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Home My WebLink AboutTimes Advocate, 1998-01-14, Page 11GRAND 8 Second Section - SerwxjSuitt 411ni r•J,-rtti rsb 4r11, ir :1 r. xr- 187'l anuary 14, 1998 Boat builder keeps it simply beautiful By Craig Bradford T A Reporter GRAND BEND - Skip Izon knows a thing or two about lines. Not poetry or pick-up lines, mind you (though he has been a waiter for over 20 years in London. 'and Grand Bend nightclubs), but the ones fsiund on the boats he builds. Izon, 45, said.he comes from a "faniily of sail- ors' and turned that loye of the. water into his :life's work at Izon Yachts. He grew up in Port Credit and moved to the Grand Bend area about 10 years ago 'after summering there for 15 years. He has adopted the community as his own and is a Grand Bend firefighter. . Izon _predominantly builds small crafts like canoes, rowing sculls and rowboats, but has built . larger vessels like sailboats, trimarans and house- ' boats. He mostly lives ina houseboat, though is renting the basement. of a friend's home while making some repairs to his watery home. Single,: Izon said he spends most of his time working on the design, planning, construction and finishing of his boats. - "I couldn't be doing this if I had a family," he said from the loft in his sawdusty shop he uses as his design department. "It doesn't bring in much money:" - In fact, Izon supported his boat building with his waiting jobs, most recently .with London's The Ceeps and Gradd Bend's Gables. -He has since :given up waiting because it takes too much •time away from his boat building: "There's a lot more money in the waiting busi- . ness than in boat building," he added. To be a good boat builder, it takes more than ,the -proper tools and an eye and -nose • for the water. Izon says it takes dedication, research and keeping up on what's new.. in..the .industry to keep your edge in the_boat building business. . Izon holds a -general. B.A. from the University of Western- Ontario and took a course from the - Naeb-Westlaven School of Yacht: Design by' m mail over two years. Though the work he loves to do doesn't generate much of an income,_ Izon" wouldn't have it • any other way -though he does wish he could win a million bucks. - "I'm very, very'Iucky;" he said. Izon has four projects on the go right now: he's - restoring a 60 -year-old 21 ',sailboat, restoring a • 16' cedar strip canoe and building a 17.5' canoe. But his pet project is almost done: a 12' prototype lightweight solo canoe. Though he admits the name of his business is misleading to those less in the know about boats because of their small size, it -links how he feels about each one he builds. - - "I think of the little guys as little individual yachts," he said. •` Once every three years or so, Izon hooks up - with- London's Hudson Boatworks, a world renowned boat builder; for a special project. Hudson:s..Owner, Jack Couglan, commissioned Izon to help his team a double scull for interna- tional competition in the early '80s. Though the design was much different than ones in use at the time and.was frowned upon by some rowers, the_ design proved its worth by a test of fire: an Irish team were stuck for a boat at one regatta, saw the .Hudson creation and didn't hesitate, The Irish team ended up winning the competition. . Since then, the Izon-Hudson double scull has helped teams win three medals in' the last three Olympic Summer Games. Izon has built between 30-40 boats so far of his own design plus others to his customer's designs.. "First you have to determine what the boat will be used for," he said describing the process. "Then you make it strong enough, light as possi- ble and -keep it simple. The beauty of the boat should come from the lines pertaining to. the func- . tion of the boat opposed to a lot of paraphernalia added on later." Izon's enthusiasm andd-clear love of what he .does is evident when he is asked to elaborate on. what boat building is all about. "It's art and it's science both," Izon said of his craft. "The neat part is taking._an idea from the blank sheet and design right through to the con- struction and the launch. That's really satisfying." Though he is often consumed by his boat -build- ing, Izon said his only other major pursuit- as a firefi-iter gives him a reality check. 9t lids a whole-othok-dimension," he said. "It gives me perspective - nothing I do here (in the. shop) is going to change the world." _ Izim shared three highlights of his career to date. The first is he built 10 50'- six -person rowing shells for 'The Regatta' in Newfoundland, the old-.• est continuing sports event in Canada with the inaugural race starting way back in 1851. The sec- ond is he builds boats for Rene Boogeman of Hensall, a champion marathon racing canoist. The third is the times he and tour of his Ceeps waiter -mates braved the cold St. Lawrence River in the Quebec Winter -Carnival's boat race and. the circuit they competed in. When asked to describe what makes a. well - made boat, Izon was pragmatic yet esoteric. "Boats are simple," he said. "Just a lot of pretty, fair (meaning 'natural) curves." • Would you like a colour or black and white cgPy of a Photograph? NOW OFFERING... COLOUR S. ER OP1ES � 1 2X11" sheets Sized onto 8- / 4 Siz 2.00 e Cost $ each same copy) 4$1.00each (additional i ♦* 424 Main St. Exeter. (519) 235-1331 t • At left, Izon Yachts' Skip Izon sits in his pet project — a 12' prototype lightweight solo canoe: The Grand Bend boat builder builds his vessels from the planning -stages right to finished product. Top: Izon stands in his 1.400 sq. ft. shop between two ceda't strip canoes . he's working on. trRENTALAir II. 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