Skiff Draw Sold Out at TIBS!

It's true Folks! The 300 tickets for the raffle to win a skiff built in our Boats 4 Folks, Kids-at-Risk programme were all sold by 7 pm today (Friday 17th) and we will hold the draw to find the winner tomorrow afternoon. Our FAMOUS YACHTING PERSON who will be pulling the tickets will be none other than that giant of the boat handling training world, Dusty Miller!

Draw time will be between 3 and 4 but we are not sure yet whether it will be held at The Lake where Dusty is presiding, or at our booth in the South Foyer.

the unfinished and finished skiffs really tell the story...

and so did this sign today!

Meanwhile we had some great conversations with people who would like to get involved and help move the big vision forward.


Perhaps the biggest hit in our booth is the MiniMax Sea-Flea. It has been unbelievable how many guys have run into the booth saying they built one of these and what fun they had with it.

There is signage in the booth looking for families who would like to build on of these fun little boats in our Boatshop this winter - the response has been such that we had better get at it! Stay tuned as we sort the details out, but if you are interested in doing this yourself better let us know!

This is a real hit with everyone!



great response from this sign

TNT and MINIMAX, two parts of the Hopper Racing Team Fleet!

If you are having a sinking feeling about missing out on this draw - fear not! There are two unfinished skiffs in the shop and we will begin another draw for the second one tomorrow at TIBS.

TIBS the first weekend!

Load-in was quite a feat! Our booth is number 1005 and is in the South Foyer right next to the ACBS traditional booth - great location and next to good friends!

Our scheduled day to have anything that had to go through the main building was Monday and the Lightning certainly fell into that category. As an experiment in getting Bolt down there clean, we wrapped her in a clear plastic film given to us by Blastal Coatings which they use to divide their shop into "booths", danged if it didn't work a treat!



This gives a whole new meaning to "rapper"!

The Glen L TNT at the door...










Once we got the boats into the space we headed home until Thursday for final booth setup. This is the day for bringing signs, display items and the MiniMax Sea Flea in - which wasn't even assembled on Monday!

Nevertheless Saturday arrived and we were ready - of course we were there at 8 am for a 10 AM opening! Once we got going it was great - met some wonderful folks who would like to get involved in expanding our programmes.

K&C booth from east approach...

Amazing how "Bolt" brought in the Lightning sailors! They just loved the job we did on her.

and from the speedboat end, again it was just a riot how the MiniMax brought in dozens of guys
who had built one or more years ago. Even more amazing how many still have theirs - and
they are going to go home and get it out for "their grandkids" - right.

We decided to run a skiff raffle during the TIBS and set a draw date of March 21 - First Day of Spring. There is a slight deviation from previous draws, this time first place winner gets to choose between a finished skiff and a finished MiniMax! Results after 2 days - 60 tickets out of 300 SOLD!

SO, we are now targeting having them all sold by the end of TIBS so we can move the draw up. If you would like in on this draw and can't get to the boat show - better let us know!

Toronto International Boatshow Ahoy!

the RED SKIFF gets some final touch-up
before showtime

What a mad scramble the past week or so! K&C has been given a booth in the foyer of the TIBS right next to our friends ACBS. Your team in the Boatshop has been looking for ways to reach more kids and keep them around longer. To this end we have reinvented our Boats 4 Folks event into a programme in three stages.

Stage One you have seen many times on the blog, "4 kids build a 12' skiff in 2 days - then get in it and row it". While this is a memorable experience and from the feedback we recently had with our Youth Justice Award, occasionally transformational, overall we'd like to see kids back more and longer.



looks like a boat...

and it floats like a boat!

Step Two will be to get these kids out in Bolt, our just restored Lightning Sloop. She is big enough not to scare them and we intend to rig her for full crew handling so everyone has something to do on board.



after more than three years of work, the final touches...

Chris and Anton polish the gudgeons
on Bolt's beautiful rudder.

Step three will be to get them out in a Sea Flea where they are at the controls of a real "race" boat - even if it with just a few horsepower at first. To this end two of our volunteers cut out the parts for a MiniMax Speedboat and will be in tomorrow to assemble it. this will be our Pattern Boat on which we will work our details of kitting and fitting. It will be in our booth at TIBS!

measure, measure, measure - actually read the instructions...
Mike and George begin the MiniMax pattern boat.

then start cutting...and cutting and cutting.

then 3 hours later, a very serious and mature reaction....
you can almost hear the engine scream! Oh wait - that's Anton.

Monday Jan 6th is our only day to get the big stuff into the foyer of the Energy Centre at TIBS so here is your erstwhile team, Wayne, Mike and Jim ready to head off into the second worst weather forecast of the year yet!

Wayne, Mike and Jim, "let's go boating!"

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?


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!