Toledo Wooden Boat Show 2017

Family Boat Build, Solar Eclipse, Garibaldi Coast Guard.

What do these all have in common? Please stay tuned...

During the Toledo Wooden Boat Show this year, the popular Family Boat Build featured the Tango Stand-Up-Paddleboard.

We built three SUPs in four days, a new design for everyone involved. Anyone familiar with building wood airplanes would recognize the method - the boards even resemble a wing.

The builders ranged from a local shipwright and his niece, to a group of Job Corps teens, to the new Toledo City Manager, who confessed he had very little wood-working experience.

That's the challenge that makes this weekend project so much fun. Everyone walks away with a unique creation they can use with pride.

Definitely one of the highlights of Doryman's year.

The show was very intimate this year. Being one of the very first geological locations in the USA to experience the recent total eclipse of the sun, we all expected a deluge of tourists, but the Oregon coast was very quiet, considering the moment. You know I like it that way - quality over quantity is the Doryman way. By now, you've all heard eclipse stories. My only observation - it's very strange to see twilight approach, with the sun in the east.

And, oh yes... in the tiny coastal town of Garibaldi, Oregon, there is an old boathouse at the end of a long finger pier, which once housed a United States Coast Guard Lifeboat station. A local group has formed the Garibaldi Cultural Heritage Initiative, to preserve this historical maritime asset. How cool is that?

As it turns out, these fine folks have many ambitious plans to enliven the structure as an asset for the community, which currently include building five kayaks to be used by visitors and the community at large. Serendipity brought the Garibaldi Cultural Initiative to these pages, and Doryman is privileged to have been asked to mentor the build. To say this is an honor is an understatement. I made a quick stop in Garibaldi to see the site yesterday.
I'm very excited. What a week it's been.

Expect to hear more about the Garibaldi Cultural Initiative and Pier's End in the next couple months.

Toledo, Oregon Wooden Boat Show, 2013

Whew! Just recovering from a long weekend at the annual boat show in my home port. This show happens every third weekend in August and it's always a lot of fun in the sun, on the water. Of course there are the boats, many of which were created by their owners. The live music is excellent, the food is very good, there are activities for kids, demonstrations of kayak skills and paper boat races. The last is completely insane. Toledo is a mill town and the paper used in making the boats is a water resistant packing material donated by the mill. The rest is up to the imagination. I'm afraid that to get the full effect, you have to visit the show.

My cruising dory, Mistral was in the thick of the action, at her usual mooring and I talked myself hoarse in three days, visiting friends from near and far. Our Teak Lady sailboats were in action, giving rides up and down the slough and the Toledo Community Boathouse provided rowing and paddling craft for free, to all comers.

I asked some friends to help take photos, which you can find on Doryman's Flickr site. You will recognise many boats from previous years as well as newcomers to the fleet (some of us just can't quit building).

Speaking of building, a real highlight of this show is the Family Boat Build. Starting on Friday, each group begins their boat, which was a  kayak this year. By Sunday afternoon, the boats are launched and tested by the proud owners. This little fifteen foot kayak is so appealing, I'm going to build one myself. The hull is already begun. It will be the annual winter boat build, here on Doryman, so stay tuned

Electric Tug from doryman on Vimeo.

Toledo, Oregon Wooden Boat Show

It's that time of year already. In Doryman's home port, Toledo, Oregon, the annual boat show is coming up this weekend. If you're in the neighborhood, please stop by and say hello.

The eighth annual Toledo Wooden Boat Show is a small town event with a big heart. You'll love it.

Toledo is seven miles east of the seaside town of Newport, Oregon, on the Yaquina River. You've heard a lot about this area if you are a regular reader. If you've never been to this show, you owe it to yourself and if you have, welcome back!






Of course the most fun is on the water so bring your boat. There is no limit to registration. For those who can't bring their own boat, they will find many free options for rowing, sailing and motor boat rides available.

Hope to see you there, Saturday and Sunday the 18th and 19th of August, on the waterfront. You can't miss it.