening!

Jim and George have been putting in time every week to get the skiff kits ready and they are nearly there. Stems and rip the longitudinals and they are ready.

Chris buggered his back but we were glad to see him back today, right into the Lightning of course. All the old screw holes have been plugged, filled, trimmed and faired. Some more fairing is required before the new deck goes on. Meanwhile George has pretty much finalized the new seating structure and it is ready to come out for sanding, stain and varnish.

John and Grant have the big Shepherd's bottom finished and it is back on the trailer. Great adventure today getting it over to John's and up the icy driveway!

This week it is stems and sticks to get the skiff kits finished, stripping, sanding and staining the Lightning parts and begin some lovely varnishing!

The St. John's River Cruisers will be working on the cuddy components, all the safety gear that has to be on board etc.

Know anybody that could use a skiff for their pond? Now's the time to speak up! they can still pick the colour!

The Varnished Truth w/e Jan 11

2011-01-24T22:17:00.001-05:00

Bloody cold outside - warm in the boatshop!

Jim Steeves has been leading the charge getting the transoms and knees ready for the skiff kits. With expert help from Ron Frenette, jigs have been made to run these parts easily and accurately - this will really pay off in the future.

Meanwhile everybody has been involved in scarphing up the panels for the skiff bottoms and sides - just one more bottom to cut out now. Anton has worked his magic on the panels and they are smooth as glass! Here you can see Tamara jigsawing out the next batch of skiff sides!

The built skiff in the shop has now had 4 coats of varnish on it's stained areas - looking very nice!

Chris and George have been pressing on with the Lightning and all the deck beam work is done and the new seat structures are ready for stain and varnish. A few original parts still need to be stripped, stained and varnished. All the old screw holes that were holding the deck on were quite bad as they used steel screws so we have drilled them out to good wood and fashioned plugs for all holes - ready for epoxy and setting.

John has been at the bottom or the big Shepherd and all fasteners that were in too deep have been pulled, plugged and reset flush with the bottom. He has squeezed Slick Seam (reccommended by Dwight Boyd of Clarion Boats) into all remaining spots and sanded the whole thing. The paint will be on hand tomorrow and the bottom should have two coats this week - next the cuddy.

Roni is re-inventing the booth to be more "boaty" with the goal of having a sharp focus on why we are doing what we are doing and selling skiffs more often that we have been. Watch for more from Roni!

Come join the crew in Florida the week of March 19-27 on our 27' Shepherd! limit of 6 spots! Accomodation reservations need to be made soon!

The Varnished Truth w/e Jan 15 11

2011-01-09T22:52:00.000-05:00

Lots got done this past week - thank you!

Skiff Kits are coming along nicely, planing the panels is mostly done and the first pair are ready for epoxy. Chris says the solid parts are coming this week courtesy of Ron Frenette. Anybody with extra time let us know if you wish to come in, above and beyond Tues and Thurs evening.

We are trying to get a kit ready for the new group starting in Burlinton! Cheers!

Bottom of the Shepherd is all refastened and half of it sanded and filled - until the sander died.

Roni would like to shift the emphasis in the booth to boats and boaty stuff. From a fundrasing perspective, selling skiffs puts everything else in the shade. George will have his next 12' canoe finished in the next couple of weeks and he would like to sell it in our booth with a portion going to the program. Watch for this if you need a small canoe!

Speak up if you would like to go antique boating in march in Florida! We have concluded that the crew limit on the 27' Shepherd is 6 (3 are spoken for).

JOIN US FOR A BLAST ON THE ST. JOHN RIVER!

Operators of our powerboats this summer will have to have the CPS Boating Course under their belts. Let us know if you are interested!

2010 In Review

2011-01-08T18:22:00.000-05:00

A few pictures from around here over the past year!

(If anyone else has pictures they would like to see on the blog, let us know!)

Some kids in a kid-built skiff.

An uncle with same.

Kids in sailing skiffs: during the BOOM school at Mississauga Sailing Club, Port Credit, in August.

A raft up: Grant's tugboat and the newly donated Sonatina, Chris and Malcolm aboard, about to take off for a scream up Humber Bay. Photo by Scott from shore, trying to figure out how to get out there. Doesn't look windy, but it was.

A grand day out on Belwoods Lake: Malcolm, Roni and son, John.

Shots form Tall Ships sailpast in Toronto in June.

Pride of Baltimore

HMS Bounty, looking forward on deck.

Does anyone know who this is! The cutest little Tancook Schooner went by, trim as bedamned, but I didn't find out the name of the vessel!

Pride of B., again.

Bounty, again.

Brig Niagara.

Scott's Grew at the shop, in July, STILL not in the water.

The Varnished Truth Happy New Year Edition

2011-01-02T17:55:00.000-05:00

Great news from Chris, he is the proud new owner of a beautiful Folkboat called Puffin (well it will be beautiful soon). He says it will be based at Mimico and will be availble to our kids program for budding sailors.

Skiffs! another session coming up to finish the transoms and other 2" bits and let's get set up to scarph panels this week as well. Who's availble Tuesday evening??

Shepherd bottom is coming along with at least half of the re-fastening done. We need to get it on the trailer in a few weeks at least to keep the Florida trip on track.

The Lightning team has all the new seat frames constructed and epoxied ready for final fitting in the boat and Chris has a new deck collar built in way of the mast.

Let us know if you are interested in being part of the Florida "Boating in March" team!

Kayaking in the High Arctic

2011-01-01T14:21:00.000-05:00

Attended a VERY interesting talk and slide show over at Ron Frenette/Alistair Dempster's Canoe Shop in Georgetown on wednesday evening. The guest was Xander Oldaker, a native of georgetown, who is a professional kayaking guide, licensed ship's captain and veteran trip leader in Canada’s High Arctic, the North Atlantic, the Bahamas and South America. He does this for Explorers' Corner.

We met in the upper loft area of the shop, dubbed the Explorer's Refuge. There was a small audience, but attentive, as Xander described the logistics of guiding groups on the shore of Ellesmere Island: just getting there is arduous, as the closest canadian settlement that can be reached by commercial flights is Resolute on Cornwallis Island. After that they fly in Twin otter aircraft, loaded to the maximum, landing at a strip that is part of a RCMP camp in the Kane Basin, Buchanan Bay, latitude 80 degrees North. There establishing base camp in a pair of wooden shacks (that they use to store the kayaks as it isn't feasible to take the boats back and forth); then paddling a area of roughly 100 km over 13 days.

Interesting facts:
Ellesmere island has the most northerly canadian settlement, Grise Fjord, which must be populated so that Canada can lay claim to the land.

The climate is so arid, that remains, both animal and human, (there were photos of whalebones, musk ox skulls, human skulls) stay in perfect condition for hundreds of years

The boats are plastic.

Has only had two capsizes. They don't wear drysuits ( there were shots of kayaks being pushed/pulled over ice floes...)

They manage 2 trips per season, July to August, which is as long as the arctic summer lasts

Lots of wildlife..

Flying in can be dicey: they are sometimes rerouted because of weather to Eureka or Alert AFBs....

All in all, a worthwhile evening.

Looking forward to the next one.

The Varnished Truth Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T22:18:00.000-05:00

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??

The Varnished Truth w/e Dec 18 10

2010-12-14T10:25:00.000-05:00

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.

The Varnished Truth w/e Dec 11 10

2010-12-05T09:10:00.000-05:00

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)

The Varnished Truth w/e Dec 04 10

2010-11-29T22:35:00.000-05:00

Action on every front again this past week…

Lightning team:

George has completed the new seat support system and Chris has been creating and installing side deck gussets with loads resolved in-line this time. Scott has just about finished scraping and sanding the varnish dribbles from the inside bottom.

Skiff Front:

Jim has refreshed the stain and begun the varnishing inside one of the skiffs and it is really looking amazing now. Scuff it up before the next few coats and it should be done next week.

The second skiff should be right behind it.

Oars have been ordered and will be here in 4 to 6 weeks.

Shepherd team:

the scraping of the bottom prior to repainting is about 30% complete.

Other tasks for this week:

Scrapper II and Wings need a winter covers and we have the covers. Scrounge up some ridge poles, sawhorse brackets and some 2x4's and we can get this done.

See you in the Boatshop!

More Despina!

2010-11-26T22:46:00.000-05:00

There is a new page added to the blog!
Click on the heading over on the right called Despina in the Water and see a ton of photos and some video of the grand day out!
This clip is actually of our chase boat, the Hunter.

The Varnished Truth w/e Nov 27 10

2010-11-23T06:43:00.000-05:00

Ooops, I think I missed last week...

Let's see where we are now...

Lightning has been the focus of lots of attention:

seat frames are pretty much fitted and levelled, very nice too
the inside of the bottom has had some scraping and sanding to get rid of the varnish runs from doing the outside of the bottom.
finishing up these two areas should get done this week. We'll need some brass bolts and white cedar to complete the seat restoration.
the mast step needs to be stripped and refinished soon as do the seat bottoms which will be retained.

Shepherd Despina:

scraping of the bottom has begun, lots to do there before new paint.
the cuddy cabin needs to come apart for cleaning and refinishing next.

Skiffs!!

one has had some attention from Jim and is almost ready for varnishing of the stained areas.
materials for the next skiff kits is coming together thanks to two new sponsorships - please welcome Carbon Steel Profiles and Poczo Manufacturing to our team!

Harry Hodson Yawl:

the ceiling boards are out of the hull now revealing a couple of more cracked planks. Our Boatbuilder friend Dwight Boyd of Clarion Boats dropped in this week and suggested that we just "spline" the cracks and make minimal rib repairs as required, all following stripping and cleaning the hull.
this 17' Canoe Yawl (as they are called) is a very pretty boat and promises to be an interesting sailer.

long term we would like to take the lines off and make a few new ones that can be vigorously sailed!

Roni is refinishing some small furniture items for sale in the booth.

There are a few longer term plans in the works of which more anon...

See you in the shop!

The Varnished Truth w/e Nov 13 2010

2010-11-07T19:50:00.000-05:00

Do you believe this weather?? Shop door open all day today - wonderful!

Several of our volunteers attended the Power Squadron Rib Fest just up the road at St. Alban's church on Sat night. It was really terrific - good food, lots of it and a very entertaining and informative speaker. The Weather Guy. He taught us through humour how to read what's coming by looking at clouds. You gotta catch this guy - Ron Bianchi!

If you envision operating any of our growing restored powerboat fleet next summer, you might consider doing the Boating Course through the North Halton Power & Sail Squadron, www.nhpss.ca or call Dave Aitken at 905 878-2035

Can we put together a fundraiser dinner like this?

Today John came over with his portable lift truck and we took the Shepherd back off the trailer so we can scrape, sand and refinish the bottom. There are few other little things to do as well.

Chris and the Lightning crew are into making up new seating for her. The idea is to create an arrangement that works, is removable, is structurally sound yet still adheres to the 60's look.

Seats for one of the skiffs have their finish coat of varnish and are off to one side to harden. One boat has a couple of coats of primer and now needs some filling before another coat.

Tuesday evening it would be nice to see some new faces. Roni picked up a few pieces of antique furniture for selling in the booth - but they need some attention first. If you have any experience with old furniture - give us a hand!

your board is digging into the creation of an "alternative education" programme that would operate in partnership with the schools. This has always been part of our long term vision but the recent article about the programme on Lake Champlain has inspired us to get to work on it. www.lcmm.org

Stay tuned..

Malcolm

The Varnished Truth w/e Oct 31 10

2010-11-06T17:05:00.000-04:00

A great day today! John came over and after some fooling around we have both engines in The Despina running! What sweet music - too bad we couldn't run them at the same time...Next step - the Grand Launching.

The shop has completely changed this week, a much better layout, more benches (if only we had more light)

If you have a few odd electrical boxes, switches, receptacles - any of that wiring stuff lying around or if you know someone in the business who can have this sort of stuff donated, bring it in. We need a few hundred feet of Romex in 3 and 4 conductor variations I suspect.

OK, back to this week's programme.

Lightning is right side up again and looking shipshape. Next a clean-up of the interior where varnish and Sikaflex dripped through when we did the bottom. The team is already figuring out the seat supports etc. Lots of stripping, sanding and varnishing coming up before the new deck.

Skiffs have room to get finished now, a bit more sanding then coatings go on.

A new addition to the shop is Amie Lou, our 1906 Harry Hodson 17' Yawl. The Despina team wants to restore her this winter and find out how she sails next summer. Work will include a partial plank replacement, deck restoration, new gunnels and lots of stripping, sanding and varnishing! (who'd have guessed).

Stay tuned for the launching of Despina!

The Varnished Truth w/e Oct 23 10

2010-10-17T21:30:00.001-04:00

Another great weekend! Gretchen and yours truly drove off to look at leaves this afternoon - very pleasant meander.

Meanwhile back at the boatshop - things are moving along nicely.

Welcome new volunteer Jim Steeves from Milton, dropped by the shop by accident last week and jumped in this past Saturday.

Lightning:

Jim joined Alan and George in wet sanding and applying coat #3 of primer to the Lightning - looking really good now. This week either: a) one more wet sanding and another coat of primer - should be perfect for colour or.. b) turn over and leave final finishing until interior is done. Chris! what do you think?

Shepherd 27':

bottom is tightened, tank straps redone and horns both repaired. New carpet on hand and needs to be cut and fitted, few more increasingly minor things BUT! Thursday is scheduled for the great trailer loading adventure! grant is bringing the truck, John is bringing a lift truck (that works) and we'll get at it about 4 PM this Thursday.

Skiffs:

minor finishing touches before paint or varnish but once the 27 is of of the shop, let's get these little girls done up.

Potential skiff sponsor visiting the shop on Thursday evening, come out if you can and bring kids if you have 'em.

Ignore that 22' Shepherd beside the boatshop - it isn't ours yet....

Sad Skiff in the rain

2010-09-30T21:56:00.000-04:00

The skiff i took home and painted and finishes this summer, there was no room inthe garage, so it got parked on my front lawn! And then got caught in the rain!

Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and Pilot Gigs programme

2010-09-10T07:59:00.001-04:00

The Sept/Oct issue of WoodenBoat Magasine has a great article on the Champlain Longboats program hosted and partnered by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. This is one hell of a success story! It has lessons for us and can call us into a new level of action here at Kids & Classics Boatshops. You can also visit the http://www.lcmm.org/ website and see video about the Pilot Gig program there as well.

The gigs they are building in their program are the same ones I had selected back in 1997 when creating my vision for Mahogany Harbour. It was my sense at the time that these gigs are far easier to build than the Atlantic Challenge Captain's Gigs and much more versatile - as these guys have shown to be true.

Who's up for making our own version of this happen here? Clearly the secret is the school system tie-in and partial funding from that source, this gets the kids in the boatshop every day.

I would suggest that step one is to take a copy of this article and our brochure to all the local schools and drum up some interest there. Your thoughts?

Boatshop Newsletter Sept 5 - 11 2010

2010-09-06T22:13:00.000-04:00

Hello crew!

Hope everyone had a great Labour Day Weekend (because you weren't at the boatshop....well except for Allan, Roni & George of course).

The boating plan got washed or frozen out but stuff got done in the shop:

Lightning:

A few little spots to fill and fair on the Lightning but George got the filler blocks installed where the self bailers used to be. Tuesday evening they can be smoothed and faired if all still looks OK under the clamps. We need a 1/2" plug cutter to make plugs for where the frame ends are bolted through the keelson.

Can we prime by the end of the week???

Shepherd:

seat frames are in, except the captains station, hatches to the cuddy and front deck are installed, wiper bezels are installed, boarding ladders are done, not much left to do now (except wiring).

We need some hardware this week to finish a few things.

Next weekend John and I and whoever else can help will move things around in the Quonset hut at the quarry so we can put the other 27' Shepherd inside and get the trailer extracted from under it. Lots of hands will help!! Probably Sunday - stay tuned.

Skiffs:
Both skiffs are nearly ready for varnish. The seats etc out of the last one need to be bleached then stained blonde before we can begin varnishing and before bleaching - SANDING FUN!!!

Several of you have expressed an interest in buying one of the skiffs in the past. The blue one is ready to go and it needs to be sold so we can replace our stock of oars and wood for the next build. Step right up and row, row, row your new boat!

MB

Boatshop This Week

2010-08-24T16:02:00.000-04:00

what a great week at the shop.
A good turnout of volunteers including James twice!
Many enquiries about buying skiffs or Pond Boats as seems to be the hot button around here.

The last skiff is S1'ed three coats on the inside, the outside needs filling and fairing before S1ing.
The Jan skiff is faired and ready for stain touch-up and S1 touch up as well before varnish and paint.
To those of you who have expressed and interest in purchasing one of our skiffs, now would be a perfect time. We need a batch of oars and parts for the next few builds. There is a waiting list of kids for our Boats 4 Folks event!
The Lightning needs a final sand-out then S1, primer and paint.
The windshield is in the big Shepherd which is the last dirty job, just leaves wipers, spots, hatch, ladders and seats. Oh yes, after the wiring is complete...poke poke...
Got sailing with Chris in the Sonatina last week in lots of breeze, great fun and we learned the trick of righting it too - very educational outing on Bellwood. Wouldn't believe what happened to the water level in two weeks though!
Who wants to go boating this week??
MB