Silver Streak Boats started from the grass roots in Sooke, BC with its early stages in Andy Barry ’s shop after long hours working at the Victoria shipyard. Andy had a vision and quickly began drafting and carving out foam proto-types which would one day become one of Canada’s premier welded all-aluminum boats.
Commodore’s Boats is a full-service shipyard with over 50 years of generational history and experience on the West Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Bosun (Bo) Spiller, owner and operator of the business has spent nearly his entire life hanging around boatyards, shipwrights and boat owners.
Maple Bay, Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island, BC – July 17, 2020: Maple Bay Marina is pleased to announce the opening of the new boat yard under new management. The Marina is welcoming Chris Watson to manage the facility, which will be opening September 1, 2020.
After working for a time at J.H. Ross Boats in Orillia, Sam Botting (1891-1954) moved to Lindsay in 1921. He and a partner bought out an existing boat shop located on the Scugog River (64 Ridout Street) and the business was renamed the Lindsay Boat Company.
Charles ‘Chuck’ Hourston was born in Vancouver BC in 1923. He attended Vancouver Technical School before serving in the Canadian Army during the Second World War. He was an avid hockey player and played for the Army. After the War, in 1948, he worked for Hamish Davidson (Davidson Manufacturing Ltd.) building Sabot sailboats.
Even as a teenager, Charlie Cliffe (1921-2017) was interested in building boats. In 1947, he went to work at Link Manufacturing in Gananoque, milling the planks and other components for their line of canoes and runabouts.
By 1895, Henry Gidley (1864-1933) had established his boat building business on the Penetanguishene waterfront. At first named the Georgian Bay Boat & Canoe Company, it soon became known as H.E. Gidley & Co., and then by 1914 the Gidley Boat Company.
The Templar Marine Group Ltd. has launched its first plug-in electric 26-foot boat for the North American pleasure craft market. Its flagship Templar Cruiser 26 is the first of five hand built electric propulsion vessels to roll off its innovative new assembly line in Kelowna, BC.
Read more: Templar Marine launches first plug-in electric...
Nelson Gilbert (1854-1921) began building canoes in Brockville in the 1890s, a time when the sport was very popular. In 1904 he put up a shop and boathouse on the waterfront at 15 Jessie St., where he produced canoes, sailboats and rowboats, with plans to start building motorboats as well.
RCR operates primarily in Youngstown, Buffalo and elsewhere on Lake Ontario and Lake Erie but often comes to this side of the border to represent its boat and brokerage lines.
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Neptunus 650F Review
By Andy Adams
Over the years Canadian Yachting has had the pleasure of doing several boat review articles on new Neptunus models and we are familiar with the qualities that Neptunus is famous for. They have all been exceptional yachts, but this is the one I would most want to own myself. It’s a personal choice and a matter of taste as to whether you would prefer to have a sedan express model or a flybridge but in my opinion, the flybridge layout offers some wonderful attributes.
We met with Neptunus Managing Director Jan Willem De Jong this past fall to take the new Neptunus 650F out in Lake Ontario.
Destinations
The Other Virgin Islands
By Mark Stevens
I was first seduced by the United States Virgin Islands during a ferry ride from St. Thomas to Tortola to begin one of our earliest British Virgin Islands charters nearly twenty years ago.
A perfect sunset off St. John with St. Thomas views for backdrop.
Clearing Pillsbury Sound, surrounded by voluptuous emerald mountains as the ferry sliced through royal blue waters, I was struck by the unspoiled ambiance of St. John, the island gliding past our starboard beam and the irresistible charm of a village called Cruz Bay visible from our quarter stern.
Lifestyle
By AMY HOGUE
What to look for and ask about as you plan your vacation times. You’ve invested thousands and thousands of dollars into your boat so naturally, you want to find just the right spot for her to live, and where you can enjoy her to the maximum. Marinas and yacht clubs are just like people, no two are completely alike and finding the one that’s perfect for you, may make you feel a little like Cinderella – searching for the shoe that fits just right.
It’s okay to take your time on this search because the marina you choose is arguably as important a decision as the one to buy your boat.
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DIY & How to
Going Electric to Cruise Lake Ontario: A family ditches the diesel
Story and photos by Matt Bera
We settled Svala into what my family and I had come to think of as the most desirable anchorage on Lake Ontario, on a sunny summer afternoon. With an abandoned settlement, an old schoolhouse full of swallows, giant snakes and a rum-running past, Main Duck Island had it all.
That we had to sail past the Psyche Shoal, a magnetic disturbance, and into the middle of the rumoured Marysburgh Vortex made an even better sea story. It had taken us two attempts, two years, two boats and a new sort-of experimental engine to get there.
Cruising with a Captain - It’s easier than you think
By Zuzana Prochazka
Never chartered? No problem. Here’s how to plan, execute and enjoy a vacation on a charter yacht where life is easy and the sunsets can’t be beat.
Decide on a crewed or bareboat charter
A crewed charter means you have a captain who manages the boat and maybe a chef or mate as well. Crewed charters ensure a safe and comfortable vacation with most everything done for you. The chefs are usually outstanding so if you’re a foodie, you’ll be in heaven and you may be able to pick up new recipes too. Larger crewed yachts may also have a mate who works with the captain and will do things like getting toys (kayaks, SUPs, snorkel gear, etc.) ready for you to use so you do very little work.
Marine Products
Marine Electronics – Staying Connected in 2023
By Andy Adams
The world of marine electronics is just on fire in terms of development. You can almost name any function that you could dream up and somebody is offering it. We are just heading into the traditional boat show season and this year there is a big difference from past years.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, most boating enthusiasts have not had any in-person boat show exposure to the new products since 2019 or 2020. That means that there are almost three years of new products to catch up on. It's going to be an exciting year in 2023!
News
On November 15th 2022, Mercury Marine, a division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), introduced the industry’s first ever V10 outboard with the official launch of its all-new 5.7L 350 and 400hp Verado® outboard engines.
Consistent with the award-winning Verado brand, the new V10 engines are the quietest and smoothest in their class running 45 percent quieter than a leading competitor at cruise. In addition to NVH, the new Verado’s are not only compatible with the latest Mercury SmartCraft® technologies but will also be offered with an optional dual-mode 48V/12V alternator to seamlessly pair with Navico Group’s Fathom® e-power system, an integrated lithium-ion auxiliary power management system, providing boaters the opportunity to eliminate an onboard generator system.