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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1967-05-04, Page 13120th, YEAR - No. 18, 'HE G , DERI4 SIGNA . S 'AAIR,, THURSDAY, MAY 4, 1907 �.w The sail and power boat'devotees of Goderichwere but in strength Sunday when mild .sunny weather siarled the day and encouraged thoughts of getting a lot of scraping and painting done. Clouds rolled over'later inthe day, somewhat subduing the scene, but "a, good deal' was accomplished by the boating. enthus.• 0. casts who plied.their sanders, scrapers and brushes to good effect. This gener. al view .of Snug 'Harbor will, soon change when extensive renovations to the boat, basin are undertaken. Pleasure craft will have to seek moorings else. -where. , • Bruce MacDonald. well•known skipper of Wanderer, . two. masted schonper which- i • a familiar sight to harbor visitors, is seen here as heplugged caulking compound into open seams of the Tiki, ,a larger schooner inwhich be is interested. With luck and enough vol.. a " unteer labor?, the'Tiki may take to the water again in three weeks•. Or, a month. Beautiful • to see in operation, ,suclh craft take a':trer>i. endows amount of maintenance work, butlove of the. sport will take the skippers "per aruda ad aqua". Scrapxe .and Paint ope Springs Again or Yachtsmen Here 4 A few t Sours of .sunshine and moderating ' weather brought out the yachting faithful to Snug Har- bor at Goderich Sunday when a small platoon of keen sailors applied elbow—grease and paint' to hulls which had been laid up on the beach all winter. 414, Carol MacDonald, daughter of skipper Bruce MacDpnald, had the help of two'young fr4ends when it came time to paint masts and spars .• of the Wanderer, her father's steel -hulled two• pasted' schooner. Authentically rtcr,:ec . along classical lines, the Wanderer has cruis. ed extensively in Lake Huron waters. Photos And Story. by ART ELLIOTT Perched perilously high on the bow of the schooner Tiki was Jim .Brothers of Strut.• ford, a keen volunteer whO attacked the job With determinati'on,...a can of black paint and a brush. The, Tiki was brought to Goderich 'about •a year ago by a, syndicate of keen young sailors from Goderich and inland points. It is one of few such schooners 'still operating on the; Great Lakes. It was at one time an bcean.going craft. Always one of " the early birds, Don McArthur had his converted double -ender ".Droman" launched and took some' short trips out of the harbor and blew the cobwebs out of the cylinders of his' `Grey inboard'• marine engine. The galvanid steel hulk had' been scraped and painted weeks ago and the boat launched so thatthe pleasure of cruising and the work of refurbishing decks, cabin and rigging can be judiciously mix - afloat. The eyecatching Tiki, big wooden schooner was being caulked with a special seam compound by some of the owners and volunteer helpers.-The,big two masted calls for' a great deal of work every Spring, an it will be three or four weeks before the ship will _slice Lake Huron again. One of the workers doing a labor of love on the Tiki was Bruce MacDonald, . skipper of the steel hulled Wanderer, a classically rig- ged schooner that has been giving the sailing scene some real nautical color for years: While Bruce was doing his share on , the . Tiki,his daughter Carol, with the help ' of a couple of young friends, was liber- ally applying the paint to masts and spars of . her dad's schooner. The figurehead on the bow, genuine nautical antique,. was carefully given a coat of gold paint and will gleam in splendor for the sailing season. Councillor Bob, Hays and his wife Joyce have been making week- ly treks to Snug for some time, lavishing their time and elbow grease on their tumlaren sail boat. Although a venerablq, hull in terms df age, the "turn" is sound and having been well sanded down, is in the process of getting a natured.,'• finish, and this year will present gleaming mahogany planking, in- stead of the usualr,flat yacht white. - Beatitifully designed and built, this craft was originally, an ocean-going racer. With a deep, loaded keel, it 'sails firmly through waves large en,,ugh to• flip 'shallower designs. T l i e re —was _little - action at the --- launching ramp, as weather has been discouraging for owners of boat an:1 trailer outfits, although " a few daring souls braved the wind and chop tob run in their outboards for the coming season. A number of other craft are in various stages of repair and dis- repair and will eventually he launch- ed or hnuled away to the scrap heap, whichever seems the most appro- ')1.:la,te. Because .of Centennial year, an effort' is being made to, keep the waterfront as neat as possible,- and any . broken down boats or other ,equipment will be' hustled out 'of sight at the firm request of town' authorities. • Extensive improvements • to Snug Harbor.` to be undertaken this year by the department of public Works will render the mooring out of bounds to small craft and alter- nate accommodation will have to be found, either elsewhere in the main harbor, in the Maitland 'ri .ler, ' or possibly at Bayfield where facilities have been considerably improved in the past several years. There is a suggestion that an existing. D.O.T. structure on the west bank of Snug Harbor may be moved to permit widening the chan- nel and making more useful space when „the dredging and dock con- struction is completed. In addition to the major im- provements being done by. the de- partment df public works which are expected to be complete by autumn, the harbor committee of town coun- cil has 'budgeted $8,000 foirirnprove- ments and •maintenance' of general `beach areas, : `operation of a 'beach patrol each ' day -of the sumn'er` months and erection of a patrol " "toner for• the 'general safety of ` swimmers: Councillor Bob Mays and his wife Joyce were' pleased to find the hull of their T.umlaren class sailer in good shape, and plan. to give the mahogany planking a light natural finish this year; instead-- of the flat yacht white of` former -years. A good sanding revealed the planking in excellent ' shape despite being in use ,for several,, decades in both salt and fresh water. With a deep and heavily weighted keel,' the "turn" is extremely steady in— , rough seas. L.d Les Thompson, an ardent sportsman and oiitdoor. for the Sarnia Canadian Observer under the pen °ruarile of "llod. nay Creel" got his limit of speckled trout to Benmilter pond and other select spots in the area Saturday, on opening of the 'trout season. It v .' "rubber boot" Weather in most places, with 'stream and river banks sloppy with rkin. Opening weekend was "only fair" fishermen report.