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April 25, 2009. The  Antique and Classic Boat Society, Toronto, hosted a wonderful Spring Tour of Muskoka boat builders/restorers. The photos below prove that wooden boat building is alive and well, and that Muskoka craftsmanship is second to none.
(Left to right). Reproduction Hacker (Gentleman's Racer), Billy Johnson runabout, a new custom launch and a brand new "Dippie"

     
The shops represented above are Traditional Boat Finishes, Stan Hunter, Butsons and Harwood Water Craft. The display (far right) highlights efforts made by Port Carling Boats to highlight our clients' watercraft at various wooden boat shows.

I hope you will take a moment to view my what interests me today section, let me know what you think

I was just looking at Dwight Boyds web site and it is a really clean and interesting site, take a look and let dwight know I sent you by!

A couple of videos you might enjoy from 2007 Lake Tahoe Boat Show, The Thunderbird designed by Hacker built by Huskins of Bay City Mich

Keels & Wheels 2007 Concur's Show from Texas features some great and unique boats and cars

The Antique and Classic Boat Society Toronto Boat Show, Gravenhurst Ontario, July 5th, 2008
It was a wonderful show, featuring over 100 beautiful wooden watercraft, not to mention floating cars, retro boats, the Segwun  and a field of dreams with boats for every taste and budget. Well done, A.C.B.S. Toronto

    

Information on the  2009 Wooden Boat Show at Mystic Seaport

Boat owners. Make sure your strapping is strong
and you're not on board when you're moving your vessel. This was a very costly error.

The Year of the Outboard was Toronto ACBS July 7th Boat show Theme

They have an excellent line up of fantastic Antique outboard speed boats, a exciting water ski show and we will have some great coverage for you

DreamBoats of Muskoka in conjunction with Cottage Life magazine has put together 3 video's on their site concerning B4, a Step hull high powered torpedo hull boat, Delta a hydro and Mineta. Click on the link, wait a few moments and then enjoy the video's.

Miss America X and other boats will be at the Old Chris Craft Plant for Michigan ACBS judged event Sat June 23 Algonac Harbor Club, 1999 Pointe Tremble Road, Algonac, MI. Tel (586) 978-7105

The beautiful Ligurian coast of Italy was the setting for the first of this year’s annual ‘Riva Meetings’, with both traditional wooden motorboats. Some great photo's and a great car site as well.

click on this picture to see some of the great early racers of the 30's

   Allison V12 powered, see photo's of the Museum of Flight

Portage Boat Works LLC is a great company with a mission - to reacquaint the public with the beauty and magnificence of mahogany boats, while of course trying to forever battle their rep for being maintenance intensive.
Check out their Gentleman's Racer and Triple Cockpit boats!

Scale and RC magazine cover that you might enjoy. Click on the picture to see the details and figures.

Matheson Launch "Ollag" - Completely Hand-built in 1921 in Port Carling, Ontario and extensively restored, this 26.5 foot launch is a Lake Tahoe Concourse winner and is the Feature Boat in the July/August 2000 issue of well-known Classic Boating magazine.

Click to see some other historically significant wooden boats, great photos

Click here for the newest wooden boat Show Movie.

10 floating Inns for those who love to holiday on wooden boats in Great Places like Bar Harbour, St.Augustine, Clayoquot Wilderness Resorts & Spa’s 16-room Floating Resort at Quait Bay to name a few.

The Thunderbird Yacht, a 55-foot mahogany and stainless-steel treasure that plied the waters of Lake Tahoe before roads made the hillsides around the lake accessible, has been transferred from its private owner to a nonprofit group to ensure it stays on the lake's clear waters.

2008 Muskoka Lakes Antique Boat Show, Port Carling
 

See the newest Gentleman's Racer video by clicking here

Jeff Hughes and his brother Rich are building another boat, now this hydroplane should be lots of fun ! Stay tuned.

Winterton Boat Building Museum in Newfoundland is preserving the Heritage of Wooden Boat building in the Maritime region. They have built a number of boats to date and have an interesting focus. I hope any travelers to this region might pop in. Click on the picture for more details.

I received an email from the folks at Millar Potter Boat works as the rebuild the bottom of a 30ft Hacker craft boat.

This is our first antique and classic wooden boat video that captures the boat builders of Muskoka. This second video covers a project we did that features boats, bikes cars and more Port Carling Boats video2 that is best viewed with high speed access. its 7 minutes so let it load in memory first for optimal viewing.

Please take a minute to see a fantastic photo collection of a 32ft power boat by Gannon and Benjamin boat works in Maine. wonderful story picture

Peter Breen Photo Section and his newest wooden boats. Jeff has put together some photos of the Muskoka antique and classic mahogany boat that have been worked on over the past year as well as some other boats that you will enjoy!

Tim Du Vernet is a well known photographer who has a keen interest in Muskoka and Wooden boats . His web site has an extensive number of pictures of some of the finest wooden boats to be found in Gravenhurst and the Muskoka Region.

Orange Crate is a 1964 Besotes single cockpit 21- foot custom built runabout. It is powered by the original 425 HP 8 cylinder Ford engine, a rare Hi Riser Nascar edition. Specially built for racing in Lake Tahoe, it is one of only three single cockpit 21's built by Besotes in Stockton, California. It is uniquely different with its lower profile, 9½ foot front deck and V-drive configuration.

See the construction of this 22ft Palm Beach wooden boat, designed by nelson zimmer

8-G is a 30ft 420hp replica of a 1908 Gold Cup Racer built in Australia and finished in the USA.

Rainbow III a true classic, click on this link to see more pictures of this stepped hull beauty

2009 ACBS International Meeting will likely be held in Muskoka. Stay tuned for Details.

Happy Halloween

Grain Surfboards builds custom wood surf boards in Maine in either finished or in kit form. Surf boards are custom crafted and built for the surfer, no foam here,just wood boards that look great and they plant 10 trees for every tree they use in building a board. They use white and red cedar grown on sustainable tree farms and harvested by local mills. Their plywood frames cutout using a CNC machine for exactness. The beauty of wood coupled with a fantastic ride because of the inherent characteristics of wood. Call Mike 802-598-7194 for pricing or info

An interesting series of photos of a 22ft steam boat with a beautiful fantail ..great photo's and enjoy

It was great to see Patrica Ross shop, "Traditional Boat Finishes" on the tour, she does a terrific job varnishing the boats with her dry technique. She has worked previously for one of Muskoka's finest builders and decided she would start her own business and her level of craftsmanship is exceptional, I really enjoyed seeing the transformation of the rowing skiff.

How not to dock your woodie!

Some wooden boat builders for your Winter antique wooden boat work you might contact:

Stan Allanson near Peterbourgh has 24 years of experience working for shops in Muskoka and has just started out on his own, he has done work for me that has been complimented at every wooden boat show and his rates are reasonable, give stan a call at 705-696-1481

Doug McGrath at 705-385-9072 is another builder who has done a lot of fine antique wooden boats in Muskoka

Tom Adams, with some 19 years in the boat building industry, has recently set up shop in Port Carling. (2009) He's a highly knowledgeable restorer/builder. Call 705-765-7718 or tomadamsboatbuilder@gmail.com

Jerome Emory at 519-728-3798 has been building boats for years, he is just finishing Two 22ft Gentleman's Racers wooden boats

Cloarec Young Boatworks, Clint and Dave are building a 22ft Gentleman's Racer boats and have tremendous skills as well, Clint 705-526-6284 or Dave 705-762-2155 or by email dyoung at surenet.net

Tom Echle has also been building boats for years call 416-834-0852

Heirloom Canoes, Rob von bitter, 416-652-7583

Check out The kazulin wooden boat web site, these antique boats are fast, exciting to run and offer superb performance. A beautiful kazulin built boat, nice lines, great speed

Michael Corrigan, Boatbuilder P.O. Box 292 Wolfe Island, Ontario K0H 2Y0 613-385-9937 builds fine boats give him a ring....

Anderson Boats works in the Dorset Area does wooden boat work and Tel 705-767-1021

Curtis Hillman, 1126 Hewlitt Rd, Milford Bay 705-764-0814

Kilpatrick Boat Repairs
Address : 318794 Grey Road 1, Owen Sound, ON N4K 5N6
Telephone : 519-371-0018

CW Marine
Address : RR 1, Dwight, ON P0A 1H0
Telephone : 705-635-1484
Chris has been doing all the wooden boats on lake of Bays for decades and does a fine job and he would be happy to give you a quote.

Prop-Doc at : 14-532 Industrial Mall, in Bracebridge, ON P1L 1C8 has a prop drop off box with 24hr turn around call 705-645-5483

New listing (2009) for antique boat parts, (some 25 000 to 50 000!), nautical gifts, and dock restorations, call GORDON GRANT after 7pm (705-722-8676) or by email: grant8676@rogers.com or write to R.R.#2, Ridge Road, W. Shanty Bay ON L0L 2L0

Now here is 1934 Hacker built Gold Cup Torpedo Hull antique wooden boat to admire

The 2006 Muskoka antique Boat show was a great success check out the video

www.johnslittleboatshop.ca  in Omemee Ontario

Wooden Boat Memories sells all sorts of antique wooden boat memorabilia like Ditchburn, Duke, Greavette, Minett Shields, Sea bird and Shepherd burgees, decals,paddles

wally is a 119ft boat with three gas turbines pushing 12,000 hp.

100 Years of Wooden Glory" is a 250-page perfect bound, soft cover title measuring 240mm x 340mm. It's textured cover and 150gsm gloss pages will be an ideal adornment to any setting.

Osburn Model Kits has some great antique wooden boat models

Our first wooden boat video and Video 2 now June 20th Video 3 June 29th

Barefoot wooden boats on Gabriola Island, B.C. providing you wooden boat building, restoration, repair, educational programs, rentals and adventure charters

Take six 20 something year olds who all have a connection to Middlebury Vermont and someone says lets row and sail and open boat from the San Juan Islands to Alaska. On we need a boat, well we will build one. Here is the story of the Hunter Bay Boat Project which is the brainchild of Ben Brouwer and his parents, Molly Bill and Steven Brouwer. It began with Ben's interest in sailing and rowing a small open boat from his home in the San Juan Islands to Alaska with a group of friends. Steven took the idea a step further and documented the construction and events. Enjoy

Purdy 74ft Commuter Yacht Restoration by Brooklyn boat yard in Maine, a fascinating look at a antique wooden boat rebuild. Some of the best photo's I have seen to date of a total restoration with superb craftsmanship! This boat can achieve speeds over 40mph, APHRODITE'S guest list over the years reads like a "Who's Who" in the worlds of government, business and entertainment with such luminaries as Fred Astaire, Sir Laurence Olivier, Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, Henry Ford II, FDR advisor Harry Hopkins and Nelson Rockefeller aboard for summer day cruises down Long Island Sound. APHRODITE also once served as the site for a birthday party for Shirley Temple.

Spring Tour 2006 recap with photo's. Great collection of antique boats and hat's off to all those involved

Whio , ( say feeo ) the Blue Duck.is an 29ft fantail Lauch, that can travel 17 knots per hour which will blow your hat off if you are not in the curved cabin that follows a 1920's styling cue. With a 55 hp diesel engine and unique slender hull this boat sips fuel and is a joy to drive. This boat only weighs 2,976 pounds and is trailer able. What a fantastic boat, click on the link and read more and thanks to Wooden Boat magazine for sharing this story !

Delivering Mail in antique Wood boat...now that's work

A great video of the Manitock 2005 antique Boat Show ..check this out at work or if you have high speed access

See details on The Bigwin Steam Boat Restoration Project located in Dorset Ontario is looking for contributors for there "Adopt a Boat Builder" fundraising campaign.

2006 Workshop Summary

 Meet Casey Maple, attempted to sail from Toronto to Norway on a wood sailboat which ended in family tradegdy, he then built a birchbark canoe and paddled from Sudbury to Montreal in it to raise awareness for Organ & Blood Donations - Blood guts tour- he is now 19!

 For efficiently cutting the lawn or removing snow in Muskoka click here for more V8 powered info

Bill Turners family has been building Aristocrat boats since the 1950's, these sporty sleek boats are still being made today at very affordable prices, call Bill at 770-475-5455 and see his web site www.aristocraftboats.com

Starrigan is a Newfoundland expression to describe a thing of beauty or a work of art Read here about Father and son Wayne & Peter Brown restoration of a 1955 14ft Peterborough Water Craft Fisherman Utility boat.It was a great bonding experience for the pair, it taught 13yr old Peter many skills and the family has a new heirloom "Starrigan"

.These Ladies helped out at the Buffalo Boat Show and we thought this photo might help some of that Buffalo show. Take a look at the Buffalo Wooden Boat Show - Race Boats As well

Check out more of Bruce Amos Photo's

Highlight photo's of the 23rd Wine Country Wooden boat show 2005

two seats, mahogany wood, 454 GM big block, 500hp and goes over 100mph see the new Lauterbach TS-1

                                                                        Click on T-14 for more pictures of the Mt .Dora boat Show

Click on this picture to see the 2005 Mt. Dora Chris Craft Cobra gathering

Australian boat builders and there 22ft Hacker Gentleman's Racer featured in Wooden Boat Magazine.

Check out the photo's of the New Hampshire Vintage Race Boat Regatta held in Wolfeboro. Great collection of photo's.

My boat as a work in Progress.

Golden Days is a 20ft 502hp boat that is owned and raced regularly by a 84 gentleman who has consented to share his pictures on the site

for some great reading and pictures of Muskoka Wooden Speedboats from the early 20's to now

Rapture is a 24' 6" 350hp boat that you will enjoy

Gannon and Benjamin Marine Railway is a shop in Maratha's Vineyard that builds some of the finest traditional wooden sailing yachts in the world.

click here Check out this site where 2 fellows are building 21ft double cockpit boats using a cnc computer for cutting out the componets. Fascinating work by two furniture builders

For Wooden boat building, wooden boats for sale in Muskoka Canada, wooden boat restoration and wooden boat pictures are all here at portcarlingboats.com Click on the links below.

Check out the Recent Wooden Boat built by a fellow in King City Ontario,

A great collection of photo's from the Michigan Chapter of the ACBS- check out the Century Gentleman's Racer

An excellent article on the building of a replica of Baby Bootleggar, the Gold Cup winner from the early twenties. Great sources, and pictures.

Another site with some excellent photo's of some of the finest gentleman's racers

A little photo section of a Gar Wood Gentleman's Racer

Photo's of unusual wooden boats

Picture Gallery     Movie of the Port Carling Boat Show

Wooden Boat Events            Wooden Boating Magazines & Publications

The Philadelphia Chapter of the ACBS has a great site with members boats in a photo gallery

Mt. Dora Show Pictures- one of the best shows in the USA

There are a number of great American Shows and one of them is Keels and Wheels show held in the Houston Region at the Lakewood Yacht Club 30 minutes South of Houston. Please check there web site to see some of the great Boats and Cars that are at this show.

Wooden Boating Magazines & Publications

How to Restore your Wooden Runabout by Don Danenberg is an excellent reference book to read before buying that restoration boat as it gives out great tips on what to look for and then how to repair that component. Volume 2 is out this spring.

A great Magazine is Classic Boating try reading this magazine once and you will be a subscriber for years!!!

Boat Shows in Canada and the U.S.A. 2009

March 26-29 Garvan Gardens Antique and Classic Boat SHow (A.C.B.S.), in Hot Spring, Arkansas. Enjoy 1,00,000 tulips and the boats. Contact John Watkins at jwatki@sbcglobal.net or (501) 920-8825

April 16-18. Lake Keowee Antique Boat Festival (A.C.B.S.) located at Crooked Creek R.V. Park, West Union, SC (Seneca) For info, contact Faye Smith atalfasmith@aol.com or (864) 903-3389

May 2. Spring Fling hosted by Baystate Woodies Chapter, A.C.B.S.  located at the Saunders Boat livery, Southwick, M.A. For information, contact Charlie Raymond at (413) 652-8442

May 2-3 Keels and Wheels Concours d"Elegance located at the Lakewood Yacht CLub in Seabrook, Texas. 14th Annual Keels and Wheels is the largest combined classic automobile and vintage wooden boat show in the U.S.A.  For more info, contact Robert Fuller at (713) 521-0105 or bfuller@4u.com

May 15-17 Muscatine Boat Show and 26th Annual National Century Boat Club Roundup located in Muscatine, Iowa at the Riverside Park and Harbour Contact Dave Moritz at 563-260-1970 or visit www.muscatineboatshow.com

May 15-17 Bass Lake Rendezvous (A.C.B.S.) located at the Pines Resort, Bass Lake, CA. Contact Joel Castro at (209) 599-7310 or joelcastro@charter.net

June 5-7 Classics Cruisin' Weekend on Table Rock Lake, Branson Missouri A.C.B.S.  Contact Don Parker at donaldwparker@hotmail.com or 402-770-5400

June 12-14 Lake Chatuge Antique and Classic Boat Rendezvous (A.C.B.S.) located at Ridge Resort in Hiawassee, GA. For information, contact Randy Cunningham at mountain_design@hotmail.com or 828 456-5159

June 19-21 Chesapeake Bay Chapter, A.C.B.S. 22nd Annual Boat Festival Over 100 antique boats and 50 nautical

The Toronto Antique and Classic Wooden Boat Show will be held on Saturday July 10-12 2009, in Gravenhurst at Sagamo Park.   Great Boats to see, buy, parts and all sorts of activities for the family.

The Muskoka Wooden boats such as the Muskoka Mahogany Launch, the Minett-Shields, Disappearing Propeller Boats, Ditchburn,Greavette, Peterborough and the Port Carling Seabird, are among some of the finest boats built in the Muskoka area. This site is dedicated to preserving the heritage of Muskoka and these fine wooden boats. As a youngster, I always remember all the old mahogany wooden boats in the Old Boat House at Port Cunnington Lodge on Lake of Bays. I developed a keen appreciation for these shiny, sleek and prestigious Muskoka wooden boats.

The Toronto Antique and Classic Boat Society held there annual Spring Tour at various shops in the Muskoka area in Ontario. It was a great opportunity to meet new and familiar faces, over 450 visitors. Thanks go out to Mike Windsor, Gary Clark, Dukes Boats, Butson Boats, Stan Hunter, Wood Wind Yachts, Brackley Boats and others. To see pictures of the tour

I came across a new site, the Disappearing Propellor Boat that may be of interest to many people.

The Trent Severn Antique boat club is very active and has put together a excellent site and the Peterborough boats at their show will be concour's quality.

The Muskoka Lakes Association Antique Boat Show at the Port Carling Docks will be very successful. Rare boats shown at the show previously included 3 Minett Shields gentleman's racers, the 1934 Greavette gentleman's racer "Flash" with the Mother in-law seat was terrific. The beautiful lines of the Bala built McNeil& Norris boats Pleasant View and Ariel. Murray Walker had his"Miss Utopia" triple cockpit Minett Shields out for the show. An exceptional opportunity to see some of the finest boats in Muskoka which will be held again this August.

Wooden Boat Building Presentation Sites:

Should you be interested in how a wood boat is built, cost, time involved and other points=how many calls for assistance in building the boat then check out this site

This boat called the Zip was built over 9 months and it has extensive pictures as well as 5 movies at the end of the story line. A great guide to building a boat.

One of my favorite outboard racers is the Rascal designed by Ken Basset from North Hero Vermont, and here is a couple of sites that take you through the steps of building just such a boat. The first Rascal is being built by a fellow in the US. Sam's Smile is another Rascal boat built by a fellow in Newmarket Ontario. Your will have to sign into look at this very informative boat building presentation. Here is a link to a site that is selling an inboard version of the Rascal.

I meet a gentleman who enjoys building wooden boats in his basement which is heated and has 11 feet of head room. It is also over 30ft long. So when he builds a boat, he cuts open the front wall, brings in a front end loader and moves out the topsoil and then pulls the boat out. He has done this 6 times. Congratulations on your perseverance. And these are very nice boats that he builds. More pictures later this week.

In terms of the environmental impact of PWC on Muskoka Lakes, I invite you to read an article by Michael Enright. It really calls on boat owners to ensure that your boat motor is tuned up properly to ensure that your boat is burning gasoline as efficiently as possible.

The Toronto Star wrote a excellent article about the Muskoka Fleet, Wenonah 2 which joins the Segwun and the Wanda III for cruising the Muskoka Lakes. An excellent location for a Muskoka Wedding is on board the Wanda III.

You will want to look at Mike Windsors site and check out the construction of a antique boat from start to finish. It is a great guide for those who dream of building a boat. After refinishing a couple of antique canoes, I have an even greater appreciation for the tradition of fine craftsmanship that local residents continue to offer.