Boatbuilding ideas

While I was driving up to the cottage last week, I remembered why I keep making my rowboat kits available to the public for a reasonable cost. The smaller lakes and rivers can be accessed in an environmentally friendly way with a small (12 foot) flat-bottom boat, powered by oars or an electric motor.

It would be easy for me to build one at the boat show next year in Gravenhurst and try to encourage others to buy the kit. I did this in Clayton NY a few years back and got a positive response. The only real criticism is the fact that I do not use nails or screws as a permanent fastener. I prefer to use thickend epoxy on all joints and galvanized brad nails to hold the joint together until the epoxy cures.  This method has proven to be very effective.  My kids have been using the very first prototype for 12 years now and all joints are going strong.

Maybe the way to beat this recession is to market the smaller boats again. I did try this in Ontario years ago with little response. Most of my customers are from the USA. With the dollar the way it is and the lack of funds from the US, my guess is that Canadians are going to be my customers for a while. Canadians are typically cheap but, in the last while, I’ve noticed that they are spending money and particularly on new boats. The boating market is a buyers market right now and new boats have been selling.

An affordable rowboat kit that a family can build at the cottage may prove to be my bread and butter in the near future. Advertising is always the kicker. I need cash for that. Hopefully, I can save enough from my current jobs to try this out.  “Boat in a Box”, may be my next venture so, if you see a billboard on Hwy #11 going north, you’ll know where it came from.

Cheers.

I have a few old cruisers in the yard that I have been caring for and making sure the snow and ice do not ruin them in the winter. Two are mine because the owners simply did not return for them years ago. The boats are sound and need basic work to put back into the water. Funny how things work. I put hours of time into one of the boats and the owner was very happy. He paid me and promptly left the boat in the boathouse, never to return. The marina operator called me and asked if the could bring it to my yard. I agreed and she is still here.

My son has now claimed her and this 31′ Trojan with flybridge will be one hell of a boat for him once I re-install the motors. The hull is almost perfect and the factory flybrige looks amazing on her. She is an express cruiser and the two original motors were taken out for repairs. I even have the original motors in storage!

The problem is,….do I put the originals back in or do I put modern power in their places? I would love to see her with two new turbo diesels in place. She would last another 40 years easy with such motors.

It all comes down to the same question each time….money, money, money..?

Cheers

Hello,

Well, all the paperwork is in and I am certain that I will be up and running by the beginning of the summer. I’ll have to lease a boat for the first month and then put another into service. My goal is to own and operate a vintage yacht that will take up to 12 passengers for historical and custom charters. By this fall, I’ll know for sure.

Updating things for this blog. All the required paper work “Due Diligence” is finally in as of yesterday. I have a feeling that one of three things could happen.

I could get the money for the grant, go into business and start something that will carry over to my kids and their kids for years to come, lease a boat and try it out in anticipation for a chance to bring an even bigger boat back to life later, or simply abandon the idea and do what I’ve been doing (repair, restoration and new builds).

Hopefully, the letter I sent to the committee will sway their votes and entitle me to some amount of grant money. I mentioned that these funds are not for the purpose of one individual’s greed (in so many words) but, for the purpose of establishing a “draw” to an area that is just starting to become a real tourist destination. We can have the marina area established as a wonderful place to view historic vessels, historic buildings and participate in a culture that most people love but, can’t seem to find the time or funds to enjoy on their own.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to book an experience on line or over the phone to board a vintage yacht for a reasonable price and be led by local guides around the water-ways of our area, eat locally grown foods prepared by local restaurants and taste the wines of our local wineries?

All this could be done on a daily basis in our area. It would also include historical information, wildlife identification, bird watching, swimming at the beach on the point and even kayaking in the secluded areas along the marsh if clients wanted.

I see this vision as a natural extension of what I already do and it will benefit not only me but, every business within 20 miles of where the boats will be moored.

I’ll let you all know how it goes.

Well, I applied for a grant to start a charter business and it looks promising. I really hope that I can launch the business this summer and not have to wait for next year. The boats that I will use are ones that I work on quite a bit. One has been redone from stem to stern. These boats will add a new flavour to the local fleet of cold, hard steel boats. People will be able to come aboard, enjoy an interior of a vintage yacht, be protected from the elements if they wish and be able to see all parts of our bay.

We will also be able to serve them lunch or dinner aboard and according to my sources, I can anchor and serve local wines and cheeses aboard. People with an interest in history and nature, food and wine from Norfolk County will really enjoy a step back in time aboard our boats

Can’t wait to start. Just need some cash to get things going and then I will change the face of chartering a boat in Long Point bay with class.

I have been sailing for the past week in Florida and have been busy with my business plan to start chartering classic yachts on nearby Lake Erie so, I have not had much time to write about wooden boats.

The latest boat in the shop is a new Geisler cedar strip. She’s an 18 footer with walk-through decking mid-ships. Some people know them as the cedar strips they used as kids in northern Ontario. These boats have been manufactured by the same company “Geisler Brothers” for a very long time. I think they are pushing 60+ years in the business. Now, the nephew is taking over and we are hoping to buy the boats already made to our standards  and finish them ourselves. The finish would be of a higher caliber than the “work-boat” type that most people remember. Our shop can put a finish on these boats after sealing the inside with penetrating epoxy and giving the bottom a new epoxy and cloth bottom. Because these boats are notorious leakers when not always in the water , this would make the boat water-tight and trailerable.

Custom windshield frames and steering wheels as well as gauges will set the boat off. We also intend to put a cedar plank floor inside and two “glove-boxes” with lockable hardware. All cleats will look retro and  they will be chrome. Stainless trim will cap the boats rails and stem.

With a motor provided by the customer and a new trailer provided by us, we think these boats will sell.

I have repaired a few of them and they are very difficult to fix when they go bad on the bottoms. The wood absorbs water and it cannot go anywhere because Geisler fiber-glasses the bottoms on the outside but, does not prevent the insides from taking on water. We hope to remedy this problem of longevity with a good sealing inside the boat using penetrating epoxy and then applying at least 8 coats of top quality varnish. All decks and seats will get the same treatment.

I’ll keep everyone posted on the new venture and if I could post pics, that would be great!

I just posted  an article about a possible business in the wooden cruiser category. The thing is, I have a customer now with an old “Folkboat” that he wants to sell. He is willing to sell to me at a lower cost because he knows the boat will live on and be well cared for. The only thing is the money (as it always is) and if I had a source of cash that I could spend on the boat, I would get it cause I know the condition of the boat and what is needed to make her ready for another 20 years.

It would be cool to have this 26′ boat because I have been reading about Folkboats for years and their reputation is impeccable. This boat needs some ribs sistered and I will do that with steam bent white oak. She’ll be stronger than she was new, when I am finished. She is bright finished as well but, does really need to be stripped and re-done to make her look perfect.

An afternoon wine and cheese cruise would be fun in this boat and the fact that fuel would be a minimum cost to keep her going is a plus. I’ll have to write her up as an option for a charter boat. In the past, the current owner did in fact charter her during the evenings on weekdays and on weekends. He loved sailing his own boat and giving some history lessons on board, while getting paid to sail his own boat. Sounds good if the customers are agreeable and not too uptight.

Well, just finished a day in the shop, pulling fasteners, removing butt-blocks that were suspect and plugging old fastener holes. Next week, we will have her sanded inside (below the water-line), sealed with penetrating epoxy to harden up any soft spots and painted. Then the new ribs go in and any cosmetic work can begin. She’ll look like new if I have my way.

Back again soon,

JFH

Just got off the phone with an owner of  a 1958 Chris Craft 31′ boat that I maintain every once in a while. The boat would be a great venue for a choreographed tour of our local “inner bay”. The bay has many historically significant areas, islands and marinas to see by boat. It is also one of the best small mouth fishing grounds in the world.

Connected to the Long Point Biosphere Reserve, our inner bay would provide “birders” and nature lovers some great vantage points to observe all sorts of water-foul. I could put a local historian on board, serve some locally made “spirits” and cheese as snacks, dress all staff in “1950’s nautical” and make the trip a wonderful experience.

One of the spots to stop and take pictures is the “Millionaire’s Islands”, which are not accessible by the public. We could anchor nearby and be served a wonderful lunch or dinner from a local restaurant. This meal would be transported by another wooden boat (Garwood, Grew or another Chris Craft).

If I could get the Garwood finished, she is the oldest boat that I own and would be something to see and here as well as ride in (if customers wanted that little extra speed).

I’d love to have the “Streamliner” for the dinner transport. They would here me coming and going for sure. Heads would turn and cameras would be snapping. Only problem is,….I don’t own the boat. I would have to build another.

If only I had the time…

Business plan is next and then we’ll see what happens.

I have a theory about working on a series of boats that are steeped in tradition. I’ve looked for them on the net and found versions of this boat that were pretty much always sold fast when put on the market.
They are boats that were designed in the 30’s and used for racing. Two people can fit into the small cockpit and they are treated to a thrill of speed and sound on relatively smooth water.
Yes, I’m talking about a 16′ hydroplane called the Flyer 135; with her smooth sheer lines and stepped underwater, hull. This boat would be powered by a 4 cylinder marine engine with hydraulic transmission. Crandall designed the boat and as far as I can find on the internet, only two people have actually built the boat. I know it has been built before but, I just can’t find any more pics than the two that I have on file.
One is from an historic picture collection of a Shephard boat, built in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The other was built in the States somewhere by a builder who e-mailed me about the boat’s progress. I do not know if it was ever finished and used but, she sure looked good.
Now there are plans for a larger version called the “Super-Flyer”. This version seems like a good idea but, I’m a little skeptical about stretching a smaller boat and putting more power in it as a hydroplane.
I’ll stick to a smaller, more original version for now.
I would love to have a commission to finish what I have already stated but, with some pinching here and some saving there, I may be able to afford it for the summer and then sell her as hull #1.

Man, I wish I could post pics here. I just need to find out how….

Till next time…

Well, I was amazed at the lengths that an  insurance company will go to get out of paying up. I have a customer who had his boat sink (he left the bilge pumps off) and the boat was pumped out and saved with very little problem. I do have to replace about 2 ft. of planking because she rested on a steel cradle and was pinned under the dock in the boathouse hence, the leak.

The insurance company cashed the check for the premium and promptly discontinued coverage. They sent down a “surveyor” and in his “pre-determined or pre-instructed” wisdom, he managed to put the boat on a “black-list” and now the customer is having a hard time getting insurance.

The surveyor even thought that the boat was made of inferior exterior plywood. The boat was made by Chris Craft and made of fir, marine grade plywood. I guess the next step is to get her surveyed again by someone who knows what his is doing and then we can get this mess sorted out. The boat was put through a total and robust restoration and is better than new. I just cannot believe that someone who is supposed to know about boats would suggest that the boat was not even made of marine plywood. She is a lapstrake Corinthian Express cruiser.

I’ll be after this guy for a while and approach Hagerty insurance.

Outta  here for now

I saw a wonderful boat in the new Wooden Boat Mag. She is a B.B. Crownshield day sailer that is 40 ft. long. With an 8 ft. beam and a schooner rig, she would be very fast and quite a fun boat to sail too. She is in Chicago and has plenty of documentation, film done of her and stills too.

What a boat to have in the shop. I would love to be working on her as my own. I feel this way every time I see a boat that has this pedogree and has some hope of being restored.  She reminds me of Pirouette, when we first saw her at Piney Narrows Yacht Basin in Maryland.  I really didn’t appreciate her until I finally got her in the shop and started to peel off the old fiberglass to find solid mahogany instead of rot. Needless to say, she was easily put back to her former self, once the ballast and centre-board were fixed. All I needed was some elbow greese (ok quite a bit of it) and a few determined helpers like my wife and a couple of employees.

I may just e-mail the chap and let him know that I would love to have her and would definately work on her as my own but, I would need a couple of years to get the job done.

The boat’s name is “Fame” and she is a real head turner. Check her out in the back of the magazine or on line at:

www.woodenboat.com    I’m sure there will be a pic there somewhere.

Cheers for now