The Fast and Slow of it...

The Lightning is almost complete now, it seems certain it will get wet this year!

George and Ray fashioning the rear gunnel

Making clearance for the rudder

Trimming the whales at the bow

Great skill here...

The Gas-Hopper team is no slouch either! Cleaning and repainting the inside of the hull with aluminum paint seems to take forever but it is amazing how it changes the project.



There is not much room to manouver inder the bow deck!

Jim and Eric get at the skiff kit fashioning project as well and by the end of the session they have completed 4 new stem pieces - one of the fussier parts of the project. If the angles are not correct at the stem and transom, the boat will not assemble.

The Rhino Team!

critical moments in stem (cell?) production.

Glen Williams to Jacksonville with Despina

6 in the morning on March 11th is...dark! But we were off (with a brief halt at the end of Ron's street for him to join us). The drive unfolds as it should, Ft Erie, Erie, Pittsburgh and Beckley, W VA the first night. Next morning we lose a few hours because the rear right tire on the trailer is toast - but onward and by mid day we are just ahead of a major winter storm coming in from the west - we can see the edge of the cloud cover and the sun beyond! Second night at Walterboro SC - the locals think it is cool but we think this is warm! Real Mexican food dinner and next morning - the final run to FLORIDA!



but we find a must-buy prize...

Silly hats were tested...

and NOT purchased...

Ron handles the run into Florida...

While the passengers act their ages...










The ACBS arranges for us to launch the boat at the Florida Yacht Club on Thursday morning so we have 4 days of boating before the cruise - well not really. Left the boat to soak up on Thursday which is did quite nicely. Then Friday cruised over through downtown JAX to scope out a Saturday lunch outing.

Ron highlighted the St John River course

The lovely Florida Yacht Club...

Saturday we meet up with the Saxe`s from Georgetown and cruise over to Jacksonville for lunch - it is a lovely day and we are impressed by the many bridges over the St John!

Throw off the lines there! Yes Captain!

Beats Ontario boating in March....

Sunday the trucks and trailers head down to Sanford and the club busses us back to Jacksonville for the big party at the Yacht Club...

Guy bids us all welcome

and lets us know where the rocks and gas are...

And this takes us to Maonday morning departure on the St John River Cruise proper...stay tuned.

Meanwhile in the shop...

As a few of us are scrambling to get Despina ready for her outing, the rest of the team is making great headway on our two major winter projects of having Gas-Hopper ready to run for the ACBS Gravenhurst show and finally completing the Lightning so we can get some kids sailing this summer!

There was a blemish in the front deck of Gas-Hopper which on investigation - once the engine and fuel tank were out, was a failure of the 1945 plywood it was fashioned from - it had a huge knot in one layer. Anton cut out the failed area and created a patch to go in later. Meanwhile we used the hole to assist with cleaning out the hull.

Damage removed and ready for repair.

Trevor is looking farther ahead to completion...

The Lightning is looking closer and closer to completion as this winter the work on her has been quite continuous - She's getting wet this year for sure!

George reinstalls gudgeons...

chainplates are being sealed on final installation.

Looking fine!

Despina goes to Florida (again)

There is a bit of catching up going on here, yours truely having been away and all...
Hauling a 27' Shepherd to Florida is an automatic adventure and I may divide this story up into sections. Last fall the decision was made that some of us would be participating in the ACBS Sunnyland Chapter's St John River Cruise 2013 and boat show. As there had been some deterioration to the decks last year it was necessary to do some repairs before we left on March 11. Two weeks before leaving we hauled her out of storage at John's to get this done...

after removing two other boats....

Out she comes into the snow!

Part of foredeck & kingplank stripped

and rear deck mostly stripped and stained.

But this is not the only thing going on in the shop - work is proceeding on Gas-Hopper and the Lightning as well! Trailer bearings all checked out OK with a greasing - lights made good as well.

Trevor is under the deck scraping...

George is fitting the CB bolts and seat risers

Anton is the master of taping and caulking...

and Jim takes on the foredeck hatch.

After all this effort there is time for 5 coats of Epifanes Woodgloss Finish with 2 days to harden before reinstalling the hardware and loading seats, safety equipment and on Sunday March 10th, our luggage! into the boat. The truck (courtesy of Grant) has no cap so the luggage has to go in the boat as the forecast is damp.

Ron Patey is one of our supporting Gatsby members and he is going to share the driving with me - Gretchen has decided to join us and find out why we are all so keen to do this outing every year!

By late on March 10th, everything is ready for liftoff tomorrow morning....



 LOOK WHAT'S NEWS............................................

 NEXT BOAT BUILD EVENT SCHEDULED

The volunteer team is busily preparing for the upcoming Boats-4-Folks build event !!

Build Date:  Saturday May 4th & Sunday May 5th, 2013

Build Youth Team: local youth-at-risk, through local youth organizations...

Location:  Boatshop located at Beaumont Mills, Glen Williams

Follow the blog for more details ........
________________________________________________________________


SPRING IS HERE...THAT MEANS "YARD SALE" ANYONE?  One of our volunteers has asked for any interest in organizing a Boatshop yard sale to raise money for our Programs! 

If you are interested please contact Roni Lester @ 289-904-0420.


________________________________________________________________

TIME TO DO ANOTHER TICKET COUNT !!! - SKIFF DRAW

Volunteers please submit your stubs and cash so we can see how close we are to draw date.  Additional tickets can be picked up at the Boatshop through Malcolm Black. 

Volunteers needed 1-2 hours on a Saturday and/or Sunday (between 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.) in the Beaumont Mill, Kids & Classics booth to communicate our programs and promote the upcoming skiff draw.  Please contact Malcolm or Roni if you can help out.



 

GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY!!

Fundraising is a vital part of keeping our programs going!  Get in on the draw for a skiff built by local youth and several other great prizes!

Only 240 tickets left !!

$10 donation = 1 ticket

$40 donation = 5 tickets

$75 donation - 10 tickets

When all 300 tickets are sold we will make the draw.

 1st Prize is a new 12' skiff with oars!

 2nd Prize is a 24" model ChrisCraft

3rd Prize is an antique boat ride

4th & 5th prizes, K&C logo'd Caps

 Thank you for your help!

Volunteers please submit contact sheets, cash, stubs to keep our "tickets left" current for eagerly awaiting draw date followers!

For more information contact Roni @ 289-924-0420

Decked out Lightning and gutted Hydro

Well we'll see how theory becomes reality on Tuesday evening when the paint on the deck of the Lightning is dry. We wanted a fairly flat finish to go with the canvas covering - don't think gloss would look right. We saw this done masterfully at the TIBS ACBS booth on a gorgeous International 14 restored at Woodwind Yachts. Ken Lavallette explained that he mixes 1/3 flattening agent into the top coat of paint to get the effect. Here we are getting ready...

taped, vaccumed and cleared

ready for deck Epifanes!

Meanwhile the Gas-Hopper crew has been digging further into the hull. We must be certain that she is seaworthy plus we wish to investigate some deck damage from below. The fuel tank is under the front deck and we need to clean that out and make sure it is sound as well. It's very tight quarters under there and it was fortunate that Chase, one of our youth volunteers showed up - he fits!

Last week the fuel tank was the obstacle
but it was just stuck - literally.

Once that was out Chase was able to clear
out all the old flotation foam and debris.

meanwhile Anton and George tackle the rear end
beginning with the aircraft seat.

To inspect the whole hull means removing the
lovely tail section aluminum bodywork - carefully!

All clear and in great condition - but dirty...

we could see a tank back there but couldn't tell
what it was for. Turned out to be an old aircraft
aluminum tank - all plugged - for flotation?



The crack in the front deck turned out to be under poor plywood
so we'll reinforce it from below and reglass the repair.


So stay tuned, if the Lightning deck is acceptable then from here on when parts go back on the boat they are on to stay (we hope). We need some funding to keep moving on Gas-Hopper, gasket set, shopped out cleaning, bearing shells if we can find them, crank polishing etc. Let us know if you would like to help - become a Gatsby member? Cough up $500 and go boating this summer?

two coats on the deck today - waiting to dry....