February 21st, 2009 turned out to be one of the nicest days of this long winter. The air was crisp and clean; the sky was an amazing shade of blue; and, there was a blanket of crunchy, fresh snow everywhere.
This years event was hosted by Eric and Cherri Seepa at their Classic Boat Restoration Shop (www.classicboatrestorations.com) just outside Orillia. Roughly 80 folks attended this year.
The session was kicked off with several dozen donuts and gallons of coffee. After a quick introduction to the shop, David Buchanan told us all about his boat which is currently in the shop while Eric shared one of his tricks of the trade . We then carefully navigated our way over to the Fairgrounds where Rob Purves educated us on the dos & donts of marine insurance. David Buchanan took center stage next and shared an assessors view of how to protect and increase the value of your boat.
Lunch was next on the menu. Great buns (can I put that in print?), cold meats, salads, steaming chili, and some delicious squares&awesome (and so good for you)! As lunch wrapped up we browsed and bought things at Ship Stores (special thanks to George Mitges for his arduous trials on the 400 to join us).
After lunch, Steve Killing told us about a solar electric powered boat he has designed and is working on in conjunction with Bear Mountain Boats. Paul Brackley followed Steve and gave us a lesson in casting patterns (did you get all your show & tell samples back, Paul?).
We closed the day back at the shop with another owner of a boat in the shop, Doug Bevan, sharing the history of his boat and what work he is currently having done. Eric then showed us how to whip up a little filler to match any colour of finish for those minor dents and gouges that just appear somehow ( it wasnt me, honey& ).
We closed the program off around 3:30 and invited all to stay to browse and chat to their hearts content&within reason.
I think the attendees will agree we provided some valuable tips and techniques; educated them on some interesting topics; and gave the members a chance to enjoy and enrich the social benefits of ACBS. We fed them well too!
Thank you so much to Eric and Cherri for hosting this years event! A great venue, a great program, and great hosts!
Your comments and suggestions are most welcome (donchapman-44@rogers.com).
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